Mercedes Taylor
Contact Info
Phone: 301-405-1847
Group Website
Mercedes Taylor
Assistant Professor

Education

  • Ph.D., Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, 2018
  • B.A., Chemistry, Amherst College, 2011

 Professional Experience

  • Assistant Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Univ. of Maryland, College Park
  • Jill Hruby Fellow in National Security Science and Engineering, Sandia National Labs, 2018-2021
  • Post-Baccalaureate Intramural Research Training Awardee, National Institutes of Health, 2011-2013

Research Interests

Inorganic and organic synthesis, porous materials, supramolecular assembly, water purification, ion separations

Recognitions and Honors

  • Doctoral New Investigator Award , Petroleum Research Fund, American Chemical Society (2024)
  • Separation Science Core Award, Basic Energy Sciences, Department of Energy (2023)
  • Moore Inventor Fellowship (2023)
  • Faculty-Student Research Award, Graduate School, University of Maryland (2023)
  • IF/THEN Ambassador, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2019-2022)
  • Teagle Foundation Award for Excellence in Enhancing Student Learning (2016)
  • Teaching Effectiveness Award, University of California, Berkeley (2016)
  • Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, University of California, Berkeley (2016)
  • Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation (2015-2018)
The Taylor group uses the tools of inorganic and organic synthesis to design novel materials, including supramolecular cages, covalent organic frameworks, and porous organic polymers. We study these materials for applications in water purification and critical metal capture. We exert synthetic control over the structure of porous materials to achieve selectivity for desired guest molecules and to maximize crystallinity and aqueous stability.

Structural design of metal caged used for water purification