Kirill Afonin, professor of chemistry in the Klein College of Science, was named one of two recipients of the Harshini V. de Silva Graduate Mentor Award, presented Thursday, May 1, at the Spring Faculty Awards ceremony in the Popp Martin Student Union.

Afonin is internationally recognized as a leader in RNA nanotechnology, one of the most significant and rapidly evolving fields of science. Since joining UNC Charlotte in 2015, Afonin has received numerous honors and recognitions, including 10 patents, more than 30 research highlights published about his work and dozens of oral presentations and invited talks. One of his review articles was recognized by Web of Science for being in the top 1% of papers most cited in the field of pharmacology and toxicology.

“He is one of our University’s superstars with a phenomenal skill set, but perhaps his greatest strength is his ability to mentor students in research,” stated Thomas Schmedake, professor and chair of chemistry. “In just over eight years, Kirill has established one of the leading RNA nanotechnology labs, with over 100 publications and more than $4.7 million in external funding.”

Afonin’s students have contributed to more than 40 research papers, three educational manuscripts, 13 review articles and various other publications, including an editorial, invited commentary and research highlight, all in peer-reviewed journals. Many of his Ph.D. students graduate with more than 10 publications, with one graduating with 34 publications and a book.

“What sets Dr. Afonin apart is his genuine interest in the lives and well-being of his students,” said Weina Ke ’20 Ph.D., a scientist and CaNanoLab data curator in the Bioinformatics and Computational Science Department at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research in Frederick, Maryland. “He often took the time to inquire about my health, my family and overall happiness. His support extended beyond the academic realm, creating a nurturing and inclusive atmosphere within his research group.”

“Dr. Afonin’s contribution to the education of the next generation of scientists is the epitome of outstanding mentorship,” said Marina Dobrovolskaia, laboratory director of operations and head of the immunology section for the Nanotechnology Characterization Lab in Frederick, Maryland. “His research inspires students and collaborators for whom he serves as a role model. In his lab, he has created a unique, inclusive and diverse environment, allowing the students to thrive academically, professionally and personally. Not surprisingly, his graduate students leave the lab with publications and experiences, allowing them to secure highly competitive jobs at leading research institutions.”

Afonin, who completed a doctorate in photochemistry and a graduate certificate in bioinformatics, proteomics/genomics from Bowling Green State University in a joint program with the Medical University of Ohio and the University of Toledo, also holds a Master of Science in Chemistry of Natural Compounds from Saint Petersburg State University in Russia.

The Harshini V. de Silva Graduate Mentor Award honors its namesake, an exceptional teacher, brilliant scholar and researcher and devoted servant of her profession and community. The award is given annually to the faculty member whose commitment to students, research and scholarly inquiry most closely exemplifies the spirit of de Silva.

Read more about UNC Charlotte’s 2025 Spring Faculty Award recipients.

Nearly every day, Allison Reed straps on a helmet, mounts her 2006 Yamaha R6 heading for UNC Charlotte, where she applies physics and mathematics to advanced real-world problems. Her motorcycle, a 599cc racing bike that can go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds and reach a top speed of 165 mph, is a marvel of physics itself. 

“I love bikes because they’re fun but also because they are an amazing display of physics,” Reed said. “If a career in research doesn’t work out, I’d love to work in the motorcycle racing industry, designing new bikes and using physics to ensure optimal performance.” 

At Spring Commencement, Reed will graduate with degrees in physics and mathematics, research credits, the support of research faculty and a cohort of lifelong friends. But her path to this point wasn’t straightforward. On asphalt, and in life, she embraces sharp turns. 

Reed’s first love was horses. She has memories from age 5 trucking around on ponies. As she got older she got a horse of her own and progressed from lessons to competitions. After graduating high school, she moved to Colorado to study equine behavioral science at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. However, she realized that as much as she loved horses, and still does, she didn’t want to spend her career in the barn.

Reed returned home to North Carolina, and while mulling over a path forward, she recalled all of the physics and science documentaries she watched with her father growing up and the hands-on physics class she took in high school. Both scratched an intellectual curiosity that inspired her to pursue it as a major. She applied to UNC Charlotte and from there she was off and running.

Research Under the Skin and Over the Moon

Research has been foundational to Reed’s experience at Charlotte. From May 2022 to January 2023, she worked with graduate student Maddie Kern ’23, M.S., on her Optical Science and Engineering master’s thesis that used thermal imaging to view blood vessels to aid non-invasive procedures. She also did research for credit in spring 2024 for the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, where she and two friends, Zach Bessant and Anastasia Kolesnikov, wrote a paper on the possibility of getting to Mars by slingshotting around the moon. 

“My ultimate goal is to become a theoretical physicist with a concentration in astrophysical general relativity/time/gravity and for that type of job, research is absolutely vital,” Reed said. “I also just find it fascinating. Without research, we wouldn’t know of the society we have today.” 

Currently, Reed and Ritchie Dudley, assistant undergraduate lab coordinator, are researching Hawking radiation and quantum mechanics by simulating a black hole with fiber optic cables.

Finding Community in Niner Nation

The Department of Physics and Optical Science, housed in the Klein College of Science, is a tight-knit community. Reed recalls meeting fellow majors on day one and then seeing them from course to course throughout their college careers. They completed projects together, helped one another with homework and caught up over dinners. The group even had its own Discord and Minecraft servers to stay connected.

“I spent the last three years with the exact same students in every class, and we became really, really good friends,” Reed said. “I’m hoping the group stays together after graduating, too.”

Some of her core group graduated in fall 2024 and on Saturday, May 10, Reed takes her turn. Besides the connections made with her classmates, Reed will miss the outgoing professors who helped with her education and made her feel supported at every turn. 

“I’ve had several professors write me letters of recommendation for various things, and I really appreciate all that they’ve done,” Reed said “I hope that at some point, I’ll be able to send them the work I’m doing and thank them again.”

During the summer, Reed, in collaboration with Dudley, will expand her analog gravity system and Hawking radiation research paper. Then, she will turn attention to applying to graduate schools, networking with researchers and seeking her next research project. But first, she will cross the stage at Halton Arena under the watchful eye of proud parents and loved ones.

“In high school, you dream of what you want to do when you grow up, but graduating with the degree that actually prepares you to do that is kind of surreal,” Reed said. “When I walk the stage, I’ll be kind of anxious but mostly excited.”

Story by Alex Reynolds, communications specialist. Photos by Jenn Conway, director of communications, and courtesy of Allison Reed.

Like with a flower, growth can come slowly for people. For Taylor Yonemura, the journey has taken time, but UNC Charlotte has given her a calling.

“UNC Charlotte offers opportunities for many things, but if you want something, you must put in the effort,” she said. “A lot of success in college is about trying and then learning.”

Yonemura, a Klein College of Science student, will graduate in May with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology. At UNC Charlotte, she learned perseverance, a trait she feels will propel her forward.

“Many people don’t emphasize that failing is okay,” said Yonemura. “You’ll make many mistakes as an adult, and you must be okay with admitting and forgiving yourself. That is such a valuable skill UNC Charlotte helped me develop.”

Finding Yourself

Yonemura moved around while growing up, stopping in Arizona and Utah before attending Mooresville Senior High School in North Carolina. A passion for art and science emerged during high school.

“I love understanding how things work, why they work and the steps in which they work. Science, for me, was always enjoyable. It’s a thought process, the same as art,” said Yonemura.

Her dad, Casey, was her biggest supporter along the way. Yonemura credits him for pushing her to be her true self.

“My dad is the one to whom I’ll give the biggest props. He always pushed for college, which was expected of me, just because he knew I could do it. Without him, I wouldn’t be here today,” said Yonemura.

Accessing Academia

Yonemura started college at UNC Asheville in 2020 and focused on art. Then, while taking some time off, she developed a love for biology through gardening.

“I had to reevaluate many of the important things to me,” she said. “I picked up gardening, and growing vegetables led me to biology. I immediately changed my major and never returned.”

Yonemura returned to Mitchell Community College, earning an associate of arts degree in 2023. After a trip to the McMillan Greenhouse at UNC Charlotte’s Botanical Gardens, the next step in her academic journey became clear.

“A lot of my friends went to Charlotte as did my boyfriend, who wanted to show me the greenhouse,” Yonemura explained. “So we went one day, and when I came out, I said, ‘I’ve got to go here.’” 

Making an Impact

Yonemura’s connection to the Botanical Gardens at UNC Charlotte started while volunteering for a creek cleanup. From there, she made good use of connecting science with art by developing its website.

“I love the Botanical Gardens and the people there, mainly because many are passionate about their work. Working among them has been such a great way to learn,” said Yonemura.

Her role helped Yonemura craft an undergraduate research project on the connection between bees and fungal spore dispersal. On April 17, she presented her project at the Undergraduate Research Conference at UNC Charlotte.

“Seeing those results was amazing because this was a research project that I built with my bare hands and got to apply the scientific process. I wanted to have my TED talk moment,” she said.

Yonemura, who continued to add to her résumé, gained valuable experience working with Morgan Carter in her fungal bacteria lab last summer.  

“I went through the OUR program and did microbiology work that semester studying storage processes,” said Yonemura. “Dr. Carter is a wonderful person and a lab manager. She understands all her students and attempts to care about them in their best interests.”

All these experiences helped her start the Mycology Club, which brings students together to learn about fungi. Yonemura feels UNC Charlotte has allowed her to prepare for next steps.

Post-grad life

Yonemura is deciding between graphic design and continuing to work with fungus. She hopes to find a way to combine art and science productively.

“I want to explore the world and identify new fungi,” she said. “I know there’s something out there calling my name.”

Yonemura said she wants to be remembered as someone who pushed through no matter what.

“College is not just about the clubs you attend or the classes you take; it is about pushing yourself,” she said.“There were times I worried about failing a class, but I got through it — and  without a solid support system and forgiving myself sometimes, that would have been impossible.” 

Story by Bryson Foster. Photos by Amy Hart, creative photographic director.

Bryson Foster ’23 will complete a Master of Arts in Communication Studies in May 2025; he is an intern for the Office of University Communications.

On March 26, Chancellor Sharon L. Gaber honored UNC Charlotte faculty with more than a million dollars in active external grant funding by recognizing them as part of the 2025 Million Dollar Research Circle.

The Klein College of Science was recognized as a top earner with $24 million in cumulative funding for the year, and the Department of Biological Sciences was honored as one of the top three departments in the university by funding.

10 faculty were recognized from KCOS:

• Kirill Afonin, chemistry
• Ishwar Aggarwal, physics and optical science
• Kristen Funk, biological sciences
• Danillo G. Augusto, biological sciences
• Ian Marriott, biological sciences
• Bao-Hua Song, biological sciences
• Andrew Truman, biological sciences
• Patricija van Oosten-Hawle, biological sciences
• Juan Vivero-Escoto, chemistry
• Shan Yan, biological sciences

Aggarwal and Augusto additionally received special recognition for each having more than $3 million in external funding.

Read more about the event and other UNC Charlotte honorees.

The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) has announced the 2025 class of Senior Members, with seven of the newly named members from UNC Charlotte. Senior Members were selected from NAI’s member institutions for exemplifying the spirit of creativity and discovery that drives the global inventor community. 

Five faculty from the Klein College of Science were named as Senior Members:

• Kirill Afonin, Ph.D., professor of chemistry
• Glenn Boreman, Ph.D., professor and department chair of physics and optical science
• Jordan C. Poler, Ph.D., professor of chemistry
• Susan R. Trammell, Ph.D., professor of physics and optical science
• Michael G. Walter, Ph.D., professor of chemistry and director of nanoscale science Ph.D. program

“This year’s class comes from a multitude of impressive fields and research backgrounds from across the world. We applaud their pursuit of commercialization to ensure their groundbreaking technologies can make a difference by tackling the world’s most pressing issues, improving quality of life across society, and advancing the economy,” said Paul R. Sanberg, president of NAI.

The Klein College faculty are also joined by two faculty members from the William States Lee College of Engineering. All seven Senior Members from Charlotte will be inducted at the NAI annual meeting in June, accompanied by Ishwar D. Aggarwal, Ph.D., who was recently named a 2024 Fellow from NAI.

The conference presents the opportunity for visionaries and innovators to converge to share ideas, foster collaborations, and celebrate advancements in invention.

The Mathematics Graduate Student Association (MGSA) hosted the inaugural Graduate Research in Math (GRiM) symposium at UNC Charlotte on Feb. 8, fully planned and executed by and for graduate students.

The Klein College of Science graduate students presented on a variety of mathematical fields, ranging from pure to applied mathematics, and covering topics including graph theory, Ergodic theory, and statistics. Attendees included graduate and undergraduate students and faculty from UNC Charlotte, the University of South Carolina, and Clemson University.

The symposium’s plenary lecture, “On Turing’s formula and the estimation of the missing mass,” was presented by Michael Grabchak, Ph.D., professor of statistics. Grabchak explored how Turing’s formula can give rise to methods for detecting whether two works were written by the same author. Results from this method were shown through examples ranging from Shakespeare to celebrity social media posts.

Sarah Helfert Murphy, graduate assistant in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, helped to reinstate MGSA as an active campus organization in 2021. “There is no one-size-fits-all formula for getting a Ph.D. in mathematics, so we thought this event would be a nice way to showcase the different forms getting a degree in this field can take,” Murphy said. “I consider it a great success, and we hope to offer this event again next year, and to expand our horizons to invite participants from even more universities.”

Since reactivating MGSA, the organization has offered more events each year for graduate students interested in math. MGSA’s current goal is to offer events that both cultivate a sense of community among graduate students and provide opportunities to grow academically.

“In graduate school, it can be very easy to isolate yourself due to the demanding workload. We seek to mitigate this by encouraging students to talk about math and bond over our shared experience,” Murphy explained. “Our organization also serves to advocate for graduate student interests in the mathematics department.”

Susan R. Trammell, Ph.D., professor of physics and optical science, has earned a Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University (PMU)-National Academy of Inventors (NAI) International Patent Award.

The PMU-NAI International Patent Award recognizes international inventors who create plausibly positive societal impact with an innovation that has received a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office within the past 5 years.

Trammell accepted the award in December 2024 during a ceremony on PMU’s campus in Saudi Arabia. Her third place win included a $10,000 prize to assist in the commercialization of the patent to help bring the technology to market.

Trammell’s research in optics in the Klein College of Science has developed innovations in the fields of biomedical imaging, mid-IR/thermal imaging in medicine, surgical navigation and image-guided surgical interventions.

In 2023, Trammell was recognized as co-author with the Biopreservation and Biobanking Best Paper award from ISBER, the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories, for the best paper.

Read more about Trammell’s award from the UNC Charlotte Division of Research.

UNC Charlotte announced the formation of the Charlotte AI Institute with the Center for TAIMing AI and the Center for Innovation, Translational Research and Applications of Nanostructured Systems, CITRANS, leading the way.

These two Centers are leveraging the quickly developing field of artificial intelligence to create cutting-edge discovery, interdisciplinary collaboration and workforce development. The Centers are driving innovation along with advanced research from the Klein College of Science in biological sciences, physics and optics, chemistry, and mathematics and statistics.

Faculty in Klein College also make important research contributions to CIPHER, the Center for Computational Intelligence to Predict Health & Environmental Risks.

Read more about the Charlotte AI Institute.

Klein College of Science Centers leveraging AI

Center for TAIMing AI

Center for Innovation, Translational Research and Applications of Nanostructured Systems

Kirill Afonin, Ph.D., professor of chemistry, and M. Brittany Johnson, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology, were featured in Newswise for their research on  nucleic acid nanoparticles (NANPs), which are highly effective in drug or vaccine delivery.

The Klein College of Science researchers, along with Drs. Dobrovolskaia’s (NCI) and Zakharov’s (NCATS) teams, have developed new applications for Artificial Intelligence Cells. AI-Cell uses artificial intelligence to quickly select the appropriately shaped nanoparticles that can deliver targeted treatments personalized to an individual’s DNA.

“If designed correctly, your body will recognize these artificially made NANPs as its own components, which can initiate and guide various biochemical processes and help fix the problem from within,” Afonin said. “The big idea is to develop a biomolecular language to explain to our bodies and immune system how to reveal and deal with certain diseases – and make this technology user-friendly, widely available, personalized, and affordable.”

The NANPs can fold in specific, predictable ways, and quickly selecting the correct shape to generate the intended immune response helps target the therapy to the precise location.

“The immune system is a very complex process,” Johnson said. “A lot of times we think the immune response is always productive. In reality, it’s a little bit more like a see-saw and you want things to be in balance.” 

“You need peaks at certain times… and you want that immune response to have certain qualities. And then you want that to resolve so that you can go through a healing process,” Johnson said. “You have to be cautious because you could stimulate an unwanted immune response.”

Read the full article in Newswise.

Jordan C. Poler, Ph.D., professor of chemistry, was featured as the cover story on WBTV’s “On Your Side Tonight” to discuss his innovations on filtering forever chemicals from water supplies with a purification method he designed.

Poler spoke with reporter Natisha Lance to explain how his innovation, funded last year as one of eight grants statewide from NCInnovation, uses sustainable and low-cost materials to remove contaminants and chemicals such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS, from water.

The filters can be regenerated nearly indefinitely, which allows for the chemicals to be removed without concentrating them elsewhere by disposing of the filter.

“What you’ve done is you’ve concentrated all the impurities onto that filter and then you put it into the landfill and all those impurities leach back out,” Poler said. Poler’s innovation allows the filter contents to be regenerated and used again. “We can keep on going for hundreds of cycles without any loss in performance so it’s a sustainable solution to a really difficult environmental problem.”

Poler has engaged in this research for eight years and is hoping to be able to bring the sustainable water filter to the market within a year.

“We don’t have to create an environmental problem while we’re trying to solve an environmental problem,” said Poler. “It’s really rewarding working on something that could have a direct impact on people.”

Watch the full segment on WBTV.