Upcoming virtual group meetings - email alexei-tivanski@uiowa.edu for the Zoom link

There are no upcoming events.

Welcome to our group home page!  It’s all about interfaces for us! 

We are physical/analytical chemistry group with strong emphasis on the development of novel methods towards understanding the uniqueness and complexity of the Nanoworld. We utilize cutting-edge Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) based techniques to study physical and chemical properties at the nanoscale.  Our work is strongly interdisciplinary and collaborative in nature with researchers from other fields of science and engineering.

Our present efforts lie in the following three major research themes:

  • Nanoscience/Materials Science with the focus on size-dependent electrical, mechanical, and (photo)-reactivity studies that encompass organic and inorganic nano- and macro-dimensional solids with unique properties

  • Atmospheric/Environmental Chemistry with the focus on the development and application of AFM based methods toward direct measurements of individual submicrometer organic/inorganic aerosol properties that include humidity-dependent 3D morphology, water uptake, and surface tension

  • Biochemistry/Biophysics with the focus on the development of novel molecular recognition force-based methods to study unbinding interactions between various proteins (e.g. enzymes) and ligands (e.g. drugs, inhibitors) on a single molecule level

Atmospheric/Environmental Chemistry work in our lab is funded by National Science Foundation through center for aerosol impacts on chemistry of the environment (CAICE)

We invite you to explore our site, learn about our exciting research, and join us to discover fascinating chemistry unique to the Nanoworld!

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Latest News:

12/18/23 Welcome, Ruwini to the Tivanski Group!

12/18/23 Welcome, Thumini to the Tivanski Group!

12/14/22 - Congrats to Akalanka for passing the comprehensive exam!

04/25/22 - Congrats to Chathuri (Graduate College Ballard & Seashore Fellowship)!

04/25/22 - Congrats to Chamika (Graduate College Summer Fellowship)!

01/01/22 - Welcome, Collin to the Tivanski group!

10/29/2021 Research findings on "Cells move by controlling the stiffness of their neighbors" was featured in University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics press release. Congratulations Tivanski lab and Tootle lab.(Link)

08/01/21 - Congratulations to Dr. Hansol Lee for successfully defending his Ph.D. dissertation! We are going to miss you.

06/01/21 - We would like to welcome Akalanka as the new graduate students in our group. Welcome!

05/01/21 - We are very proud of our undergraduate researchers, Matt and Lan, for getting accepted to graduate schools! Matt will pursue a Ph.D. in Biomedical engineering at the University of Iowa and Lan will pursue a Ph.D. in Biology at Syracuse University.

02/05/21 - Congratulations to Chathuri for her first, 1st author publication in Langmuir!

11/17/20 - Congratulations to Dr. Thiranjeewa Lansakara for successfully defending his Ph.D. dissertation! We are going to miss you. 

04/02/20 - All of Tivanski group members are working remotely. Stay healthy! Wash your hands frequently and maintain social distancing.

02/13/20 - Belated welcome to Chamika, Lan, Zhiliang, and Matt for joining the Tivanski group! Apologies for the late notice :)

12/11/19 - Professor Tivanski, Hansol, Thiranjeewa, Chathuri, and Al will present their latest AFM works in the upcoming Pittcon 2020 in Chicago. Come check out our findings!

11/18/19 - Congrats to Samantha for successfully defending her master's thesis!

10/21/19 - Congrats to Chathuri (Graduate College Post-comprehensive Research Fellowship) & Al (ACS Regional Graduate Student Award)!

10/07/19 - Congratulations to our long-term collaborator and colleague, Elias Hasenecz from the Stone group, for his 1st first-author publications in ACS Earth and Space Chemistry!

09/03/19 - Our group meetings are open to anyone interested in joining the Tivanski group. Please contact hansol-lee@uiowa.edu if you wish to attend!

09/01/19 - Congratulations to Al for his 1st, first-author publication in ACS Nano letters.

08/01/19 - Congratulations to our former SSTP student, Vishnu, on winning the Best Poster Award at the SSTP Poster Presentation.

07/15/19 - Congratulations to Dr. Kamal K. Ray, for successfully defending his Ph.D. He will continue his academic endeavors as a postdoctoral fellow with Professor Heather Allen, from Ohio State University.

05/20/19 - Congratulations to Kamal for his first, 1st author publication in the journal of Analytical Chemistry!

05/08/19 - Chathuri passed the comprehensive exam. Congratulations!

04/15/19 - The new edition of The Aerosol Times is out!

04/01/19 - Congratulations to Hansol for being selected for the ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry Graduate Fellowship!

02/10/19 - The latest February edition of The Aerosol Times is here!

02/01/19 - Hansol was recently featured in the Loyola University Chicago's Chemistry department news: Link

01/18/19 - Hansol was recently featured in a graduate student spotlight: Link

01/06/19 - Happy new year! The latest edition of The Aerosol Times is here!

12/12/18 - We would like to welcome Al Tiba and Samantha Wigley as the two new graduate students in our group. Welcome!

11/04/18 - Alexei, Hansol and Chathuri participated in the 2018 CAICE Kick-off meeting in San Diego, California!

10/21/18 - Chathuri gave a ACS Midwest regional conference presentation titled, "Impact of dry versus deposition towards quantifying the organic volume fraction of model SSA"

10/15/18 - Thanks to our colleagues in UW-Madison, for inviting us to participate in the annual Wisconsin Science Festival!

10/5/18 - Congrats to Thiranjeewa, for winning the GSS travel award!

9/30/18 - Congratulations to Hansol, who won three awards, GPSG research grant, GPSG travel award, and GSS travel award!

8/29/18 - For those of you interested in our research group, Hansol, Thiranjeewa, and Kamal will give their ACS presentations again on Friday, 9:30 a.m. on the 31st in E231 during our group meeting! Please do not hesitate to email hansol-lee@uiowa.edu if you would like to sit in. 

8/24/18 - Kamal gave an ACS Boston National meeting presentation on, "Study of the Phase State and Viscoelastic Properties of Individual Substrate Deposited Model Aerosol Systems by Atomic Force Microscopy'.

8/23/18 - Thiranjeewa gave an ACS Boston National meeting presentation on, "Single Molecule Level Studies of Enzyme-ligand Interactions Using Molecular Recognition Atomic Force Spectroscopy".

8/21/18 - Hansol gave an ACS Boston National meeting presentation on, "Surface Tension Measurements of Model and Nascent SSA Using AFM". Thank you for those who attended the talk! Thiranjeewa and Kamal will also be giving presentations in the next few days.

8/01/18 - We welcome new incoming graduate students! Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions.

7/27/18 - REU and SSTP students have presented their summer research at the University of Iowa. Thank you for your hard work! 

7/01/18 - We welcome James and Riley, who will be participating in the summer SSTP research program in our group!

6/01/18 - We welcome Margaret and Courtney, who will be participating in the summer REU research program in our group!

5/28/18 - Congrats to Thiranjeewa for receiving the Teaching Assistant of the Year award in Principles of Physical Chemistry!

5/20/18 - Alexei and Hansol gave invited talks about aerosol research in San Diego, California for Phase IIA/B CAICE meeting!

4/26/18 - 6th graders from Benton Community schools visited our laboratory and saw how our research makes an impact in the world!

4/22/18 - Tivanski group members participated in the annual Sri Lankan Student Association New Year Festival in Iowa City.

4/6/18 - Happy birthday Chathuri!

4/2/18 - Congrats to Kamal & Hansol for receiving the Graduate College Summer Fellowship!

3/30/18 - Welcome, Maddie to the Tivanski group!

3/22/18 - Our aerosol research was featured on the March edition of The Aerosol Times!

3/9/18 - We welcome the prospective graduate students that are visiting! Please do not hesitate to send us emails or stop by to chat!

2/3/18 - Congrats to Hansol for receiving the Graduate Student Award in Environmental Chemistry Award from ACS!

1/9/18 - Congrats to Hansol for receiving the Local Section Outreach Volunteer of the Year Award from ACS!

12/25/17 - Welcome, Eddie to the Tivanski group!

12/20/17 - Welcome, Chathuri to the Tivanski group!

10/11/17 - Congratulations to Thiranjeewa for winning the Graduate College Post-Comprehensive Research Award!

10/6/17 - Hansol's 3 Minute Thesis titled "Aerosols: Mother Nature's Weapon Against Global Warming"

8/25/17 - Congrats to Hansol for receiving the Certificate of Merit from ACS!

8/25/17 -  Kamal, Hansol, and Dr.Tivanski each gave national conference ACS oral presentations about our latest research on sea spray aerosols

8/1/17 - Congrats to Hansol for receiving the Excellence Award for mentoring in the CLEAR program!

7/1/17 - Congrats to Jonic for the "Best Poster" award!

6/9/17 - Kamal's Midwest Organic Solid State Chemistry Symposium titled"Modulation of Electrical Conductivity of Boronic Ester Adduct Host by pi Rich Organic Guests"

5/22/17 - Hansol and Dr.Tivanski fly to San Diego for the CAICE Year 4 site visit from NSF

5/3/17 - Thiranjeewa passed COMPS!

5/1/17 - We welcome Jonic, a highschool student from China, who will be working with us over the summer through the Secondary Student Training Program

4/25/17 - Hansol passed COMPS!

4/24/17 - Thiranjeewa's physical/environmental chemistry seminar titled"Exploring Biomechanical Interactions at the Nanoscale"

4/22/17 - Kamals' Iowa Academy of Science oral presentation titled "Mechanical Properties of Individual Substrate-deposited Sea Spray Aerosol Particles"

4/21/17 - Hansol volunteered as a judge in Iowa Academy of Science to evaluate oral presentations from bright highschool students in Iowa

4/1/17 - Congrats to Kamal, who received Graduate College Summer Fellowship!

3/9/17 - Hansol leaves from Pittcon to Madison for a 2-week long collaborative experiment with colleagues from UC-Davis and UW-Madison

3/8/17 - Hansol's Pittcon talk titled "Measuring Surface Tension from Sub- to Super-Saturated Regimes of Submicrometer SIngle Particles Using AFM"

2/27/17 - Hansol's physical/environmental chemistry seminar titled " From Sea Spray Aerosol to Clouds: Surface Tension from Sub- to Super-Saturated Regimes of Single Particles"