Lasers and gold — and a doctorate — draw graduate student to Minnesota

MaKenna Koble moved from small town to big city for sustainable chemistry experts

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (08/15/2026)—MaKenna Koble spent a lot of time with lasers — and gold that was invisible to the unaided eye. Her mission was to power chemical reactions in a dark lab by focusing light on the metal nanoparticles.

Koble grew up in Vermillion, South Dakota, a population of about 11,600. She chose to move to Minneapolis for graduate school for several reasons.

“The cutting-edge research at the University of Minnesota was so exciting to me,” said Koble, who earned her Ph.D. in May. 

“I was also drawn to the students, staff and faculty here in the College of Science and Engineering. There is an emphasis on being a community, and there is a huge priority on mental health.”

Koble, now a post-doc in Wisconsin, was a member of the plasmon-driven chemistry research group led by University of Minnesota Northrop Professor Renee Frontiera.

“Using sunlight to drive chemical reactions, instead of fossil fuels, is the big impact we’re trying to make” said Koble, a recipient of the CSE Demaster Fellowship. “My samples were typically about 800 nanometers in size, and I had to figure out the correct amount of nanoparticles that can simulate the specific chemical reaction.”

Away from the lab, Koble enjoyed life in the Twin Cities.

“Being a big city was so different from anything that I had grown up with,” she said. “At first it was really overwhelming to be in a place with three million people, but I’ve really grown to love Minneapolis. You get the culture and arts here, and you get to experience different types of foods too.”

Fortune 500 companies are Minnesota’s other advantage, she noted.

“The corporate and industrial organizations in the Twin Cities area are huge for graduate students because they represent opportunities to do internships over the summer or during the semester, which broadens your skill set while in grad school,” said Koble.

“For graduate students looking for jobs, it's really a great opportunity to have such big, well-known companies so close and so local.”

Koble served as president of the University of Minnesota Chemistry Community of Graduate Students and was involved in various outreach activities for the chemistry department. This included assisting with the popular Energy and U, plus creating demos to take to elementary, middle and high schools across Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Learn about her University of Minnesota research in the video below.

Story and video interview by Pauline Oo