Curriculum vitae
Sidney Starr
Chemistry PhD student, University of Chicago. Electrochemistry, spectroscopy, instrument design and machine learning for experiments.
Online version: https://sidneystarr.com/cv/
Education
PhD, Chemistry
University of Chicago
Hsu Group. Admitted to candidacy, December 2023.
Expected June 2027
MS, Chemistry
University of Chicago
2023 (conferred 2025)
BS, Chemistry, magna cum laude
Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles
May 2022
Research experience
Graduate Research Assistant
Hsu Group, University of Chicago
April 2023 – present
- Investigating the mechanisms of reversible epitaxial zinc electrodeposition, to reduce dendrite formation in aqueous zinc batteries, using operando Raman spectroscopy and SHINERS.
- Designed and built a custom in-situ Raman electrochemical cell from scratch, 3D-printed in PETG, to eliminate leaks and contamination during measurements.
- Leading development of an AI-driven experimental optimization platform to accelerate materials discovery; benchmarking ridge regression, random forests and neural networks with Yuxin Chen’s group, with active learning next.
- Wrote the proposal for, and won, a traineeship in the NSF AI-Enabled Materials program (NRT-AIMEMS).
- Present weekly to an interdisciplinary research group, turning findings into changes in experimental design.
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Loyola Marymount University
Aug 2021 – May 2022
- Studied the energetics of mononuclear photocatalysts with computational methods (DFT, Gaussian).
Publications & presentations
Thesis publications in preparation.
- Starr, S. “Investigating proposed novel mononuclear first-row transition metal catalysts for photooxidation of water.” Poster, ACS Spring Meeting, San Diego, CA, March 2022.In plain terms: computer simulations of cheap-metal catalysts that could help use sunlight to split water.
Honors & awards
- NSF Research Traineeship, AI-Enabled Materials (NRT-AIMEMS)Fall 2025 – Fall 2026
- AIC Overall Best Graduating Senior in Chemistry2022
- Magna cum laude, Loyola Marymount University2022
- CRC Press Freshman Chemistry Achievement Award2019
- Arrupe Scholarship, Loyola Marymount University2018 – 2022
Teaching & professional experience
Teaching Assistant
Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago
Sept 2022 – June 2024
- Taught and graded honors general chemistry I–III for 100+ students per quarter; led recitations, exam reviews, office hours and lab sections.
Geochemistry Analyst
ACS Laboratories, Steamboat Springs, CO
Nov 2020 – May 2021
- Analyzed geochemical samples under standard operating procedures; supported day-to-day lab operations and sample management.
Teaching Assistant and Chemistry Tutor
Loyola Marymount University
Sept 2019 – May 2022
- Taught and graded general chemistry I–II and physical chemistry I; prepared physical chemistry labs; tutored through the Academic Resource Center.
Outreach & leadership
Table Lead, Department of Molecular Engineering
South Side Science Festival, University of Chicago
Aug 2024 – present
Design and run a hands-on materials demonstration for festival visitors (4,300+ attendees).
Youth Group Advisor
BBYO, Chicago
Aug 2025 – present
Mentor a group of 30+ teens.
Captain, Division I Rowing
Loyola Marymount University
Aug 2018 – May 2022
Elected captain for the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons.
Skills
- Spectroscopy
- Operando Raman spectroscopy, SHINERS
- Electrochemistry
- Aqueous zinc-ion batteries, zinc electrodeposition TODO(Sidney): techniques, e.g. CV, galvanostatic cycling
- Instrumentation
- CAD, 3D printing (PETG, Bambu Lab X2D), custom spectroelectrochemical cells
- Computation & ML
- Python, machine-learning pipelines (regression, random forests, neural networks), DFT (Gaussian), Swift/SwiftUI
- Communication
- Technical translation for non-experts, grant writing, project management, team leadership and mentoring
Selected graduate coursework
Electrochemical Principles and Methods · Wave Mechanics and Spectroscopy · Solids, Materials, Surfaces · Statistical Thermodynamics · AI, Automation, and Autonomous Experimentation for Materials Discovery (audited)
Interests
340-mile non-stop kayak racing (three races) · ski instructor · drones · 3D printing · building games