The Team

The Hill group is committed to creating and maintaining a culture of inclusivity and belonging. We recognize that diversity and equity are essential to improve the STEM culture, enable better science, and effectively support each team member. We are dedicated to supporting scientists from diverse backgrounds (such as ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, age, sexual orientation, and culture) by continually educating ourselves, listening to and believing the stories told by marginalized scientists, and advocating for inclusive policies.

Meet the Team

Megan R. Hill

Megan is a synthetic polymer chemist focused on developing recyclable and degradable high-performance materials. Megan first became interested in polymer science at California Polytechnic State University after joining the notorious Costanzo lab (PJC4Lyfe!) as an undergraduate. She then went on to do her PhD in the Butler Polymer Labs at The University of Florida under the direction of Mr. Polymer himself, Brent Sumerlin. During her PhD, Megan developed stimuli-responsive and degradable polymers for applications in agriculture and sustainability. After her PhD, Megan did a short-term JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Tokyo in the Nozaki Lab synthesizing CO₂-based polymers before joining the Johnson Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she developed Lewis acidic polymers for dynamic networks and Li-ion batteries. Megan joined the Department of Chemistry at CSU in 2022.

POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS

Sirilak Mekcham

Postdoctoral Scientist

Origin: Bangkok, Thailand

Education: PhD in Chemistry, Tokyo Metropolitan University (Kotohiro Nomura), Japan

Likes: Traveling, Dogs, Cats, Matcha

Owen Lee

Postdoctoral Scientist

Origin: Belmont, CA

Education: B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of California, Davis (Adam Moulé) // PhD Materials Science and Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder (Ryan Hayward)

Likes: Animals, Hiking, Craft Beer, Board Games, LOTR Movies