Dakota Lorenz

Dakota Lorenz holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry (pending final dissertation revisions) from Colorado State University. His graduate research in Dr. Justin Sambur’s lab focused on implementing Scanning Electrochemical Cell Microscopy (SECCM) to investigate discrepancies between dark current and photocurrent responses of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanoflake semiconductor electrodes.

He earned dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Chemistry and Psychology from CSU, where he gained diverse undergraduate research experience. Under Rebecca Aponte (supervised by Dr. Ernest Chavez), Dakota assisted in a nationwide literature review of addiction counselor credentialing, identifying major state-by-state discrepancies in educational requirements with a focus on training for dual diagnosis populations. In Dr. Lucy Troup’s lab, he investigated the effects of residual cannabis use and subclinical depression on emotional recognition and neural responses (P3 ERP). With Dr. Amber Krummel, he helped develop PDMS-based microfluidic devices and utilized Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy to study biochemical reactions.

Dakota also brings extensive teaching and mentoring experience. He served as a General Chemistry Laboratory Instructor for five semesters, guiding students through experimental design, chemical safety, and data analysis, and as a Math Tutor for seven semesters, mentoring students in algebra, trigonometry, calculus, differential equations, and linear algebra. Before graduate school, he worked for three years as a Certified Addictions Counselor I, providing support to at-risk youth in residential and transitional programs.