Dem Ele III Santiago grew up in Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico, United States. From a young age he was good at math and science and those skill helped him participate in many competitions from both fields. At grade 11 he had the opportunity to go to an engineering camp which opened his path to take college credits at grade 12, but also defined his path as a future engineer. Currently, he is working at the University of Virginia under the Zhang group on a summer internship.

Jess Kamienski is from Loudoun Country, Virginia. She grew up hiking, biking and running through the valley of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Jess is a fourth year chemical engineering student whose research interests include developing efficient catalysts for CO2 conversion. She hopes to one day design cost effective green energy systems for developing areas. Outside of lab, Jess likes climbing, playing soccer, and painting.