Spencer Jungwoo Lee

A.B., Harvard University, 2026

A.M, Harvard University, 2026

Spencer was born and raised in Daejeon, South Korea. He attended Harvard University where he received his A.B. and A.M., both in Chemistry. Interested initially in climate science and sustainability, Spencer worked in Professor Dan Nocera’s group on developing methods on catalyst-assisted carbon dioxide fixation methods. After becoming interested in the utility and characteristics of the chemicals he was making (and inspired by a medicinal chemistry internship at AstraZeneca), he focused more on synthetic chemistry, working in Professor Andy Myers’ group on the synthesis of different oxazolidinone compounds. After graduating, Spencer joined the MacMillan group in August of 2026. In his free time, he enjoys finding new places to eat and walking around the neighborhood (usually in succession) as well as singing choral music, jogging, and gymming.

Fun Facts

• Despite moving away from climate science as a profession, Spencer is an avid environmentalist and loves finding niche tricks to be more sustainable.
• Spencer's favorite dish is a very specific type of a Korean buckwheat noodle, called naeng-myun, that he has not found done properly outside of one store he's been frequenting since before he can remember.
• Spencer has perfect pitch. If someone develops a technology where you could set off reactions with precise sound waves rather than precise light waves, please let him know.