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Learn about our outreach kit program providing hands-on chemistry activities for K-12 students and teachers to increase engagement in STEM. Outreach Activities, Kits, & Resources Outreach Kit Program Share informal science discovery through engaging activities! The U.S. National Science Foundation's Center for Molecularly Optimized Networks (NSF MONET) Outr each Kit Program brings the excitement of scientific research to informal learning environments, camps, homeschooling, and adult education. Experience the wonders of polymers, materials science, and more through hands-on activities and interactive resources! READ MORE Engaging, Accessible, & Impactful Engaging Content Our kits connect science to art or sports to increase its relevance in students' lives, identities, & communities. Accessible Format Kits can be adapted to a wide variety of audiences, mediums, and locales. Our editable templates make for easy customization. Impactful Outcomes Feedback and assessment strategies have been integrated into the development of each kit to support our facilitators in evaluating their impact. Three Outreach Kits Available! Each kit contains editable resources, a guided activity, materials for conducting the activity, and a mechanism for assessment and feedback. Outreach Kit Request Form Ready to impact science education in your community? Fill out the request form for a digital copy of NSF MONET Outreach Kits (no cost). Share this information with a colleague and help us broaden participation in STEM education. Together, we can make science education more meaningful, accessible, and engaging for all. Which MONET Outreach Kit are you requesting? Choose an option Please describe the impact this kit would have. First Name Last Name Phone Email Any questions? Send Thank you for completing this form! Learn About Our Impact! Outreach Impacts

Meet our team of distinguished researchers and staff driving MONET's mission. OUR TEAM Our award-winning team comprises senior investigators from across the country and the globe, as well as traditional subfields of chemistry, working together to advance our molecular understanding of polymer networks. We are united by a commitment to high impact through collaboration, broadening the impact of our research through integrated outreach to industry and the public, and supportive recruitment, advising, and mentoring. SENIOR INVESTIGATORS TRAINEES EXTERNAL ADVISORY BOARD Senior Investigators Stephen Craig Principal Investigator Duke University Steve Craig is an expert in using single molecule force spectroscopy of synthetic polymers to characterize the full extensional behavior of individual polymer strands. Learn More Principal Investigator Luis Campos Senior Investigator Columbia University Luis Campos explores molecular, macromolecular, and nanostructured materials to develop advanced functional systems. Learn More Senior Investigator Jeremiah A. Johnson Senior Investigator Massachusetts Institute of Technology Jeremiah Johnson has created iterative exponential growth (IEG) chemistry that can be implemented in either flow or batch mode to provide access to perfectly monodisperse polymer strands of precise sequence for Center research projects. Learn More Senior Investigator Julia Kalow Senior Investigator Northwestern University Julia Kalow is developing synthetic strategies for translating molecular structure and reactivity into macroscopic properties, including photochemically gated junctions that allow spatiotemporal control of junction dynamics throughout a network. Learn More Senior Investigator Rebekka Klausen Senior Investigator Johns Hopkins University Rebekka Klausen designs and synthesizes novel molecular building blocks to construct exciting nanoscale materials. Learn More Senior Investigator Heather Kulik Senior Investigator Massachusetts Institute of Technology Heather Kulik leverages computational modeling to aid the discovery of new materials and mechanisms. Learn More Senior Investigator Juana Mendenhall Senior Investigator Morehouse College Dr. Mendenhall is currently the Walter E. Massey Professor of Physical Sciences at Morehouse College, President and Founder of TheraViscTM, LLC, and the TEDx licensee for TEDx Morehouse College. Her ground-breaking medical technology shows real potential in healing osteoarthritis. Learn More Senior Investigator Jeffrey S. Moore Senior Investigator University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign Jeffrey Moore synthesizes and studies large organic molecules to discover new polymeric materials. Learn More Senior Investigator Alshakim Nelson Senior Investigator University of Washington Alshakim Nelson develops stimuli-responsive materials and bio-hybrid materials that are designed for additive manufacturing processes. Learn More Senior Investigator Bradley D. Olsen Senior Investigator Massachusetts Institute of Technology Brad Olsen has developed and applied multiple state-of-the-art techniques for characterizing the properties of polymer networks in general and dynamic networks in particular. Learn More Senior Investigator Monica Olvera de la Cruz Senior Investigator Northwestern University Monica Olvera de la Cruz develops models to describe the self-assembly of heterogeneous molecules and the segregation and interface adsorption in multicomponent complex fluids. Learn More Senior Investigator Michael Rubinstein Senior Investigator Duke University Michael Rubinstein has developed theories of dynamic and covalent networks, including models of both thermodynamics and dynamics of unentangled and entangled reversible networks and gels. Learn More Senior Investigator Nancy Sottos Senior Investigator University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign Nancy Sottos studies the mechanical behavior of various complex, heterogeneous materials through meso, micro, and nanoscale characterizing deformation and failure mechanisms. Learn More Senior Investigator Nicole Steinmetz Senior Investigator University of California, San Diego Nicole Steinmetz is helping MONET push polymer networks across new frontiers through the design, development and testing of materials and biologics derived from conjugated virus-like particles (VLPs) derived from plants. Learn More Senior Investigator External Advisory Board We are fortunate to have an expert and dedicated advisory board that pushes us to be distinct and distinctive in every one of our science and broader impact activities. Cameron Brown Eastman Chemical Co. Thomas Epps III University of Delaware Jeannette Garcia IBM Brett Helms Lawrence Berkeley National Lab Malika Jeffries-El Boston University Eugenia Kumacheva University of Toronto Janice McDonnell Rutgers University Emily Pentzer Texas A&M University Trainees Abe Herzog-Arbeitman Graduate Student Alayna Johnson Alumni Alexis Martell Monterroza Graduate Student Allison Rattay Undergraduate Researcher Ana Paula Kitos Vasconcelos Graduate Student Anna Gray Davis Graduate Student Annika (Alex) Foret Alumni Anthony Mack Graduate Student Brian Richard Carrick Graduate Student Brogan Dietsche Undergraduate Researcher Calvin Shih Graduate Student Chinyere (Connie) Okeke Undergraduate Researcher Christina Hemmingsen Graduate Student Chuting Deng Postdoctoral Researcher Claire Ogilvie Graduate Student Clara Troyano-Valls Alumni Cody Ng Alumni Curt Waltmann Alumni Danyang Chen Alumni Devosmita Sen Graduate Student Dylan Gregson Undergraduate Researcher Edgar Mejia Alumni Elvis McFee Alumni Emily Wearing Alumni Emmanuel Alejandro Garcia Villatoro Graduate Student

Broader Impacts Higher Education & Professional Development Bolstering career readiness through:

Broader Impacts Informal Science Communication Increasing public scientific literacy through:

Postdoctoral Researcher Postdoctoral Researcher ⬅️ All Members Hao Guo Postdoctoral Researcher Publications Impacts I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title Previous Next Duke University

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Members List Juliana Marston Read More Dylan Gregson Read More Len Needham Read More Sebastian Pujet Read More Gaile Ng Read More Lily Auster Read More Chuting Deng Read More Zhuohong Wu Read More Emmanuel Alejandro Garcia Villatoro Read More Christina Hemmingsen Read More Nicholas (Nick) Van Zee Read More Danyang Chen Read More Steven Chapman Read More Tetsu Ouchi Read More Scott Danielsen Read More Kelsie Wentz Read More Shu Wang Read More Haley Beech Read More Emily Wearing Read More Curt Waltmann Read More Jianshe Xia Read More Cody Ng Read More Yunyan Sun Read More Elvis McFee Read More Sophie Melvin Read More Clara Troyano-Valls Read More Edgar Mejia Read More Julian Smith-Jones Read More Zina S. Medina-Barreto Read More Allison Rattay Read More Chinyere (Connie) Okeke Read More Jade Watson Read More Feiyang Liu Read More Brogan Dietsche Read More Xavier Simpson Read More Twila Lefeber Read More Madelyn Gregory Read More Sean Hsu Read More Noy Nechmad Read More Hao Guo Read More Yao Xiong Read More Yu Zheng Read More Fangbai Xie Read More Jorge Leganés Bayón Read More Mary Ma Read More Yixin Hu Read More Claire Ogilvie Read More Jafer Vakil Read More Jolly Patro Read More Nicholas (Nick) Fromel Read More Xiangyin Zhao Read More Rowina Bell Read More Thomas Hicks Read More Anthony Mack Read More Alayna Johnson Read More Calvin Shih Read More Samina Yasmeen Read More Brian Richard Carrick Read More Devosmita Sen Read More Shixuan (Shishan) Wei Read More Ana Paula Kitos Vasconcelos Read More Ryann Kemmerling Read More Grace Yao Read More Annika (Alex) Foret Read More Herbert (Herb) Wakefield IV Read More Sunay Dilara Ekim Read More Alexis Martell Monterroza Read More Anna Gray Davis Read More Xiao Huang Read More Gianmarco Terrones Read More Ilia Kevlishvili Read More Juan Antonio Cintron Cruz Read More Abe Herzog-Arbeitman Read More Su Nguyen Read More

Converting high-touch experiences into NSF MONET Outreach Kits that we develop, deploy, and present to a range of audiences across the country. Broader Impacts Informal Science Communication Outreach Kits Outreach Kits are how the U.S. National Science Foundation Center for Molecularly Optimized Networks (NSF MONET) makes its research deliverable by any trainee, in any city, without a chemistry lab. Each kit packages one line of Center research into a self-contained, hands-on activity with materials, facilitator guidance, and an assessment instrument. Why this matters NSF MONET's central finding — that the weakest cross-linker in a polymer network can produce the strongest material — lives in molecular detail that is invisible to a non-specialist audience. Outreach that depends on individual trainees inventing their own demonstrations is neither consistent nor transferable. The kits solve that structurally. Three activities cover a full age range, and each one is a physical object that ships: Chemistry of Slime (ages 5–8), developed in partnership with the American Chemical Society Kids Zone Materials Science of Soccer (ages 9–12), built around the deconstruction and materials testing of a soccer ball Mechanophores in Action (ages 13+), developed with the Multiverse Concert Series, using color-change and sound to make bond scission perceptible Because the kit carries the science, the facilitator does not have to. That is what lets the Center hold every participating institution to a standing commitment of two informal science communication events per year, and what lets an activity built at one institution run unchanged at another. Documented reach Deployment Period Documented result Version 2.0 kits distributed to NSF MONET labs 2026 Three kits shipped to 13 Center labs, so every participating institution holds the full set Kits requested by and shipped to external institutions May 2024 – Mar 2025 13 recipient institutions across three continents, spanning research universities, undergraduate-focused colleges, an industry partner, a community organization, and a homeschool educator Cambridge Science Festival at MIT, pilot of both revised kits Sept 2025 500+ festival attendees; seven trainee and partner volunteers Mechanophores Kit 2.0 field use 2025–2026 600+ learners reached across schools, museums, and community centers Squishy Science Sunday, Denver Museum of Nature & Science Mar 2026 ~200 museum visitors engaged with the Materials Science of Soccer kit Beckman Open House Apr 2026 1,000 attendees Program-wide activity enabled by the kits Jan 2024 – Aug 2026 30+ events and 5,000+ participants recorded by the Center's outreach program The external recipient list includes Louisiana State University, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Boston Scientific, Seattle Pacific University, Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium, the United Moroccan American Association of Cleveland, Williams College, Monmouth College, Trinity Washington University, Marshall University, and the California State University Chancellor's Office. Evidence that the kits work Measured learning gains, not attendance alone The Mechanophores Kit 2.0 was evaluated with pre- and post-activity instruments rather than headcounts. At the American Chemical Society Kids Zone, participants showed a 50.9% increase in their ability to describe a chemical mechanism. Across surveyed participants, 84% rated the activities moderately to highly engaging, and 80% of Chicago participants reported increased interest in science. The evidence base for these figures is itself documented: 38 activity feedback responses, 30 participant surveys, and 90 assessment index cards. Field feedback drives documented revisions The Materials Science of Soccer 2.0 redesign is a traceable response to specific criticism gathered between 2022 and 2025. Participants had been getting inconsistent contact-angle results because the protractor was too large for a water droplet; the measurement was replaced with a binary wettability observation. Facilitators reported that printed instructions were missing from kits; the revision ships a step-by-step facilitator guide with timing markers, quantities, and preparation protocols. Trainees reported that instructions were too vague; the revision specifies participant directions and questioning sequences verbatim. The same loop continues. At Squishy Science Sunday 2026, the trainee facilitator's assignment was explicitly to collect field observations on facilitation and clarity before the kit scales further. Assessment capability built into the activity The 2.0 revision added an index-card pre/post instrument with the same core question on both sides, a five-level rubric running from surface description to transfer of understanding, and draw-or-write response options. This is what converts an outreach event from an attendance figure into a measurable learning outcome, and it is why the gain figures above exist at all. Range of documented venues Recorded deployments span a public library system in Baltimore County, an elementary school science night in La Jolla with three hands-on stations, a middle school science fair booth in Seattle, museum floors at the Fleet Science Center and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, university open houses, and American Chemical Society Kids Zone installations in San Diego, New Orleans, Atlanta, and Chicago. Summer kits delivered to Chicago elementary students were run bilingually. What comes next Documented next steps are the distribution of the revised 2.0 kits following the Cambridge pilot, a slime video game under development that teaches polymer chemistry through computational chemistry simulations, and a recommended standing feedback mechanism so participant and facilitator input is collected continuously rather than per event. Previous Next

Alumni Alumni ⬅️ All Members Haley Beech Alumni Publications Impacts I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title Previous Next University of California Santa Barbara

Graduate Student Graduate Student ⬅️ All Members Nicholas (Nick) Fromel Graduate Student Publications Impacts I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title Previous Next Johns Hopkins University

Undergraduate Researcher Undergraduate Researcher ⬅️ All Members Sean Hsu Undergraduate Researcher Publications Impacts I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title I'm an image title Previous Next University of California San Diego

Expanding access to laboratory research projects through our Undergraduate Research Experience (URE) program. Broader Impacts Broadening Participation Undergraduate Research Experiences The U.S. National Science Foundation Center for Molecularly Optimized Networks (NSF MONET) has built one of the most intentional and rigorously evaluated undergraduate research programs in the NSF Centers for Chemical Innovation portfolio. The Undergraduate Research Experience (URE) program does not position summer research as an add-on — it treats it as a sustained broader impacts strategy with documented, multi-year outcomes. From its first cohort in 2023, the program embedded access and impact by design rather than aspirational goals. In Year 3, NSF MONET selected four students from a competitive pool of 166 applicants — 50% with limited prior research experience or financial need — representing institutions spanning an R1 university, a master's-granting institution, a liberal arts college, and a historically Black college. This range reflects NSF MONET's explicit commitment to expanding the geography of innovation, in direct alignment with NSF's mandate. The program's outcomes extend well beyond the summer. Alumni tracking — conducted annually each spring — reveals that 15 of 17 URE alumni (88.2%) remain engaged in STEM through undergraduate study, research roles, graduate programs, government leadership, or industry positions. One alumnus, Len, credited the program with connecting them to graduate school opportunities across multiple institutions, ultimately leading to enrollment at Indiana University Bloomington. Others have moved into NIH research, MONET-affiliated labs, and industry — evidence that the URE experience functions as a career launchpad rather than a one-time intervention. NSF MONET has continued to strengthen the program through structured feedback loops and responsive program design. Student and mentor evaluations have directly shaped the development of the URE Program Handbook, monthly cross-institutional meetings, virtual collaboration infrastructure, and the Science Literacy Program — a structured writing and communication curriculum that helps undergraduates produce conference-ready titles, abstracts, posters, reports, and presentations. In doing so, NSF MONET reinforces that scientific communication is part of research training, not separate from it. Conference access has further extended student impact beyond the laboratory. NSF MONET's travel awards enabled undergraduates to present at ACS Spring 2026 and SACNAS NDiSTEM, with approximately $7,000 invested to support seven students in their first national presentation opportunities — strengthening résumés, expanding professional networks, and making their research visible to the broader scientific community. URE alumna Juliana Marston earned the Outstanding Research Presentation Award from SACNAS along with a travel grant to ACS 2026, a recognition that reflects both her individual excellence and the mentorship infrastructure NSF MONET has built around her. Taken together, the URE program demonstrates what it looks like to treat broadening participation as an engineered outcome. NSF MONET recruits broadly, matches deliberately, supports continuously, communicates rigorously, and tracks long-term — producing a replicable model for inclusive undergraduate research that addresses representation at the earliest career stage while generating durable pathways into STEM. Previous Next