Team

he/him

rd3996@princeton.edu

B.S., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2023

4th Year Graduate Student

Born and raised in Littleton, Colorado, Rory completed his undergraduate degree in biochemistry/biophysics and mathematics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. At RPI, he was involved in computational biophysics studies of collagen peptides with Dr. Makhatadze. He also spent 6 months working on total synthesis in the group of Dr. Hanessian at the Université de Montréal in Quebec. Outside of the lab, Rory enjoys skiing, bicycle racing, and mountaineering as well as playing the piano and choral singing.

he/him

ag9840@princeton.edu

B.S., University of Wisconsin Madison, 2024

3rd Year Graduate Student

Amory received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In his undergrad, he developed catalysts for use in highly tunable asymmetric C–H amination reactions and dearomative ring expansions in the lab of Dr. Schomaker. In the Stache lab, Amory works on developing small molecule photothermal agents and chemical probes for studying photothermal conversion. During his spare time, Amory enjoys running, hiking, and reading.

she/her

ds6743@princeton.edu

B.A., Reed College, 2024

3rd Year Graduate Student

Deepika earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. As an undergrad, she worked with Dr. Jay Mellies and Dr. Daniel Loya on PET biodegradation by a plastic-degrading bacterial consortium. In the Stache lab, Deepika works on the photothermal depolymerization of commercial plastics. Outside the lab, Deepika enjoys dancing, traveling to new places, and spending time with (any and all) cats.

he/him

sk5532@princeton.edu

B.A., Swarthmore College, 2025

2nd Year Graduate Student

Stephen is originally from Madison, Wisconsin. Before coming to Princeton, he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Anthropology at Swarthmore College. At Swarthmore, he worked under Dr. Anna Yang, where he used dynamic covalent chemistry to synthesize macromolecular architectures. In the Stache Group, Stephen continues to use dynamic covalent chemistry to make recyclable and responsive polymer networks. In his free time, Stephen enjoys photography, going to farmers markets, and yoyoing.

she/her

cv1099@princeton.edu

B.S., University of Toledo, 2025

2nd Year Graduate Student

Chloe is from Toledo, Ohio and attended the University of Toledo, where she received her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry. As an undergraduate, she worked in Dr. Wei Li’s lab on the photochemical syntheses of N-heterocycles. She also completed two internships, one at Huntsman Corporation in process catalysis and another at Merck in discovery chemistry. In the Stache lab, Chloe works on utilizing the photothermal effect for small molecule synthesis. In her free time, she enjoys baking, playing board games, and running.

she/her

gw3972@princeton.edu

B.S., Colorado State University, 2025

2nd Year Graduate Student

Gwen is from Fort Collins, Colorado and completed her bachelor’s degree in chemistry with a minor in mathematics at Colorado State University. As an undergrad, she worked under the guidance of Dr. Megan Hill to improve mechanical recyclability of commodity polymers by using chain transfer agents for mechanoradical capture. In the Stache lab, Gwen works on improving plastic biodegradability through radical ring opening polymerization of cleavable phosphorous monomers. Outside of the lab, Gwen enjoys riding her horse, crocheting, traveling, watching baseball, and spending time with her brother’s dog.

he/him

es9674@princeton.edu

B.S., Oakland University, 2025

2nd Year Graduate Student

Evan hails from Detroit, Michigan. He conducted his undergraduate studies at Oakland University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. During undergrad, he worked in the lab of Dr. Zacharias Kinney, developing a series of luminescent organometallic complexes for use in OLEDs. He has also spent time in the lab of Dr. Alexander Miller at UNC-Chapel Hill working on the photo-electrochemical reduction of CO2 to methanol. In the Stache lab, Evan works on developing small molecule photothermal agents and utilizing non-covalent interactions to discover new reactivity. Outside of lab, Evan enjoys reading, running, and scouring Princeton for good coffee shops.

he/him

ls3255@princeton.edu

B.S., University of Göttingen, 2025

Visiting Researcher

Lucas his earned his Bachelor´s degree in Chemistry from the University of Göttingen in 2025, where he worked in Prof. Lutz Ackermann´s lab on iron-catalyzed C−H activations. After that, he spent two months at the National University of Singapore in the group of Prof. Yu Zhao, working on borrowing-hydrogen catalysis. He is currently pursuing his master’s degree at the University of Göttingen. Outside of the lab, Lucas enjoys playing tennis, trying new food and travelling.