Group Members

Dr. Amanda Morgenstern – I moved from my hometown of Mosinee, WI to Colorado in 2006 to work toward my Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at Colorado College. I have lived in Colorado since then except for a two year postdoc position at Los Alamos National Lab in New Mexico. Outside of chemistry, I enjoy hiking and running in the mountains, spending time with my husband and our pets, gardening, and cooking. Although cooking is really just chemistry too!

Hayden Braun (Chemistry graduate student)

Hello, my name is Hayden! I became interested in computational chemistry because it is a versatile field that uses quantum mechanical methods to investigate both fundamental scientific questions and practical applications. Through research I hope to continue developing these skills and pursue a Ph.D. in physical chemistry. Outside of research I enjoy hiking, playing chess, and 3D printing. 

Nathan Maruska (Chemistry undergraduate student)

My name is Nathan Maruska. I grew up in Colorado with a love for science, mainly in meteorology. I later found a love for chemistry leading up to college. This new passion placed me in organic chemistry research with Dr. Schoffstall. Curiosity about what chemical reactions looked like at the molecular level and a drive to uncover new mysteries lead me from organic chemistry into Dr. Morgenstern’s computational chemistry research lab. In this lab, I pursue many of my interests such as movies of chemical reactions, coding, creating colorful figures, and exploring vast amounts of new data. I love the opportunity to analyze something in this world for the very first time, in a way that lets me know I am the first to see a result in my research