Dr. Rubasinghege is committed to building and maintaining a diverse research team. His aim is to assist each team member in developing a strong research foundation so that each individual’s challenges are a result of their scientific ability rather than their gender, race, or disabilities.  We believe in the importance of developing creativity, critical thinking, scholarship, and independence as successful traits in our team.

Gayan earned his B.S. in Chemistry at the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka (2005), and Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Iowa with Vicki H. Grassian (2011). After receiving his doctorate degree, he started his career as a Postdoctoral Research Scholar at the University of Iowa. During this time he was also rewarded the opportunity to work as a visiting assistant professor at the Department of Chemistry. Thereafter he was offered Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Saint Cloud State University, MN. In August 2014, he began his independent research career at NMT. Gayan is the recipient of several awards including A. Lynn Anderson Award for Excellence in Graduate Research (2010) and nominated for the Graduate College D.C. Spriestersbach Dissertation Prize (2012). His research group activities include simulated laboratory studies to discover hidden reaction pathways and mechanisms of complex environmental processes, understand molecular level insights of surface chemistry and photochemistry of mineral oxides and engineered nanoparticles, and develop of catalytic systems for wastewater treatments.

Rifat Khan completed his Bachelor of Pharmacy from East West University, Bangladesh and Master of Pharmacy from State University of Bangladesh. Before coming to NMT, he contributed to several research projects evaluating the in vitro and in vivo biological activities of traditional medicinal plants. In Fall 2021, he joined NMT Chemistry graduate program and showed his interest in Environmental Chemistry lab. His research lies in the crossroads of environmental chemistry, ecotoxicology and analytical science. Particularly, integrating analytical methods and realistic biological assessment, he seeks to uncover the trait, transport and transformation of the emerging contaminants, including pharmaceuticals, PFAS and mine dust and to unfold their biological implications under realistic conditions.

Malsha Completed her BSc honors in Environmental sciences at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. She was involved in MgO nanomaterial synthesis using hydrothermal method and application for water purification as an undergraduate. In December 2022 she joined the environmental chemistry group at NMT chemistry department. She is currently working on toxicological studies on inhalable metal and non-metal dust, novel method development of nano ilmenite synthesis for environmental applications and atmospheric processing of coal fly ash.

 Ishara earned her B.Sc. (Honours) in Environmental Conservation & Management at the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka (2025) and B.Sc. (Honors) in Chemical Science at the Institute of Chemistry Ceylon, Sri Lanka (2023). While pursuing her bachelor’s degrees, she was involved in projects related to Environmental Science, Toxicology, and Nanotechnology. She joined the group in spring 2026 and is currently working on wildfire particulate matter, focusing on surface specialization and its toxicological consequences.

Xavier is an undergraduate student pursuing a BS in Chemistry. He joined the research group near the end of the 2025 fall semester. His research focuses on the environmental health concerns regarding dust generated in metal mines. This involves testing the adsorption of metal mine dust in simulated gastrointestinal fluid, and the testing of the synthesis of tumor necrosis factor due to the exposure of iinhalable meal  dust in human cell lines.

Former Graduate Students:

Former Undergraduate Students:

1. Chase Kicker

2. Sean Standiford

3. Omar Harub

4. Zane Arias

5. Sarah Bockisch

6. Shaylene Paul

7. Sabino Maldonado-Torres

8. Andrew Chen

9. Omar Ordonez

10. Jason LeBoeuf

11. Kaitlynn Macias

12.  Victor Schiller