Congratulations to our 2026 Student Award Recipients!
2026 Barbara Stull Graduate Student Award Recipients
Justin I. Borrero-Negrón, University of Florida
Supervisor: Dr. Kyle Hartig
Justin I. Borrero-Negrón is a Ph.D. candidate working with Dr. Kyle Hartig at the University of Florida. Prior to his doctoral studies, he earned both a B.S. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico, where his research focused on heterogeneous catalytic reactions for fuel-production systems during extraterrestrial voyages.
Following a shift in career interests, Justin was awarded the DoD SMART Scholarship and is pursuing a career supporting nuclear forensics and nonproliferation efforts. His current research focuses on advancing laser-based spectroscopic diagnostics to enhance analytical capabilities for laser-induced plasmas, widely used for material characterization, thin-film processing, and the development of predictive models for post-detonation scenarios.
His work spans from machine-learning-enhanced LIBS for characterization of special nuclear materials, investigation of laser–particle interactions using single-particle optical trapping, and plasma reactivity and species formation in laser-produced plasmas. Building on his background in chemical kinetics, his research relies on optical emission spectroscopy and laser-induced fluorescence diagnostics to investigate plasma dynamics, morphology, and reaction pathways. His work has contributed to improving the understanding of plume evolution relevant to analytical spectroscopy and nuclear forensics applications, resulting in multiple peer-reviewed publications and collaborations across several research groups within the nuclear security space.
Spencer Witte, The Ohio State University
Supervisor: Dr. Zachary D Schultz
Spencer Witte is a PhD candidate in Analytical chemistry, and Robert H. Edgerley Environmental Toxicology fellow at The Ohio State University where he works on vibrational spectroscopy and machine learning approaches to biological systems. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Nebraska at Omaha with a BS in chemistry where he studied the export of pesticides from a mixed restored prairie and agricultural land use.
When he arrived at Ohio State, he joined Zac Schultz’s lab and began his studies using confocal Raman microscopy to study hair samples derived from an ionizing radiation exposed mouse model. In collaboration with the team at Ohio State, his work demonstrated that hair protein was oxidatively damaged and Raman signals could be used to predict radiation exposure leading to a patent application and a publication in the Radiation Research Society’s journal, Radiation Research. At Ohio State, he has served as the Treasurer and President of ChemTALKS, a student organization that organizes the Mack lecture.
In the Fall, he will be joining the faculty at Chatham University as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sciences where his research will focus on vibrational spectroscopy combined with machine learning approaches to gain new chemical insights into model and point-of-need biological systems. Spencer is excited to begin his independent career in teaching and research, and he would like to thank the awards committee for this distinction
2026 Undergraduate Student Award Recipient
Abbey Gentile, University of North Florida
Supervisor: Dr. Willis Jones
Abbey Gentile is a junior undergraduate student at the University of North Florida majoring in Chemistry with a minor in criminal justice. She has been a member of Dr. Willis Jones’ research laboratory since August 2025 working on the development of novel calibration methods, focusing on both laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). She is a coauthor on one publication using liquid-phase LIBS to directly determine lithium in saturated salt solutions, and is in the process of writing a first author manuscript incorporating the standard dilution analysis (SDA) technique into LIBS measurements. She has always loved being in the laboratory and working with these advanced instruments has enhanced her passion for chemistry and has encouraged her to pursue a PhD in analytical chemistry upon completion of her bachelor’s degree. She is hoping to be able to attend the SciX 2026 conference to deeply explore ongoing research in spectroscopy and to share her research with other scientists for the first time at a conference external to UNF.
