The Team

Annie Colebatch

Annie moved to the Australian National University in 2019 as a Rita Cornforth Fellow at the Research School of Chemistry. In 2020 she was awarded an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA). Prior to this, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge with Prof Dominic Wright, the University of Oxford with Prof Andrew Weller, and the University of Bath with Prof Michael Hill. Annie completed her PhD at the Australian National University with Prof Anthony Hill.

Ryan Kirk

Ryan completed his Masters at the University of Canterbury (New Zealand), followed by a PhD in arsenic chemistry in the Hill group at ANU. He is currently a teaching and research fellow based in the Colebatch group, where he is working on heterobimetallic complexes while getting side-tracked by fun shiny things. In his spare time, Ryan enjoys cooking (although he can always improve) and mountain biking (when the weather is good). While at the ANU, Ryan has found a particular fondness of teaching and demonstrating the chemical sciences; he hopes to continue this passion into a career.

Madeleine Stewart

Madeleine completed her Honours in 2022 at the ANU with Prof Tony Hill and Dr Jamie Hicks and started her PhD with the group in 2024 as a Westpac Scholar. She is interested in potential electrochemical and photochemical applications of bimetallic complexes, while daydreaming about better spectroscopic handles. Outside the lab, Madeleine enjoys climbing and being outdoors (walking, mountain biking, slacklining, swimming).

Chenfei Xie

Chenfei graduated with an MSc in Chemistry from Nanjing University in China and joined the group in June 2024 as a joint student with Prof Yun Liu’s group as part of the ARC Centre of Excellence on Carbon Science and Innovation. Her project focuses on designing and synthesising MOFs for catalytic and functional materials applications. In her free time, she enjoys watching stand-up comedy, jogging and playing with her cute dog, Budiu.

Riley Withycombe

Riley is undertaking his PhD in the Colebatch and Hill groups, after having completed Honours at ANU. He is exploring the reductive chemistry of a range of monometallic and bimetallic complexes featuring redox-active ligands. When he is not doing chemistry, Riley, will either lock himself inside with a good video game or book, or go outside to go on walks and touch grass.

Krishi Aranja

Krishi has joined the group as a visiting master’s student from the University of Edinburgh. He will spend the next year working on a collaborative project between the Colebatch and the White groups, focusing on metal binding in supramolecular hydrazone cages. After completing the year, he will return to Edinburgh to graduate in July 2027. In his free time, Krishi stays active by playing a variety of sports and enjoys playing the drums.