The Team
Dr. Ben Elling
Ben grew up in Rochester, NY. He received his BA in chemistry from Cornell University, where he synthesized polymers for anion exchange membranes in the lab of Geoff Coates. After, he attended Stanford University, where he became the first PhD student of Yan Xia and developed methods for sequence-specific polymerization via the ring-opening metathesis of substituted cyclopropenes. Prior to his appointment at Wesleyan, Ben was a postdoctoral scholar in the lab of Professor Will Dichtel, where he designed new covalent adaptable networks and investigated strategies for mixed plastic compatibilization.
Students
Jessa Zovinka
PhD Student
Jessa grew up in Ebensburg, PA. They received their BA in chemistry from Mary Baldwin University, where they studied the degradation of Bisphenol-F under UV light in the lab of Peter Ruiz-Haas. When not in the lab, Jessa enjoys hiking, raising chickens, and playing roller derby with the Shoreline Roller Derby League. Here in the lab, their work focuses on synthesizing polymers that incorporate carbon dioxide as a comonomer.
Jeremy Kim
MA Student (Wesleyan BA ‘23)
Jeremy grew up in Wood-Ridge, NJ. He graduated from Bergen County Academies in Hackensack, NJ in the Academy of Advancement of Science and Technology. At Wesleyan, he is a Chemistry Major, on the pre-med track, and pursuing the Writing Certificate. In addition to his academics, he is also a member of Wesleyan’s Varsity Swimming and Diving Team, a Writing Mentor at the Writing Workshop, and the Financial Manager for the Korean Student Association. Here in the lab, Jeremy is synthesizing new monomers for degradable materials.
Maya Milrod
Undergraduate (‘24)
Maya Milrod was born and raised in New York City, where she graduated from Hunter College High School. At Wesleyan University, she's a Chemistry major, with a minor in Informatics and Modeling. In addition to her academic pursuits, she's a member of the Varsity Swimming and Diving team. Maya also works with the Northrop Lab to use computation to produce quantum mechanical models of [6+4] cycloadditions and plans to work with Professor Elling and Professor Northrop to synthesize these molecules and apply them to polymers.
Angela Rojas- Merchan
Undergraduate (‘24)
Angela comes to us from Boston, MA. After transferring to Wesleyan from RIT, she jumped right into her studies in chemistry and joined the Elling lab in the summer of 2022. She is currently synthesizing new monomers for ROMP.
Alex Stubin
Undergraduate (‘24)
Alex joined the group in the spring of 2023. She is an MB&B major who is working on synthesizing new reversible pericyclic reactions.
Oliver Clarke
Undergraduate (‘25)
Ollie was born in Boston, Ma and grew up in Somerville, where he attended school before transferring to Milton Academy. At Wesleyan, Ollie is a Chemistry Major on the pre-med track. Outside of academics, Ollie plays on the boys varsity soccer team, volunteers on Long Lane Farm, and writes for Wesleyan Business Review. In the lab, he is investigating the polymerization rates of a novel library of monomers.
Sophia Morgan
Undergraduate (‘25)
Kayla Alexander
Undergraduate (‘25)
Kayla was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, where she graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School as a Chemical Engineering major. At Wesleyan, she is majoring in Chemistry with a minor in French Studies. On campus, she is co-director for the Fusion Dance Crew, a member of Ujamaa’s Creative Team, and a barista at Pi Café. In the lab, show’s working on a project involving carbon dioxide polymerization.
Sunjay Riener
Undergraduate (‘25)
Sunjay was born and raised in New York City before moving to New Jersey. He attended the Pingry school until transferring to the Lawrenceville school for high school. From taking various classes within the pre-med track, Sunjay has developed a passion for Neuroscience and Organic Chemistry. In his free time, Sunjay enjoys cooking, golfing, and skiing. He joined the Elling Lab in the Summer of 2023. In the lab he is currently testing the reversibility of [6+4] cycloadditions.
Dale
Dog
Dale is a dog who was adopted in the winter of 2021 by Professor Elling. He love eating, sleeping, and otherwise being a menace.
Former Members
Kyle Sylvester (MA ‘23, BA ‘22)
Graham Gilchrist (BA ‘23)
Sarah Timbie (BA ‘23)
