{"id":426,"date":"2025-04-11T23:34:25","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T23:34:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/grulab\/?page_id=426"},"modified":"2025-05-20T15:32:52","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T20:32:52","slug":"current-members","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/grulab\/meet-the-research-group\/current-members\/","title":{"rendered":"Current Members"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Principal Investigator <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Dr. Ranil Gurusinghe<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Assistant Professor of Chemistry<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tennessee Tech (2022 – Present)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Graduate Students <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Randi K. Padikoralage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Chemistry Masters Student <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Fall 2023 – Present)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Randi Padikoralage<\/strong>\u00a0is a second year Master\u2019s student in Chemistry at Tennessee Tech University. She joined the GRU Lab in Fall 2023 and is currently involved in the development of a Fourier Transform Microwave (FTMW) spectrometer. Her research focuses on the rotational spectroscopy of molecules and the investigation of weakly bound van der Waals complexes, including guaiacol-water\u00a0complexes.\u00a0In addition, she is collaborating with DelMonaco Winery to develop a spectroscopic method for identifying chemical compounds in wine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

E-mail: rikalahepa42@tntech.edu<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n

Thushitha Jayasekara<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Chemistry Masters Student<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Fall 2023 – Present)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thusitha S. Jayasekara is a Senior Master’s student in Chemistry. He joined the GRU Lab in Fall 2023 and is currently contributing to the development of Tennessee\u2019s first Fourier Transform Microwave (FTMW) spectrometer. Research interests include exploring quantum tunneling and the intrinsic molecular properties of methyl-substituted styrene and quinoline derivatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

E-mail: tsjayaseka42@tntech.edu<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n

Cadence Miller<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

PhD Student in Environmental Science with a Concentration in Chemistry<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cadence received his bachelor’s in chemical engineering and chemistry in Spring 2024, and is now a first year Ph.D. student working in the Gru Lab. Their research primarily focuses on fundamental properties of molecules such as quantum tunneling in 3-methylstyrene using microwave spectroscopy. He is also interested in pursuing the identification of relevant molecules in the interstellar medium that can provide insight into the atmospheric chemistry on Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Fall 2024 – Present)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

E-mail: cemiller43@tntech.edu<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Undergraduate Research Students<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Mitchell Swann<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Major: Chemistry, Custom Chemistry Concentration, ACS certification<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mitchell Swann is a chemistry major, and has been involved in research with the Gru Lab since Fall 2022. He’s worked on the rotational spectroscopy of methylstyrenes, and enjoys learning how to use the different scientific instruments in the lab. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

E-mail: mwswann42@tntech.edu<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Madeline Kidder<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Major: Chemical Engineering<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Madeline Kidder is an undergraduate in her senior year in chemical engineering, and she has been working with the Gru lab for just under a year. She has mainly worked on the collection of a 4-methylstyrene microwave spectrum and the education of fellow undergraduate students on microwave spectroscopy. Her research interests include spectroscopy, kinetics, and ceramics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

E-mail: mrkidder42@tntech.edu<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Vasilisa Khodyakova<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Major: Chemistry<\/p>\n\n\n\n

E-mail: vzhukova42@tntech.edu<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Former Members<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • Rusiru Rajapaksha\n
      \n
    • Spring 2023 – Fall 2024<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Graduated with a master’s in chemistry<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Marton Varga\n
        \n
      • Graduated with BS in Chemical Engineering Spring 2024<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Former Group Photos<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
        \"This<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Principal Investigator Dr. Ranil Gurusinghe Assistant Professor of Chemistry Tennessee Tech (2022 – Present) Graduate Students Randi K. Padikoralage Chemistry Masters Student (Fall 2023 – Present) Randi Padikoralage\u00a0is a second year Master\u2019s student in Chemistry at Tennessee Tech University. She joined the GRU Lab in Fall 2023 and is currently involved in the development of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":191,"featured_media":0,"parent":19,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-426","page","type-page","status-publish","czr-hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/grulab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/grulab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/grulab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/grulab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/191"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/grulab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=426"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/grulab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/426\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":957,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/grulab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/426\/revisions\/957"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/grulab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tntech.edu\/grulab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}