Keith A. Brown is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering, and Physics at Boston University. He earned an S.B. in Physics from MIT, a Ph.D. in Applied Physics at Harvard University with Robert M. Westervelt, and was an International Institute for Nanotechnology postdoctoral fellow with Chad A. Mirkin at Northwestern University. The KABlab studies approaches to accelerate the development of advanced materials and structures with a focus on polymers. The group employs self-driving labs, miniaturization of experiments using scanning probe techniques, novel platforms for parallel materials development, and machine learning to achieve these goals. Keith has co-authored over 90 peer-reviewed publications, six issued patents, and his work has been recognized through awards including the Frontiers of Materials Award from The Minerals, Metals, & Materials Society (TMS), being recognized as a “Future Star of the AVS,” the Omar Farha Award for Research Leadership from Northwestern University, and the AVS Nanometer-Scale Science and Technology Division Postdoctoral Award. Keith served on the Nano Letters Early Career Advisory Board and currently leads the MRS Artificial Intelligence in Materials Development Staging Task Force.

Minki Lee is a Postdoctoral associate in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania since September 2022. He obtained his PhD and Master degree in Mechanical Engineering from Sungkyunkwan University (2021) and has previous postdoctoral experience in biomedical research at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (2021-2022) and mechanical engineering at Sungkyunkwan University (2021).

Shuchi Talati is an emerging climate technology and governance expert and is launching a new NGO focused on building just and equitable decision-making processes around research and potential deployment of solar geoengineering. She is a Visiting Scholar at the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania and a Scholar in Residence at Forum for Climate Engineering at American University. She most recently served as a Presidential Appointee in the Biden-Harris Administration as Chief of Staff of the Office of Fossil Energy & Carbon Management at the U.S. Department of Energy. She has also worked on climate governance at multiple non-profit organizations and the U.S. Senate. Shuchi Talati earned a BS in environmental engineering from Northwestern University, an MA in climate and society from Columbia University, and PhD from Carnegie Mellon in engineering and public policy.

Andrea Liu is a theoretical soft and living matter physicist who received her A. B. and Ph.D. degrees in physics at the University of California, Berkeley, and Cornell University, respectively.  She was a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCLA for ten years before joining the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pennsylvania in 2004, where she is the Hepburn Professor of Physics. She is a fellow of the APS, AAAS and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Liu has served as Speaker of the Council of the American Physical Society (APS) and Chair of the Physics Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and is currently a Councilor of the US National Academy of Sciences and the AAAS.

Heather Eckenrode-Stiffler earned her PhD in Physical Chemistry from University of Pennsylvania in 2005.  After completing a post-doctoral fellowship at DuPont Marshall Laboratory, she joined the Rohm and Haas Company, which became part of The Dow Chemical Company.  Her work has focused on different aspects of architectural coatings including applications, polymer synthesis and product scale up. Investigation of exterior durability (specifically dirt pickup and primer properties) of architectural paints and Dow’s hiding technology platforms-- EVOQUE™ Pre-Composite Polymer and ROPAQUE™ Opaque Polymer--have been focus areas of her research.  She has held various customer facing technical roles helping to take many new inventions from R&D to commercialization. Heather is currently the UPenn Team Captain for new PhD recruiting at Dow and is the Global Technical Leader of Exterior Coatings Exposure Capabilities.