Current Group Members

Randall Goldsmith

rhg@chem.wisc.edu (Room 3309A)

When Randall Goldsmith was an undergraduate, he was one of those chemistry majors who couldn’t quite figure out which type of chemistry he liked best. He later learned that he also really liked physics, materials science, engineering, and biology, and that it was ok to be interdisciplinary. When not doing or teaching chemistry, he can be found chasing frisbees or cooking whatever Kenji López-Alt tells him to cook. His least-favorite part of being a chemistry professor is having to (sometimes) tuck in his shirt.

Jeff Bartz

jeff.bartz@wisc.edu

Jeff likes thinking about what molecules do — so he earned a Ph.D. in chemical dynamics from UW-Madison. He became the head of the one-person physical chemistry division at Kalamazoo College. Now, his interest in thinking about what molecules do has led to its logical conclusion—studying single molecules in the Goldsmith Group. Jeff lives with his family on the east side of Madison, rides his bike, and follows Badgers sports.

Lisa-Maria Needham

needham3@wisc.edu

Lisa-Maria is Marie-Skłodowska Curie Global Fellow in the Goldsmith group and joined in January 2021 after completing her Ph.D. and first postdoc in the Lee Lab at the University of Cambridge. Lisa-Maria loves single-molecules and is really excited about developing new techniques to look at the non-fluorescent ones. Her current research is focused on developing new optical microcavity-enhanced methods for single-molecule light scattering. Outside the lab, Lisa-Maria loves outdoor activities, exploring the wilderness, singing, and playing the guitar.

Carlos Andres Saavedra Salazar

saavedrasala@wisc.edu

Carlos joined the Goldsmith group after doing a Ph.D. in collaboration with the ‘Institut für Angewandte Physik’ in Bonn Germany and ‘Universidad de Guanajuato’ in León, México with Prof. Dr. Dieter Meschede and José Luis Lucio. He is currently working on fiber-based cavity enhanced single-molecule spectroscopy at cryogenic temperatures.  Besides research he likes to play the electric guitar and practice powerlifting.

Sushu Wan

swan27@wisc.edu

Sushu joined the group in the Fall of 2023 after completing her Ph.D. at Nanjing University, China. She thinks it is super cool to figure out unknown processes with spectroscopy. Although she used to work with bulk materials, she now wants to see what happens at the single molecule level with the help of fiber cavities. In her free time, she will sleep tight, wander around, try different food and drinks, and play badminton.

Nasrin Asgari

nasgari@wisc.edu

Nasrin joined the Goldsmith group in May 2024 after doing her Ph.D. in “Single-Molecule Optics” group at Leiden University with Prof. Michel Orrit in the Netherlands. Nasrin’s main interest is overcoming challenges to develop single-molecule detection techniques. She is excited to be working on fiber-based microcavities to detect single molecules in such an amazing research group. Outside the lab, she enjoys cycling, hiking, reading books, and playing guitar.

Brendan Cullinane

bcullinane@wisc.edu

Brendan is biophysics student who joined the lab in the Fall of 2018. He is thrilled to study the chaotic world of protein dynamics as part of the ABEL trap team. Outside of the lab, he enjoys music, dungeons and dragons, and overly dramatic cooking shows.

Beau Schweitzer

bschweitzer2@wisc.edu

Beau joined the group in the Fall of 2019. After falling for the UW-Madison chemistry department, he decided to come back for more after graduation. He was inspired to be a spectroscopist by one of his professors. He enjoys working with lasers because they’re cool. Besides chemistry, Beau enjoys running, video and board games, and all other sorts of media.

Brandon Hacha

hacha@wisc.edu

Brandon joined the group in Fall 2019. While he calls himself an analytical chemist, it’s mostly because he hasn’t fully accepted being an experimental physical one. He currently works on the photonic crystal project (one of the few that did not already include a Brandon or Brendan). Outside of lab, Brandon enjoys exploring Madison, trying to bake sourdough bread, and following the most boring parts of local and state politics.

Mackinsey Smith

masmith49@wisc.edu

Mackinsey is an inorganic chemistry student who joined the lab in Fall 2019. She has always loved trying to figure out how things work, and she’s excited to shoot lasers at catalysts to figure out how they work. Outside of the lab, she enjoys swing dancing, playing with cats, and baking.

Ray Czerwinski

rczerwinski@wisc.edu

Ray joined the Goldsmith group in the Fall of 2019. She thinks all chemistry is super cool, especially single-molecule spectroscopy. When she isn’t doing science, Ray likes to make music, play tabletop games, and climb things, generally not all at once. This is Ray with a pine cone the size of their head.

Yulia Podorova

podorova@wisc.edu

Yulia joined the lab in 2022. She is excited about all things spectroscopy, but is particularly passionate about building new instruments. She is what one would call a hobbyist: she likes outdoor activities like climbing and slacklining, is a skillful baker and mixologist, an avid pop culture follower, and she runs an independent feminist book club.

Alex Fairhall

fairhall@wisc.edu

Alex joined the Goldsmith Group in the Fall of 2020 as a physical chemistry student after a short break from academia. He’s excited to be getting back into research under such a diverse group and looks forward to exploring single molecule spectroscopy in temperatures even lower than Madison’s cold winters. Outside of the lab, he enjoys reading and writing, playing sports such as ultimate frisbee or volleyball, and practicing his Japanese.

Simi Kaur

skaur24@wisc.edu

Simi is a biophysics student who joined the Goldsmith group in the Fall of 2020. Although her first love is Chemistry, she is fascinated by all walks of science and finds it difficult to just choose one field. She is super excited to combine her broad experimental and computational interests as a part of the ABEL trap team. Outside of lab, Simi loves baking sweet treats, trying new foods, traveling to new places, hiking in scenic locations, and learning how to bike.

Julia Rasch

jrasch2@wisc.edu

Julia is an analytical chemistry student who joined the group in Fall 2020. She is excited to develop new instrumentation to study single molecules. Outside of chemistry, Julia enjoys walking her dog, ogling other peoples’ dogs, avoiding writing bios for the group page for nine months, and cooking.

Daniel Sole-Barber

solebarber@wisc.edu

Daniel Sole-Barber, a member of the physical chemistry path, joined the Goldsmith group in Fall 2021. He enjoys learning new spectroscopic techniques, and was immediately intrigued by the idea of single molecule Raman spectroscopy. He hopes to teach one day, but for now is excited by the prospect of doing more research. Outside of the lab, he likes swimming, reading manga, traveling, and playing video/board games.

Samantha Evans

sjevans3@wisc.edu

Sam moved to Madison and joined the Goldsmith group in Fall 2021. Don’t be fooled by the Golden Gate Bridge – she is from Pennsylvania. When it comes to science, she’s an analytical chemistry student with a desire to make microresonators that can enable single-molecule spectroscopy. Away from science, Sam can be found hiding from the sun, doing nail art, and binge-watching television shows at record-breaking speeds.

Ben Brewster

bbrewster@wisc.edu

Ben is an analytical student who joined the Goldsmith group in Fall 2022. He loves understanding how things work and is excited to learn more about how single molecule spectroscopy can probe catalyst dynamics. Outside of lab, Ben enjoys guitar, camping, playing basketball, and reading science fiction.

Anders Bergsten

ajbergsten@wisc.edu

Anders is a physical chemistry student who joined the group in Fall 2022. He works on the fabrication of photonic crystals and deposition at high pressures. Outside of lab, Anders enjoys playing disc golf (as often as possible), hiking in the Adirondacks, and watching football.

Aidan Dickinson

afdickinson@wisc.edu

Evan Smith

emsmith43@wisc.edu

Evan is a physical chemistry student who joined the lab in Fall of 2023. Scientifically, he is excited about exploring light-matter interactions in cold single molecules. In his free time, Evan enjoys finding unique dishes to cook, trying new wines, and exploring a number of creative outlets.

Jackson Kirkwood

jskirkwood@wisc.edu

Jackson is studying chemical engineering and joined the Goldsmith group in the Spring of 2023. He is excited to be working on the foldscope and learning about fluorescence. He enjoys playing the drums, hanging out with his friends, and going to jewelry shops in his free time.

Grey Wei

sqwei@wisc.edu

Aisley Fleming

affleming@wisc.edu