Current Members

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RESEARCH ASSOCIATES

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Michael lundin
mlundin@ku.edu
LinkedIn

Dr. Lundin joined Professor Mark Shiflett’s research group as a Research Associate in January 2021. He received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kentucky in 2003 during which time he worked at the Center for Applied Energy Research designing and building the control system and data acquisition system for an iron catalyst-based Fisher-Tropsch pilot plant. In 2009 he earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from University of Notre Dame. For his doctorate, he modeled bubble coalescence in the multi-phase flows present in direct methanol fuel cells. He then joined the Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysts at the University of Kansas, where he led projects ranging from a collaboration with Archer Daniels Midland Co. to investigate the use of liquid CO2 as a medium for the ozonolysis of fatty acid methyl esters to an effort with W.R. Grace & Co. investigating the modification of microporous catalysts for enhancing the yields and directing selectivity in the synthesis of pyridines using a fluidized bed reactor. Dr. Lundin is currently working on an industry funded project to design an ionic liquid-based gas absorption system.

Berlyn Mellein
berlyn.mellein@ku.edu
LinkedIn

Berlyn Mellein joined Professor Mark Shiflett’s research group as a Research Associate in January 2020. Dr. Mellein received her B.S. from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2003 and her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from University of Notre Dame in 2008.  For her doctorate, she studied the anti-solvent ability and solvatochromatic effects of CO₂ in ionic liquid/organic mixtures. She then joined DuPont, where she contributed to programs ranging from increasing production capacity by studying fundamental properties of polymer fibers to studying oxalate chemistry for TiO₂ and Fe₂O₃ production. Dr. Mellein is currently working in collaboration with ExxonMobil to better understand thermophysical properties and vapor liquid equilibria of hydrocarbons in aqueous salt solutions.

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Postdoctoral Researchers

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Ayo Olasupo
ayoolasupo@ku.edu                                                  

Ayo joined Professor Mark Shiflett’s research group as a Postdoctoral Researcher in May 2023. Dr Olasupo received his Bachelor of Technology in Pure and Applied Chemistry from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology in 2012, his BSc Honours in Chemistry in 2016, and his Master of Science in Environmental Geochemistry 2018 both from The University of the Witwatersrand. He received his PhD in Environmental Chemistry in 2022 from Universiti Sains Malaysia. His research interests are in Risk Assessments of Environmental Contaminants, Polymer and Material Science for Membrane Separation, Optical Chemical Sensing, and Electrogenerative Recovery of Metals.

During his PhD, he fabricated synthetic and biodegradable Polymer Inclusion Membranes for the remediation and chemical sensing of pharmaceutically active compounds in water/wastewater. Residues of pharmaceutically active compounds have been reportedly found in potable water due to the inability of conventional wastewater treatment plants to remediate them completely during treatment. Several advanced water treatment technologies have been explored for the remediation of these recalcitrant contaminants; however, they remained refractory in aquatic environments. In his study, environmentally friendly, biodegradable material like chitosan was used to fabricate different polymer membranes that are capable of real-time chemical sensing and complete removal of different contaminants in aquatic environments.

Andrew Yancey
andrew_yanceyjardon@ku.edu
LINKEDIN

Andrew joined Professor Mark Shiflett’s research group in 2020. He received his B.S. in Chemistry from Baylor University in 2019. He went on to earn his Master of Science in Chemical Engineering and PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kansas in 2024. His current research focuses on the development of zeolites and other porous media for the selective separation of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

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Staff

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Casey Williams
CASEY.WILLIAMS@KU.EDU

Dr. Casey Williams is a STEM educator and researcher with a strong background in science education, program evaluation, and community engagement. He has collaborated with state and local education agencies and helped design science standards impacting over 80,000 students across the U.S. His work focuses on connecting students to real-world STEM challenges through hands-on, authentic learning experiences. He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Texas Tech University, a master’s from Texas Tech, and a bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Kansas. He is excited to partner with EARTH collaborators on engineering workforce development initiatives that advance a sustainable HVACR economy and prepare the next generation for success in green industries.

Emily weiss
eweiss@ku.edu

Emily received her Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies with an emphasis in Interpersonal and her Bachelor of Arts in Dance from the University of Kansas in 2020. She joined Dr. Mark Shiflett’s team in January 2025 as an Administrative Associate for EARTH (Environmentally Applied Refrigerant Technology Hub).

jessica tami
JLTAMI@KU.EDU

Jessica earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry from the University of Michigan in 2024. Her dissertation is titled “Developments in Aqueous and Nonaqueous Organic Redox Flow Batteries.” After her PhD, she served as a postdoctoral research fellow. Jessica joined ERC EARTH in January of 2025 as a Research Project Manager.

William vincent
wcvincent@KU.EDU

Will received his Bachelor of Science degree in Agribusiness from Kansas State University in 2001 and a Master of Arts in Economics from Wichita State University.  Previously he worked in finance for 15 years at a drug and alcohol testing company.  Will began working in finance for University of Kansas in 2019.  In February of 2025, Will joined the EARTH ERC team as a Financial Analyst.

lacee roe
LACEER@KU.EDU

Lacee received her Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration from the University of Kansas in 2020. She worked in the nonprofit sector for 5 years with a focus on community engagement and marketing. She joined Dr. Mark Shiflett’s team in March 2025 as an Administrative Associate for the Wonderful Institute for Sustainable Engineering.

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Graduate Students

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Julia E. Espinoza Mejia
julia.espinoza@ku.edu
LINKEDIN

Julia Espinoza is an international, first-gen, and nontraditional graduate student from Peru. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the National University of Engineering, Lima, Peru, in 2010, she joined the National Petroleum Company of Peru (PETROPERU), where she has worked for eight years. At work, she performed different positions such as process engineer, design engineer, and lastly, as leader of the process engineering unit in 2018. In 2019, she earned the Fulbright-CAREC scholarship, which allowed her to train in English and graduated with M.Sc. in Petroleum Engineering at KU (2022). In her investigation, she studied the phase behavior of Oil-CO2 systems under various pressure and temperature conditions to predict asphaltene precipitation using HPHT PVT and SDS techniques. From this research, she has published 02 scientific papers. She also graduated with a Master in Process Engineering from the National University of Engineering, Lima, Peru (2013). She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at KU under the advice of Dr. Scurto and Dr. Shiflett as part of the NSF-funded project, Project EARTH (Environmentally Applied Research Toward Hydrofluorocarbons). Her research focuses on the separation of azeotropic hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) mixtures from refrigerants using ionic liquids as solvents. Julia’s work occurs mainly in the lab where a state-of-the-art pilot-scale extractive distillation tower is commissioning and starting up for the first time. She has also been a partial Teaching Assistant (TA) for some C&PE courses, including Thermodynamics I and II and Reservoir Engineering I, serves as a Graduate Engineering Ambassador, and adviser for the Peruvian Student Association at KU. Outside the lab, her interests include learning languages, learning about cultures, swimming, and practicing Zumba. 

Arishi Abdulrhman
aarishi1@ku.edu

Arishi received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Jazan University, Saudi Arabia, then he received a Master of Science in chemical engineering from Drexel University, USA. Currently, Arishi is pursuing a Ph.D. in chemical engineering at KU under the supervision of Professor Shiflett. Arishi is currently working on refrigerants separation using ionic liquids.

YunivA Mendoza-Apodaca
ymendoz2@ku.edu

Yuniva graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering in May 2024 from North Carolina State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry in May of 2024 from Meredith College. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Kansas as a member of the Shiflett Research Group. Her research will be based on the use of membranes for the separation of hydrofluorocarbons.

Emmanuel Ababio
emmanuel.ababio@ku.edu

Emmanuel Ababio received his B.S. in Petrochemical Engineering from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, in July 2020. His undergraduate research focused on the conversion of organic waste into fertilizer, with a particular emphasis on biomass gasification and ammonia synthesis. Upon graduation, he joined Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC) as an Operations Engineer, where he was responsible for optimizing process conditions to ensure efficient natural gas processing. During his time at GNGC, Emmanuel contributed to research efforts assessing the impact of fuel gas quality on natural gas engines and the environment. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Kansas, where he is a member of the Shiflett Research Group.

Cj ponge
cjponge@ku.edu

CJ earned his Bachelor’s degree (2016) and Master’s degree (2021) in Chemical Engineering (minor in Engineering Entrepreneurship) from Villanova University. He ran the Thermodynamics Laboratory at the Chemours Company (2017-2021) measuring VLE and thermophysical properties of Fluorocarbon mixtures.  He is currently pursuing his PhD at the University of Kansas as a member of the Shiflett research group.  His research is focused on the adsorption of PFAS using Zeolites.

Dorothy Haggard
dhaggard@kumc.edu

Dorothy Haggard graduated in 2024 with her bachelor’s in chemical engineering at the University of Kansas. She is currently completing the first phase of medical training at the KU Medical Center as a student in the MD/PhD program. Dorothy will begin her PhD studies in bioengineering with the Shiflett research group in the summer of 2026. As an undergrad, she worked with Dr. Kalin Baca on the ionic liquids team for Project EARTH.

clarice sabolay                                                                  cmlay18@ku.edu

Claire obtained her Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kansas in 2024. As an undergraduate, she worked under the mentorship of graduate student Charles Ponge on the adsorption of PFAS using zeolites. Claire is continuing her education at KU to pursue a PhD in Chemical Engineering as a member of the Shiflett Research Group. Her research focuses on the separation of azeotropic hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerant mixtures using ionic liquids.

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Senior Scientists

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David R. Corbin, Ph.D.
David.R.Corbin@ku.edu

Dr. Corbin is an adjunct senior research scientist with 32 years of industrial research experience. He has issued 62 US patents and has published more than 130 publications, in addition to co-editing two books on porous materials. His research interests include applications of inorganic materials to industrial problems, zeolites, separations, and metal oxides.

Kenneth Leffew, Ph.D.
kenneth.leffew@villanova.edu

Dr. Leffew is an adjunct professor at Villanova University.  He retired from DuPont in 2016, where he held the highest technical position in the company, DuPont Fellow.  In his 41-year career there, he was involved in the discovery, development and commercialization of numerous polymer processes and products, including Neoprene, PET for bottle resin, PMMA, Ethylene copolymers, polymers for optical disks, color copier toner, OLED devices, flexible solar cells and methanol fuel cells.  He received DuPont’s Engineering Excellence Award four times and is inventor on 29 US Patents and has over 60 publications and presentations.  His interests include polymerization reactor design, polymer process synthesis and processing, advanced process control and product design.

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Undergraduate Student RESEARCHERS

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Marina Johnson
marina.johnson@ku.edu

Marina is a chemical engineering major at the University of Kansas with a concentration in environmental and is in the class of 2028. She is working with Kevin Turner to determine flammability limits for hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants. She is from Shawnee, Kansas and is a member of Kappa Alpha Theta.

Carson wellbrock
wellbrockcarson@ku.edu

Carson Wellbrock is working with Emmanuel Ababio in the Shiflett Research Group at the University of Kansas, focusing on the separation of refrigerants using porous materials.

Leah pal
l998p307@ku.edu

Leah is in the class of 2028 pursuing a degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Kansas and working with Yuniva Mendoza-Apodaca in the Shiflett Research Group. She is a member of the University Honors Program and Kappa Alpha Theta. Her hobbies include sand volleyball, theater, and dance.

Karlee Barlows
karleeb04@ku.edu

Karlee Barlows is currently working with mentor CJ Ponge in the Shiflett Research Group at the University of Kansas.

Owen mcgovern
omcgovern@ku.edu

Owen McGovern is currently working with mentor Julia Espinoza in the Shiflett Research Group at the University of Kansas.

Evanna Dominic
EvannaDominic@ku.edu

Evanna Dominic is from Overland Park, KS. She is in the class of 2026 majoring in chemical engineering with a focus on biomedical engineering. She is a part of the KU SELF program, Alpha Delta Pi sorority, and the University Honors Program. Her hobbies include Bollywood dancing and participating in events at St. Lawrence Catholic Center.

Madison jones
Madison.Jones@ku.edu

Madison Jones is in the class of 2028 at the University of Kansas, studying chemical engineering with a minor in political science. Madison is an involved member of the Society of Women in Engineering and AIChE. She is currently working with graduate student Clarice Sabolay on using ionic liquids to separate azeotropic HFC refrigerant mixtures. 

Samantha Hazell
samrose657@ku.edu

Samantha is in the class of 2027 pursuing a degree in Chemical Engineering with an emphasis in Environmental Engineering and a minor in Bioengineering. In the lab, she is working with graduate student Claire Sabolay on Project EARTH, researching the use of ionic liquids to separate azeotropic hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerant mixtures.

Evan dennard
evandennard@ku.edu

Evan is in the class of 2028 at the University of Kansas and is currently pursuing a degree in Chemical Engineering. He is currently assisting in Dr. Mark Shiflett’s research on recycling refrigerants.