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We are a research lab in the Department of Chemistry at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA.
We are interested in how heterogeneity at the nanoscale impacts the properties and functions of nanomaterials. Much of our work is focused on plasmonic nanoparticles and how they interact with light to enable a variety of applications for sensing, spectroscopy, catalysis, and energy conversion.
Heterogeneity statement: Noble metal nanoparticles vary in terms of their shape, size, composition, surface chemistry, and more. These differences make each nanoparticle unique and worth investigating one at a time in order to understand how properties of single entities contribute to overall performance and function. The Willets lab brings that same ethos to mentoring, education, and outreach, where embracing heterogeneity is a core value of the group.
Lab News
Lab News
August 14, 2025. CSENND is announced as a Phase II NSF Center for Chemical Innovation! The Willets lab is thrilled to continue to work with this talented group to accelerate the discovery and understanding of nanocrystals through single entity measurements.
July 2025. Zac attends the 74th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Chemistry and Baden-Wurttemberg Post Programme Meeting as a Young Scientist in Germany.
May 29, 2025. High school students from Newark Academy visit the Willets lab for a day of hands on science.
May 23, 2025. The Willets lab hosts our annual Buckets and Beakers outreach event with students from Dunbar Elementary.
April 29, 2025. Bianca successfully defends her Ph.D. Congratulations Dr. Paranzino!
March 28, 2025. Zac receives a Temple University Graduate School Doctoral Dissertation Completion Grant. Congrats to Zac!
July 16, 2025. Our collaborative perspective on metal nanocrystal heterogeneity is published in ACS Nanoscience Au.
April 24, 2025. Sanjay and Marie's collaborative paper comparing iSCAT and dark field scattering is published in J. Phys. Chem. Lett.
March 25, 2025. Sanjay receives an Outstanding Student Poster Award from the ACS PHYS division at the Spring 2025 ACS National Meeting in San Diego. Great job, Sanjay!
December 18, 2024. Marie receives the Guy F. Allen Memorial Teaching Award, which recognizes outstanding T.A.s in Chemistry for excellence in teaching. Well deserved, Marie!
December 18, 2024. Zac receives the Francis H. Case Fellowship Award, which recognizes graduate students exhibiting the highest, most exemplary levels of accomplishment in research. Outstanding, Zac!
December 16, 2025. Avery joins the group as a first year graduate student. Welcome Avery!
December 11, 2025. Abby successfully defends her Ph.D. Congratulations Dr. (Crawford) Bender!
November 19, 2024. The Willets lab hosts students from Dunbar Elementary for "Magnifying Minds," an educational event as part of CSENND.
October 8, 2024. Mint's collaborative paper on optically transparent electrodes is published in ACS Electrochemistry.
October 1, 2024. Kallie's Perspective on super-resolution SERS imaging is published in ACS Nano.
July 2, 2024. Our collaborative J. Chem. Ed. paper on using murals to expose the public to concepts of size and scale is published.
June 15, 2024. Sanjay chairs the Noble Metal Nanoparticle Gordon Research Seminar with longtime collaborator Claire West.
June 7, 2024. Zac's paper with the Skrabalak lab about using CLocK microscopy to determine nanorod size is published in Nano Letters.
May 27, 2024. Sanjay directs a video for CSENND to help students understand different length scales. Marie and Bianca (and an ant named Paul Rudd) star in this amazing production!
May 10, 2024. Our collaborative review with Lane Baker's group on single entity electrochemistry is published in Analytical Chemistry.
April 11, 2024. The Willets lab hosts lab alum Andrew Wilson for a departmental seminar.
March 19, 2024. Mint, Sanjay and Zac (along with other students from CSENND) lead a fantastic graduate student symposium at the 2024 spring ACS meeting.
March 1, 2024. The Willets lab visits lab alum Nat Molina's class at Delran High School for Adventures in Silver.
January 8, 2024. Undergraduate Ustyna Danylovych joins the group! Welcome!
December 22, 2023. Kallie receives the Dean's Distinguished Excellence in Mentoring Award.
November 30, 2023. First year grad students Marie Nikolov and Ryan Piscopo join the Willets lab! Welcome!
August 25, 2023. Zac wins best talk and Mint wins best poster at the Temple Postdoc Symposium. Well done!
August 23, 2023. Bianca ties for first and Mint and Sanjay tie for third at the Philadelphia ACS Younger Chemists Committee Poster Session. Congrats!
July 10, 2023. Ekta Verma and Megan Knobloch from the Skrabalak group visit the lab for a week as part of our CSENND Center for Chemical Innovation.
March 20, 2023. The Willets lab welcomes Dr. Vignesh Sundaresan (Ph.D. 2018) and Dr. Yun Yu (postdoc 2016-2019) back for a visit.
March 9, 2023. Abby and Sanjay successfully mentor two science fair teams to 2nd and 3rd place finishes at the George Washington Carver Science Fair. Visit our outreach page to learn more!
December 13, 2022. Nat successfully defends her Ph.D. Congratulations Dr. Molina!
December 9, 2022. Joe successfully defends his Ph.D. Congratulations Dr. Monaghan!
December 7, 2022. The Willets lab welcomes our two newest first year graduate students, Hind and Deepika!
November 7, 2022. Our paper on calcite-assisted localization and kinetics (CLocK) microscopy is published in J. Phys. Chem. Lett.
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