1. GERARDO SORIANO
10045 Cristobal Dr., Spring Valley, CA 91977 | 619-227-0996 | gsoriano88@hotmail.com | website: gsoriano.org
EDUCATION
San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
Bachelor of Science in Chemical Physics Expected May 2015
Overall GPA 3.40
SDSU GPA 3.55
Major GPA 3.60
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
San Diego State University, Department of Chemistry, San Diego, CA
Undergraduate Researcher; Advisor: Andrew Cooksy September 2013 – Present
Project Title: An Ab Initio Study on the Isomerization of the Cyclooctatetraenyl Radical (C8H7).
φ Ran electronic structure calculations on molecular systems using coupled cluster
and density functional theory as implemented in the Gaussian 09 and Molpro
software packages.
φ Calculated and analyzed multi-dimensional potential energy surfaces (PES) of
open-shell polyatomic molecules, in particular the cyclooctatetraenyl radical
(C8H7).
φ Solved the vibrational Schrödinger equation on anharmonic PESs utilizing our lab’s
ab initio solver package FEMvib.
Duke University, Department of Chemistry, Durham, NC
NSF REU Research Intern; Advisor: Stephen Craig June 2013 – August 2013
Project Title: Force-Activated Molecules in Polymers.
φ Synthesized force-activated molecules (mechanophores) and mechanophore-
containing polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) materials.
φ Conducted mechanical tensile tests and fluorescence microscopy investigations on
PDMS-mechanophore films.
φ Quantified mechanical and physical properties of PDMS-mechanophore materials
(e.g., Young’s modulus, strain energy, and cross-link density).
University of San Diego, Department of Chemistry, San Diego, CA
NSF REU Research Intern; Advisor: Peter Iovine June 2012 – August 2012
Project Title: End-Functionalized Amphiphilic Hybrid Copolymers.
φ Synthesized natural-synthetic amphiphilic hybrid copolymers, in particular
urethane-linked polyesters with pendant starch grafts using azide-alkyne click
chemistry.
φ Employed the following organic chemistry and analytical techniques for
determination of chemical substances: gel permeation chromatography (GPC),
proton NMR, IR spectroscopy, gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS),
and fluorescence microscopy.

2. GERARDO SORIANO PAGE 2
PUBLICATIONS
1) Mechanochemical Activation of Covalent Bonds in Polymers with Full and Repeatable Macroscopic Shape Recovery
Gregory R. Gossweiler, Gihan B. Hewage, Gerardo Soriano, Qiming Wang, Garrett W. Welshofer, Xuanhe Zhao, and
Stephen L. Craig
ACS Macro Letters 2014 3 (3), 216-219
2) Amphiphilic Graft Copolymers from End-Functionalized Starches: Synthesis, Characterization, Thin Film Preparation
and Small Molecule Loading
Lisa M. Ryno, Cassandra Reese, McKenzie Tolan, Jeffrey O’Brien, Gabriel Short, Gerardo Soriano, Jason Nettleton,
Kayleen Fulton, and Peter M. Iovine
Biomacromolecules 2014 15 (8), 2944-2951
PRESENTATIONS
1) Soriano, G., Zajac, P., & Cooksy, A. A Theoretical Study on the Isomerization of the Cyclooctatetraenyl
Radical. Poster presented at the 2014 ABRCMS, San Antonio, TX, November 14, 2014. Poster award in
chemistry.
2) Soriano, G., Zajac, P., & Cooksy, A. A Theoretical Study on the Isomerization of the Cyclooctatetraenyl
Radical. Orally presented at the 2014 Undergraduate Research Symposium, San Diego State University, San
Diego, CA, October 3, 2014.
3) Soriano, G., Zajac, & Cooksy, A. P. Vibrational Energies and Wavefunctions on a 3D Tonal, Coupled Cluster
Isomerization Potential Energy Surface of Cyclooctatetraenyl Radical. Poster presented at the 248 th
American
Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting and Exposition, San Francisco, CA, August 10-14, 2014.
4) Soriano, G., & Cooksy, A. An Ab Initio Study on the Isomerization of the Cyclooctatetraenyl Radical. Orally
presented at the 2014 Student Research Symposium, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, March 7,
2014. Awarded the President’s award. *Also presented at the CSU Student Research Competition, CSU
Hayward, Hayward, CA, May 2-3, 2014.
5) Soriano, G., Gossweiler, G.R., & Craig, S.L. Force-Activated Molecules in Polymers. Orally presented at the
2013 Undergraduate Research Symposium, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, December 6, 2013.
SELECTED INTERDISCIPLINARY COURSEWORK
φ Chemistry: Organic Chemistry I and II, Analytical Chemistry, and Physical Chemistry I and II
φ Physics: Classical Mechanics I, Classical Electromagnetism I, Quantum Mechanics I, and graduate-level
Quantum Mechanics I
φ Mathematics: Introduction to Linear Algebra, Elementary Differential Equations, Methods of Applied
Mathematics I and II
φ Biology: Molecular Biology I
TUTORING AND OUTREACH
Andrew L. Cooksy: K-12 Outreach Programs - 3D Molecular Modeling Workshops
San Diego High School (San Diego, CA, December 2014), Mission Bay High School
(San Diego, CA, November 2014), West Hills High School (Santee, CA, May 2014),
and San Diego State University Science Sampler (San Diego, CA, March 2014).
March 2014 – December 2014

3. GERARDO SORIANO PAGE 3
Cambridge Learning Center, 4444 El Cajon Blvd Ste 10, San Diego, CA 92115
Math Tutor April 2013 – August 2013
Tutored K-12 students in elementary mathematics, algebra I and II, and geometry.
AWARDS
ABRCMS 2014 Poster Presentation Award in Chemistry, San Antonio, TX November 2014
President’s Award, SDSU Student Research Symposium March 2014
NIH-funded Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) honors program June 2013 – Present
LANGUAGES
English – native language
Spanish – speak fluently and read/write with proficiency
MEMBERSHIPS
Student Member, American Chemical Society (2010 – Present)
REFERENCES
Andrew Cooksy
Professor of Chemistry
San Diego State University
5500 Campanile Dr.
San Diego, CA 92115
(619) 594-5571
acooksy@mail.sdsu.edu
Stephen Craig
Professor and Department Chair
of Chemistry
Duke University
Durham, NC 27708
(919) 660-1538
stephen.craig@duke.edu
Peter Iovine
Professor of Chemistry
University of San Diego
5998 Alcalá Park
San Diego, CA 92110
(619) 260-4028
piovine@sandiego.edu