Sam Storts is a project engineer at The Ohio State University's Center for Design and Manufacturing Excellence (CDME). Prior to joining CDME, he gained valuable experience as a Research Associate focused on the formulation and production of biopolymers as well as their implementation into industrial settings. He simultaneously worked as a lab manager lending expertise to student projects focused on the engineering aspects of food production and food industry waste management. His understanding of instruments and machinery was vital to the implementation of multiple pieces of equipment into groundbreaking projects through mechanical, thermal, and qualitative testing strategies. He oversaw 19 graduate student projects and helped develop a center focused on collaborative biopolymer efforts including the design of an undergraduate elective based on the subject. He possesses a strong background in mechanical and computer aided design.

Sam is from the small town of Sugar Grove, Ohio, just north of the Hocking Hills region. His father is a retired Columbus firefighter and mother owned a motorcycle rental shop where Sam gained extensive mechanical experience from a young age working on motorcycles. Sam and his fiancee, Jenna, reside in Dublin with their rescue dog, Cricket.