About AJA
- B.Sc. (2008) & Ph.D. (2013) degrees, as a joint NSF and Merck Lab graduate Fellow, from North Dakota State University (NDSU) – Mentor: Professor Sivaguru Jayaraman
- June 2013 – July 2016: UNCF-Merck Postdoctoral Fellow and University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellow – Mentor: Professor Miguel Garcia-Garibay at UCLA
- Awards
- NSF (2023)
- NSF Early CAREER Award (2018)
- NOBCChE Young Scientist Award (2021)
- Illinois Science & Technology Coalition “Researcher to Know” (2020)
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Other Awards & Honors
- Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship, Kenyatta & Machakos University, Kenya (Host: Dr. Mbuvi and Okello) (June– July 2023)
- UIC John Nuveen Int’l Collaboration Award (with Kenyatta & Machakos Universities, Kenya), 2021–2022
- Lloyd N. Ferguson Young Scientist Award for Research Excellence from NOBCChE (2021)
- Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship, Machakos University, Kenya (Host: Dr. Veronica Okello) (May–June 2021)
- Researcher to Know Award from the Illinois Science & Technology Coalition, IL (October 2020)
- Brown & Williamson Distinguished Guest Lectureship at the University of Louisville, KY (October 2019)
- Distinguished Guest Lectureship at the 2019 Frontier Areas in Chemical Technologies Conference at Alagappa University, India (July 2019)
- ACS Project SEED Award to support Undergraduate Researchers (Summer 2019)
- Several Argonne National Laboratory-Center for Nanoscale Materials User Proposal Awards (since 2017) to use the ultra-fast spectroscopy facility
- Chemistry Club (IIT Chapter) Recognition as Faculty Advisor by the ACS (2017–2018)
- UNCF-Merck Lab–Science Initiative Postdoctoral Fellowship Recipient (2013–2016)
- UCLA Chancellor Postdoctoral Fellowship (2013–2016)
- Scholarship and Travel Award recipient to attend Green Chemistry Gordon Research Seminars and Conference in Italy (2012)
- NASA Space Grant Award to support Internship at Goddard Space Flight Center (January to April 2012)
- Carl Storm Underrepresented Minority Fellowship to attend Gordon Research Conference in Photochemistry (2011)
- ACS Green Chemistry School Participant Award (2011)
- The Lendon N. Pridgen, GlaxoSmithKline – NOBCChE Fellowship Award (2011)
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Recipient (2010–2013)
- UNCF-Merck Lab–Science Initiative Graduate Research Fellowship Recipient (2010–2012)
- GCOE Fellowship, Osaka University, Japan (Prof. Yoshihisa Inoue) (2009 & 2010)
- NDSU-Chemistry Department: Academic & Research Excellence Award (2008)
- NDSU-Chemistry Department: Richard-Wedel Scholarship (2007)
- NDSU McNair Scholarship (2007–2008)
