I did my final research seminar on March 4, 2015 and graduated from UA Tuscaloosa in May 2015. I lived in Forest Lake neighborhood for my entire graduate career, and survived a direct hit from the epic 4-27-2011 Tuscaloosa tornado. These were not ideal conditions for focusing on research. I participated in community rebuilding and maintained an optimistic attitude. The UA art department featured my tornado photos as a symbol of remembrance on the 5th annual tornado-versary.

Dissertation abstract:

Electronic structure investigations of titanium oxide nanoclusters, boron-nitrogen heterocycles, and reaction products of lanthanides with oxygen difluoride and lanthanides with water

List of Scientific Publications:

Tanya Mikulas, Mingyang Chen, Zongtang Fang, Kirk A Peterson, Lester Andrews, David A Dixon; Structures and Properties of the Products of the Reaction of Lanthanide Atoms with H₂O: Dominance of the +II Oxidation State; 2016.

Amit Kumar, Jacob S A Ishibashi, Thomas N Hooper, Tanya Mikulas, David A Dixon, Shih-Yuan Liu, Andrew S Weller; The Synthesis, Characterization and Dehydrogenation of Sigma-Complexes of BN-Cyclohexanes; 2015.

Gang Chen, Lev N Zakharov, Mark E Bowden, Abhijeet J Karkamkar, Sean M Whittemore, Edward B Garner, Tanya Mikulas, David A Dixon, Tom Autrey, Shih-Yuan Liu; Bis-BN Cyclohexane: A Remarkably Kinetically Stable Chemical Hydrogen Storage Material; 2015.

Alec N Brown, Lev N Zakharov, Tanya Mikulas, David A Dixon, Shih-Yuan Liu; Rhodium-Catalyzed B–H Activation of 1,2-Azaborines: Synthesis and Characterization of BN Isosteres of Stilbenes; 2014.

Tanya Mikulas, Mingyang Chen, David A Dixon, Kirk A Peterson, Yu Gong, Lester Andrews; Reactions of Lanthanide Atoms with Oxygen Difluoride and the Role of the Ln Oxidation State; 2014.

Senmiao Xu, Tanya Mikulas, Lev N Zakharov, David A Dixon, Shih-Yuan Liu; Boron-Substituted 1,3-Dihydro-1,3-azaborines: Synthesis, Structure, and Evaluation of Aromaticity; 2013.

Tanya Mikulas, Zongtang Fang, James L. Gole, Mark G. White, David A. Dixon; The Presence of Ti(II) Centers in Doped Nanoscale TiO2 and TiO2-xNx; 2012.

List of Photography Publications:

Capstone Educator 2011 Yearbook, page 4 and back cover

salvaging optimism Kickstarter, 2012

UA-Tuscaloosa Art Department 5 year tornado remembrance, April 27, 2016