Samantha Phan

Samantha Phan is a Technology Pioneer Fellow at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology since October 2021, where Samantha conceptualized and is developing the startup Plastitective, aimed at detecting environmental microplastics through machine learning. Previously, as a Postdoctoral Scholar in the pi-Conjugated Polymers unit under Professor Christine K. Luscombe, investigation focused on microplastic pollution and the creation of machine learning tools for microplastic analysis. Prior experience at the University of Washington includes roles as a Graduate Research Assistant and Mentor in the Clean Energy Institute and as a Graduate Teaching Assistant, where development of greener semiconducting polymer synthesis methods and teaching in general and physical chemistry were key contributions. Additionally, Samantha conducted research on hydrogels at the University of Florida and assisted in tutoring undergraduate students in chemistry and calculus. Educationally, Samantha holds a PhD and MS in Chemistry from the University of Washington, as well as a BS in Chemistry from the University of Florida.