Team

Members

Dr. Lei Guo, Principal Investigator

Dr. Lei Guo received her B.S. in chemistry from Lanzhou University, China, where she worked in Prof. Wei Wang’s lab. Lei pursued her Ph.D. in chemistry with Prof. Omar M. Yaghi at UC Berkeley and explored the field of reticular chemistry. Her Ph.D. work focused on the development of new synthetic and modification strategies for covalent organic frameworks (COFs). As her interests began to shift to the applications of these highly porous crystalline nanomaterials, Lei conducted her postdoctoral training under the supervision of Prof. Michael R. Hoffmann at Caltech, working on wastewater treatment.

In August 2022, Lei joined the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, as an assistant professor.

Outside lab, Lei loves cooking and enjoys outdoor activities and family time.

Anne Lobitz (Annie), Ph.D. Candidate

Annie is a Ph.D. student studying civil and environmental engineering. She received her B.S. in Environmental Engineering from Louisiana State University in May 2023. Annie is interested in all thing’s wastewater treatment, specifically emerging pollutants that lack treatment standards. She is very excited to be able to work on this with Dr. Guo’s lab group for the upcoming years!

Minshu Chen, Ph.D. Candidate

Minshu Chen is a Ph.D student studying Environmental Engineering. He received his
B.S. from Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology (NUIST) in Mathematics and
Applied Mathematics in 2022. He also earned his M.E. from Rice University in Chemical
Engineering in 2024. Minshu joined the Guo Lab in August of 2024. He is interested in novel
methods for water treatment& energy recycling.

Alex Steuber (AJ), Undergraduate Student

My name is AJ am from central Arkansas and I attend the University of Arkansas Majoring in chemistry minoring in mathematics. Outside of class I enjoy spending time with my family and playing video games. 

Madeline Crisp, Undergraduate Student

Madeline is an undergraduate student on the pre-med track majoring in biochemistry and minoring in Spanish. 

Outside of class she enjoys hiking, baking, and learning new languages.

Lauryn Peters, Undergraduate Student

My name is Lauryn Peters, and I am a junior undergraduate honors student. I am currently working on the modification of resins for use in flow-through water treatment systems as an extension of previous research conducted in this lab. This project builds on established work while exploring practical applications for improving water treatment efficiency.

I am particularly interested in chemistry and how it relates to medicine, and I am excited by the ways chemical research can be applied to improve human health. Through my work in this lab, I hope to become more comfortable in a laboratory setting and gain experience with a variety of experimental techniques that will be valuable for my future career in medicine.

Tyler Maddox, Undergraduate Student

I am Tyler Maddox, a Senior majoring in Chemistry & Biochemistry (B.S.) and Biology (B.A.) on the pre-medicine track. I am from Blythewood, SC, by way of Midlands Technical College. Outside of school, I love playing basketball, playing chess, and watching Arkansas Razorback games. I’m also a huge foodie—whether I’m cooking for my friends or trying new restaurants with them.
 
Beyond food and school, I’ve worked as a Pharmacy Technician for almost three years, and I’m the youngest of eight children (five brothers and two sisters). I have a curiosity that tends to lead me down YouTube rabbit holes, usually about chess, chemistry, physics, math, biology/biochemistry, or impressive engineering feats.
members

Join the Guo Lab!

Let’s play with molecular “LEGO”s, build materials, and address some environmental challenges!

We are looking for motivated graduate and undergraduate students to participate in highly interdisciplinary projects! Talk to Lei to learn more!

Alumni

Brianna Harris

Cody Wendland

Emily Shea

Jason Thornhill

Laurel Matinchev

Lauren Launhardt

Samantha Garcia Marquez 

Xinyue Hai

Graduate Student

Undergraduate Student

Undergraduate Student

Undergraduate Student

Undergraduate Student

Undergraduate Student

Undergraduate Student

Graduate Student