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.


SENIOR RESEARCHERS


John Choinopoulos

Research Scientist II

Origin: Athens, Greece

Education: Ph. D. in Chemistry, University of Athens (Spyros Koinis)

Likes: Having a good time


2ND YEAR GRADUATE STUDENTS


Alex Claiborne

Origin: Fort Collins, Colorado

Education: B.S. in Chemistry, Colorado State University (Seonah Kim)

Likes: Running, sci-fi novels, brewing, clementine (the band), motorcycles

Ally Cunningham

Origin: Winthrop, Maine

Education: B.S. in Biochemistry, Simmons University (Nancy Lee)

Likes: Cats, reading, plants, crochet, traveling

Zach Zimmerman

Origin: Elizabeth, Colorado

Education: B.S in Chemistry, Metropolitan State University of Denver (Shailesh Ambre and Megan Filbin)

Likes: Winter, snowboarding, woodworking, hiking, guitar


1ST YEAR GRADUATE STUDENTS


Ray Carothers

Origin: Chester, Virginia

Education: B.S. in Chemistry, Christopher Newport University (Jeffrey Carney)

Likes: Hiking, cooking, camping, reading, piano, and cats

John Estock

Origin: Fort Mill, South Carolina

Education: B.S.E in Chemical Engineering, University of South Carolina (Chuanbing Tang)

Likes: Dr. Pepper, soccer, volleyball, hiking, reading

Megan Rothenberg

Origin: Broomfield, Colorado

Education: B.S. in Chemistry, University of Tampa (Christine Theodore)

Likes: Cats, Yerba Mate, hiking, crafts


UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS


Curtis Lake

Origin: Wray, Colorado

Education: A.S. of Science and pursuing B.S. in chemistry

Likes: Reading, hiking, and being outdoors

Tyler Ryan

Origin: South Amboy, NJ

Education: Navy Nuclear Power Training Program, Currently pursuing a Bachelors in Chemistry

Likes: Coffee drinking, baking, coffee roasting, plants, woodworking, and coffee.

Gwen Wilusz

Origin: Fort Collins, CO

Education: Pursuing a B.S. in Chemistry (Minor in Mathematics)

Likes: Horses, dogs, travelling, soccer, baseball