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.

NAR CV

PhD Student | YEAR 5 - 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.

PhD Student | YEAR 5

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. She joined the Romero Lab in Jan 2022 where she now works on creating sustainable plastics with electrochemistry. 

Outside of lab, Roxanne likes hanging out with her pet kingsnake Pipette, playing video games, and exercising outdoors in the beautiful San Diego weather.

PhD Student | YEAR 3

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.

PhD Student | YEAR 3

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.

PhD Student | YEAR 2

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!

MS Student | YEAR 1

Julia was born and raised outside of Ann Arbor, MI. She attended the U.S. Air Force Academy where she earned her B.S. in chemistry and conducted research on additive manufacturing. She joined the Romero Lab in August 2025 to pursue a master’s in chemistry.

Outside of the lab, Julia spends her free time travelling, rock climbing, and enjoying the great outdoors.

Undergraduate Student | UCSD '27

Undergraduate Student | UCSD '29