Nate Romero was born and raised in Grand Rapids, MI. He attended Calvin University as an undergraduate, where he conducted research under the mentorship of Prof. Carolyn Anderson and received a B.S. in chemistry in 2012. Working with Prof. Dave Nicewicz at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, Nate studied photoredox catalysis as a NSF Graduate Research Fellow and received his PhD in 2017. Shortly after, Nate joined the lab of Prof. Tim Swager at MIT, where he developed an interest in polymer science and carried out postdoctoral research as a NIH Postdoctoral Fellow. Nate began his appointment in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UC San Diego as Assistant Professor in 2020.

Nate enjoys a number of outdoor and creative pursuits, including woodworking, cycling, fishing, hiking, camping, and surfing.

Graduate Student | YEAR 5

Emily was born and raised in New York. She earned her B.A. in Chemistry from Barnard College of Columbia University in 2020, where she conducted research in the lab of Dr. Christian M. Rojas. There she worked to optimize the stereoselective amidoglycosylation of glucose and galactose derivatives. It was through training as a carbohydrate chemist that she discovered her love for synthetic chemistry. Emily joined the Romero lab in 2021, where she is investigating the synthesis of Frustrated Lewis Pair polymers.

Outside of the lab, Emily likes to roller skate, bake cookies, and tend to her many plants.

Graduate Student | YEAR 4 - NSF GRFP Awardee

Rylan Rowsey was born and raised in Helena, MT. He earned his B.A. in Chemistry from Montana State University in 2021. There he worked under the tutelage of Dr. Nicholas Stadie and Dr. Robert Szilagyi investigating the adsorption properties of zeolite-templated carbons using computational methods. When looking for graduate schools Rylan had two criteria, warm climate and cool research. Luckily, he found his home here at UC San Diego in the Romero lab, which definitely fits the criteria.

Outside the lab, you’ll likely find Rylan playing Dungeons and Dragons, writing, baking, and going to Wendy’s where he hopes to one day achieve his life goal of getting a sponsorship.

Graduate Student | YEAR 4

Roxanne spent most of her life in Eagle River, Alaska before attending Chapman University to earn degrees in chemistry and music. There she worked with Dr. Liberman-Martin on ring-opening polymerization of biodegradable monomers with transition metal-free catalysts. Her work on sustainable plastics now continues in the Romero lab which she joined in Jan 2022.

Roxanne likes to travel at any given opportunity and is often found at the San Diego airport on Friday evenings. She also enjoys video games, playing the violin, cooking, exercising, and having a healthy sleep schedule.

Graduate Student | YEAR 2

Originally from Stockton, CA, Mason has always had a passion for science ever since he was just a kid. He decided to pursue this passion and attended UCLA for his undergraduate studies, where he obtained a B.S. in Chemistry with a minor in Spanish. Here, he worked researching post-synthetic modifications to amino acid derived polymers for use as friction reducing lubricants under the guidance of Prof. Paula L. Diaconescu. Mason joined the Romero lab in 2024 and is currently researching Vicinal Frustrated Lewis Pair Polymers with the goal of creating stimuli-responsive materials.

Outside of the lab, he enjoys traveling, going to the beach, reading, playing the guitar, and spending time with friends and family.

Graduate Student | YEAR 2

Amal was born and raised in Victorville, CA. He earned his B.S. in Chemistry from UT Dallas where he worked in the lab of Prof. Mihaela C. Stefan working on biodegradable polymers with tunable rates of degradation for applications in localized and controlled drug delivery. His current research involves the functionalization and synthesis of polymers.

Outside of the lab, he enjoys attending Padres games, spending time at the movie theater, playing board games, and defeating the Heart in Slay the Spire.

Graduate Student | YEAR 1

Lamia first moved to America in 2012, where she lived in Fremont, California. She later went on to UC Riverside as a Neuroscience major but switched to a B.S. in Chemistry after she gained a passion for organic chemistry in her prerequsite classes. She learned to apply this passion in Dr. Timothy Su’s lab, developing silicon-containing molecular wires and switches as an undergraduate researcher. She also studied abroad at Tohoku University where she collaborated with Dr. Shen Ye’s lab to prepare and elucidate self-standing poly(methyl methacrylate) polymers. Lamia joined the Romero lab in 2025 to investigate pi-conjugated polymers.

Outside of the lab, Lamia enjoys cats, making music, wearing eyeliner, and going to the SD Zoo!

Undergraduate Student | UCSD '25

Undergraduate Student | UCSD '25

Undergraduate Student | UCSD '26

Undergraduate Student | UCSD '26