Specialization:
Chemical Education
Inorganic Chemistry
Education:
Ph.D. University of California Los Angeles, Inorganic Chemistry
M.S. University of Illinois at Chicago, Organic Chemistry
B.S. University of California Irvine, Chemistry
Bio:
Stephanie earned her B.S. in Chemistry from UC Irvine, M.S. from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from UCLA. Prior to joining UCSB, she held academic and research roles at UT Rio Grande Valley, Chicago State University, Pattern Bioscience, and INEOS Technologies. Stephanie is also the Co-Founder and Staff Scientist at Heroica Technologies LLC, where she applies surface chemistry and materials science expertise to sensor development. Her work sits at the intersection of Inorganic & Materials Chemistry, Chemical Education Research (CER), and Inclusive STEM Pedagogy.
As a first-generation Latina, Stephanie is deeply committed to building equitable pathways for underrepresented students in STEM, actively mentoring first-generation students, transfer students, and emerging scientists. She is the Founder and Faculty Advisor for the SACNAS Graduate Student Chapter at UCSB and serves on the national SACNAS Membership Committee. Additionally, as a UCSB SEISMIC Ambassador, she works across national higher education networks to advance equitable assessment practices in introductory STEM courses.
Research & Educational Innovation:
The Pazos group focuses on research and educational innovation centered on metacognitive growth, technical proficiency, and skill transfer in undergraduate chemistry laboratories. This work evaluates how laboratory course design impacts student self-efficacy, conceptual understanding, and equity outcomes. Key instructional contributions include:
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Developing specialized laboratory coursework in advanced laboratory practices (CHEM 3L).
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Restructuring and modernizing the General Chemistry laboratory curriculum.
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Leading departmental graduate teaching assistant (TA) training through CHEM 501A and orientation workshops.
Publications:
Stephanie Aguilar, “Perfluorophenylazide Photochemistry for Modification of Materials”, University of California Los Angeles, 2020.
Stephanie Aguilar, Steven Bustillos, Shuangmei Xue, Wai H. Mak, Chen-Hao Ji, Ethan Rao, Abdulaziz Alturki, Brian T. McVerry, Erika Callagon La Plante, Aziz Alturki, Dante Simonetti, Gaurav Sant, Richard B. Kaner. “Enhancing polyvalent cation rejection using perflorophenylazide-grafted-copolymers membrane coatings” ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2020, 12,37, 42030-42040.
Cheng-Wei Lin*, Stephanie Aguilar*, Ethan Rao, Wai H. Ma, Xinwei Huang, Na He, Dayong Chen, Dukwoo Jun, Paige Curson, Brian T. McVerry, Eric M. V. Hoek, Shu-Chuan Huang and Richard B. Kaner. “Direct grafting of tetraaniline via perfluorophenylazide photochemistry to create antifouling, low bio-adhesion surfaces” Chem. Sci. 2019, 10, 4445-4457.
Xueying Chang, Cheng-Wei Lin, Stephanie Aguilar, Mackenzie Anderson, Richard B. Kaner. “Three-dimensional Graphene Network with Covalently-grafted Aniline Tetramer for Ultralong-life Supercapacitors” Advanced Functional Materials, 2021, 31, (32), 2102397.
* These two authors contribute equally to this work.