Ryan is an undergraduate student at Mines studying Chemistry, with a focus on polymers and biochemistry. After graduating from Mines, Ryan hopes to pursue a PhD in polymer chemistry. Ryan is currently working with Alyson and Tanner to develop an autonomous continuous flow polymerization reactor. Outside of the lab, he enjoys ballroom dance, reading, and snowboarding

Alyson completed her bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering in April 2024 at Brigham Young University.  There, she worked in Dr. William Pitt’s lab developing methods for rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing and designing magnetic nanoparticles for bacterial capture. She also participated in an REU at the University of Kansas where she worked on hyaluronic acid hydrogels for drug delivery. Alyson is currently pursuing her PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering, and she’s passionate in developing affordable drug delivery systems to make gene therapies more accessible. Outside of research, Alyson enjoys running, hiking, and reading. 

Thya is an undergraduate student studying Chemical Engineering with a Biology track. Thya is part of Kappa Alpha Theta, Melodic Miners, and the Pre-Med Club outside of class. Thya is originally from France and likes to visit her family often. She also loves crocheting, reading, and martial arts.

Cora Grayson is an undergraduate student majoring in Chemical Engineering with a Biological track. She is interested in pursuing a minor in data science. In the future, she plans to continue research and wishes to enter a PhD program for Biomedical Engineering. Outside the lab, she is involved in orchestra and ballroom dance.

August is an undergraduate student majoring in chemical engineering and minoring in biology, planning to go to graduate school for neuroscience. In the lab, he works with Adam Humpal on atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Outside of the lab, he enjoys watching movies and hiking.

Adam graduated from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities in spring 2022 with a degree in Materials Science and Engineering. While there he was involved in two research projects. The first involved the fabrication of printed radio frequency identification antennas using self-aligned capillarity-assisted lithography for electronics (Prof. Lorraine Francis and Prof. Daniel Frisbie). His second undergraduate research experience focused on the identification of Frank-Kasper phases in tetrablock copolymers (Prof. Frank Bates). Currently, he is pursuing a Ph.D. in Materials Science with research interests in developing polymer brushes for biomedical applications. His hobbies are cross-country skiing, rock climbing, camping, and hiking.

Arya is an undergraduate student studying biochemistry with an interest in pharmaceuticals. Outside of the lab Arya is a part of Sigma Kappa and Society of Women Engineers. Arya enjoys reading, traveling, and watching movies. 

Jessica received her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Materials Science and Engineering in Spring 2022. There, she performed undergraduate research in designing polymers for 3D printing using frontal polymerization (at Prof. Nancy Sottos’ lab). She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Materials Science, focusing on developing self-assembled polymer systems for biomaterial applications. Her research interests are primarily in polymer synthesis and characterization. Some of her interests outside of research include cooking, baking, playing soccer and volleyball with friends. Jessica was awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship in 2023.

Pethuel is an undergraduate student majoring in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Biomedical Engineering and plans to pursue medical school. In Dr. Kumar’s lab, Pethuel conducts research with Adam Humpal’s project: Tuning pH-Responsive Polymeric Brushes via Hydrophobic Interactions. Outside of the lab, Pethuel serves as the Social Chair for Mines’ Premedical Society and is a member of the Mines Men’s Volleyball Club and the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). In his free time, he enjoys playing the piano, bass guitar, and drums

Tanner Page is an undergraduate design engineering student at the Colorado School of Mines with a focus on product design, manufacturing, and prototyping. In the lab, he is developing an automated tubular flow reactor for the project “Polymer-mediated delivery of genome-editing proteins through statistical learning and interfacial engineering,” working with Alyson Camacho. 

Andrew graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park in spring of 2021 with a degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Afterwards, he worked for four years with Bristol Myers Squibb within the Materials Engineering and Crystallization group. There, he developed crystallization processes to ensure robust form and particle size control for active pharmaceutical ingredients. Andrew is pursuing a PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering with research interests in leveraging high-throughput experimentation and machine learning to relate polymer structure to gene delivery vehicle performance. Outside of the lab, Andrew enjoys board games, rock climbing, and spending time outdoors.