Group Photo 2025
Prof. Sam Root, Dr. Jiahao Huang, Trevor Swan, Isaac Reader-Taatjes, Rina Nishimura
Postdoctoral Scholars
Dr. Jiahao Huang, Ph.D. , Polymer Science, University of Akron, 2020
Senior Postdoctoral Research Associate
Jiahao is broadly interested in polymeric materials with interesting properties. Currently, he is actively exploring new self-healing polymers for soft electronics and dielectric polymers for soft robotics. In his spare time, he enjoys staying with his family.
Graduate Students
Roberto Obregon, Graduate Student, May 2025
Roberto graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Lamar University. Shortly after, he spent some time working as a lab technician for a chemical manufacturing company and was then promoted to their technical department as an engineer. He decided to delve into research and chose to return to Lamar University to receive a Master of Science in Chemistry at the end of 2021.He then joined the University of Akron and finished in 2025 with his Master of Science in Polymer Science. His next step is to join CWRU’s Macromolecular Science and Engineering department as a PhD student. His hobbies include attending restaurants and festivals, gaming, and freestyle recurve target archery.
Riley Donahue, Incoming Graduate Student, September 2025
Riley graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Polymer Engineering and Science from Penn State Behrend in 2025. She participated in undergraduate research at Behrend focusing on topics including battery recycling and microplastic production as well as doing an REU at the University of Southern Mississippi studying the effects of impurities on the properties of benzoxazines. Moving forward, she will be pursuing my PhD in the Macromolecular Science and Engineering at Case Western Reserve University. Outside of school, Riley enjoys experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen, reading novels, and making art.
Undergraduate Students:
Trevor Swan, Undergraduate Researcher
Sophomore, Major: Chemical Engineering
Minor(s): Computer Science, Polymer Science, and Mathematics
Trevor is interested in composite processing, material characterization and computer simulation. On campus, Trevor is the treasurer of both the Polymer Student Organization (PSO) and the Matcha Makers Club (MMC). In his free time, Trevor enjoys coding in javascript and python. He also loves listening to all non-country music, with his favorite artist being Billie Eilish. He also enjoys going to the gym with his close friends.
Rina Nishimura, Undergraduate Researcher
Freshman, Double Major: polymer science & engineering and biomedical engineering.
Isaac Reader-Taatjes, Undergraduate Researcher
Freshman, Major: Chemistry
Lab Dog
Sasha the Pomsky, Lab Dog
Loves napping, snacking, walking, and an occasional woof.