Dr. Nathan Soland

Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 2026

B.S., University of California, Davis, 2020

Nathan was born and raised in Bakersfield CA, nestled in the agricultural hub of the Central Valley. He earned his B.S. in 2020 with highest honors at UC Davis, where he worked on perovskites for water splitting and chickpea cultivation for drought tolerant crops. After completing his undergraduate degree, he moved to Colorado to work for a year at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory on biomass separations. His doctoral research at UC Berkeley focused on developing platforms for transforming carbon dioxide into sugars with multiple modes of catalysis, emphasizing electrochemistry, photochemistry, and some organocatalysis. Along the way, he picked up projects in synchrotron-based X-ray spectroscopy. Drawn to the chance to experience the New Jersey lifestyle, Nathan decided to finally leave the West Coast, joining the MacMillan lab in September 2026, where he hopes to study interesting biological structures, mechanisms, and interfaces with light. Outside of lab, Nathan enjoys climbing, reading about folklore, hiking, and checking out local historical sites and museums.

Fun Facts

• - Nathan worked in an entomology lab for a nut company after high school, counting insect eggs and maintaining moth cultures in a cold room full of almond husks. He still daydreams about returning to agriculture someday.
• - He adores claymation, stemming from a childhood watching “A Grand Day Out With Wallace and Gromit” on repeat. This also inspired his love of cheese and the moon.
• - He is likely one of the biggest Simpsons fans you will meet. If you see a strange glow from his bench, it’s uh… aurora borealis, localized entirely within his photoreactor.