Undergraduate Student Spotlight

Undergraduate Spotlight

Kara Murphy
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Class of 2024

Hometown:  Kennett Square, PA

Why did you choose to pursue engineering? Why CBE?
I’ve wanted to pursue a career in science since I was very young, and I ultimately decided on engineering because I could be doing science with my own hands. I enjoy the hands-on aspect of engineering and how it feels like you, personally, are having an effect on the world. I specifically chose CBE because chemistry is my favorite science and the degree is very versatile and relevant.

What are your areas of interest within CBE?
I am interested in both medical and environmental research within CBE.

Have you had any internships or worked in a research lab? If so, where? Do you have any advice for other CBE students interested in doing the same?
I worked in a lab this past summer which investigated the microenvironment of breast cancer tumors. I specifically looked at the interaction of two specific proteins and how to augment this interaction to suppress tumor functions. My best advice is to first find an area of research interest to narrow down your search, and then reach out to as many professors as possible.

What do you hope to do after graduation?
I would like to do research on either medical or environmental topics. Some of my specific interests include cancer, stem cells, energy, and carbon capture.

Where is your favorite spot on campus?
Platt Student Performing Arts House

Learn more about the BSE in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.

 

 

Undergraduate Spotlight

Kofi Nightingale
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Class of 2023

Hometown:  Kingston, Jamaica

Programs:
CBE Major
Engineering Entrepreneurship Minor

Why did you choose to pursue engineering? Why CBE?

I chose to pursue engineering mainly because of the essential skills studying engineering allows you to develop such as critical and analytical thinking in different environments. I chose CBE in particular due to my love for biochemistry and the molecular complexities underlying living organisms. As such, it seemed like the best fit for me here at Penn.

What are your areas of interest within CBE?

My primary area of interest currently is within the pharmaceutical and medical technology industry. I chose CBE as a way to impact the medicinal field through the lens of the individuals on the cutting-edge of medicinal science with the chance of someday being a part of that innovation pipeline.

Have you had any internships or worked in a research lab? If so, where? Do you have any advice for other CBE students interested in doing the same?

I have worked in the Lim Lab within the CBE department where I worked on investigating the factors affecting the elongation rate of RNA Polymerase II, the primary enzyme responsible for gene transcription in most living organisms. This could have many implications in the field of genetic diagnostics and gene therapy further down the line.

My best advice for other CBE students interested in research would be to begin to build a rapport with a professor on campus. An easy place to start would be with the professors that teach you but if your interest lies outside of that then do not hesitate to reach out (cold emailing is tough but the best way to get your foot in the door) or explore many opportunities provided the University such as the PURM program or other CURF opportunities. As long as you present yourself as someone highly interested in the work they do and have done your homework in finding out more about what they do in the lab, you’ll be setting yourself up for success in landing that research opportunity.

Where is your favorite spot on campus?

One of my favorite spots on campus would have to be the Education Commons or the newly renovated Biotech Commons, but the Singh Center for Nanotechnology still blows me away.

 

 

Undergraduate Research Spotlight

Sean Deresh
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Class of 2023

Hometown: Guaynabo, Puerto Rico

Programs:
VIPER
CBE Major
Earth Science Major

 

Research Conducted: Fall 21 – Spring 22
Principal Investigator: Dr. John Vohs

Research Project:
The growing concern for global climate change and finite energy resources have generated interest in the transformation of biomass carbohydrates to fuels and chemicals.

Catalytic active metal oxides with high surface area are highly desired for application in the catalysis of such transformations. These catalysts have proven to show promise in crucial biomass reactions such as dehydrations and condensations. Our goal is to synthesize and characterize a uniformly dispersed metal oxide thin film with high surface area for application in catalytic reactions. Atomic Layer Deposition is being used in order to conduct the synthesis of the thin film in an atomic scale. The self-limiting nature of this technique allows for a precise control of the growth of the thin film, progressing from each layer to the next, all the while maintaining a high surface area.  By depositing metal precursors on Mesoporous silica in multiple deposition cycles, we can precisely show the pore size and control the active site for catalysis application.

 

 

Undergraduate Spotlight

Isabel Gutierrez
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Class of 2022

Hometown:  Fort Lauderdale, FL

Programs:
CBE Major | Energy and Sustainability Minor

Why did you choose to pursue engineering? Why CBE?

I chose to pursue engineering because I wanted to learn how to problem-solve. I chose CBE because I enjoyed my chemistry classes in high school, saw that there was a minor in energy and sustainability, and gave the major a try and ended up really liking it!

Have you been involved with any student organizations on campus?

Over the past four years, I have been involved with SHPE, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, in varying capacities, and am now serving as President. I hope to welcome more members into our chapter and create a fun rest of the year for all students involved or interested!

Have you had any internships or worked in a research lab? If so, where? Do you have any advice for other CBE students interested in doing the same?

I had an internship at Agilent Technologies this summer that was extended into this semester. I would tell CBE students that they should never give up on the position or internship they want. If you go after your goals, the sky is the limit!

What do you hope to do with your BSE?

I hope to work in the area of sustainability and be able to use my degree and everything I’ve learned to make an important impact on my community.

Where is your favorite spot on campus?

My favorite spot is the fishbowl, but I am excited to see the new ODEI space!

 

 

Undergraduate Spotlight

Chelsea Cao
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Class of 2022

Hometown: Toronto, Canada

Programs: CBE Major
Economics Major with Statistics Concentration

Why did you choose to pursue engineering? Why CBE?

I’ve always loved math and science and being able to create new things. In high school, I was passionate about chemistry, so I started working in a chemical engineering lab, not knowing what it would involve. I found out I really enjoyed it, so that led me to CBE at Penn!

What are your areas of interest or research interests within CBE?

Sustainability, energy, and polymers.

Have you had any internships or worked in a research lab? If so, where? Do you have any advice for other CBE students interested in doing the same?

I’ve been working in Dr. Riggleman’s lab. Over the past couple of summers, I’ve also worked at a pharma startup and an investment bank. My biggest two pieces of advice are to not be afraid of asking to get involved and to send out tons of applications.

What do you hope to do with your BSE?

I’d love to work a couple of years in finance and then transition to a role helping scale companies in sustainable tech.

Where is your favorite spot on campus?

Levine 6th floor

 

 

Undergraduate Spotlight

Akaash Padmanabha
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Class of 2022

Hometown: Rossville, TN

Programs: CBE Major | Chemistry Major | VIPER Program

Why did you choose to pursue engineering? Why CBE?

As I applied to colleges in my senior year of high school, I believed that engineering would offer a balance between science and real-life application. I chose CBE because of my desire to study chemistry over other sciences.

What are your areas of interest or research interests within CBE?

Within CBE, I have enjoyed learning about separation processes including distillation and extractions.

Have you had any internships or worked in a research lab? If so, where? Do you have any advice for other CBE students interested in doing the same?

I have conducted battery-related research in Prof. Pikul’s lab in the MEAM department since my freshmen spring – although I worked outside the CBE department, my specific involvement in adhesive development and chemical transport modeling allowed me to apply what I learned to my research efforts. I would highly recommend exploring topics of research that interest you regardless of their similarity to what you have learned or will learn.

What do you hope to do with your BSE?

I am joining BCG as an associate consultant and working out of their LA office.

Where is your favorite spot on campus?

Platt Performing Arts House

 

 

2022 Penn Chem-E-Car Team wins Sportsmanship Award

On April 8th-9th, the University of Pennsylvania’s Chem-E-Car team competed in the regional AIChE Chem-E-Car competition, hosted by the New Jersey Institute of Technology. In addition to the main competition, the two-day conference included a poster competition and Chem-E Jeopardy.

The team had to build a car that ran entirely on chemical reactions, including powering the motor and braking, to drive a set distance revealed at the competition.

Penn sent an interdisciplinary team to the competition.  While most students were Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering majors, there were also mechanical engineering, computer science, and electrical engineering majors represented. They were mentored by CBE PhD student Owen Land who also attended the conference as a poster judge.

We asked team captains Rebekah Varghese and Kofi Nightingale (CBE, ’23) to share their experiences at the competition.

Tell us about your car.

Our car was the Amy GuttVan. The name was inspired by Amy Guttman, our former University president. It was assembled from self-cut acrylic placed on a common base with circuitry and wiring mounted underneath. We chose to go with a pseudo-modular make-up because it made compartmentalization of the design and building process easier so each sub-team could optimize their vessel as much as possible until the final assembly. Acrylic was used for its sturdiness and its accessibility since we regularly laser cut from the MEAM lab in the Towne building.

What reactions did you use to make your car start and stop?

There were two primary reactions used: a starting mechanism and a stopping mechanism. The starting mechanism was a reaction between aluminum foil and water in the presence of concentrated sodium hydroxide. This reaction is highly exothermic which allows us to generate a lot of heat that would be converted into electrical energy used to power the car (theoretically). The conversion would take place because of a series of thermoelectric generators (TEG plates for short) that, when placed in a stark temperature gradient (one side hot, one side cold), would produce voltage and current. The stopping mechanism consisted of a simple iodine clock reaction. Starch is combined with sodium thiosulfate and potassium iodide in specific ratios that trigger a series of reactions causing the formation of a blue polyiodide complex over time. This color change is used to induce a switch in the circuitry of the connected microcontroller that cuts power to the motors, stopping the car.

What are your key takeaways from this year’s competition?

One of our key takeaways from this year’s competition is the value of being very flexible. We are a very young team. This was the first time going to a Chem-E-Car competition for everyone, since Penn hasn’t competed since 2019. We went into the competition without as much knowledge about how everything worked as some more veteran schools.

In terms of the car itself, we got a lot of good insight on which types of reactions/mechanisms are generally the most successful, which means we will likely not be using TEG plates for a while.

How was the competition experience?

The competition was nerve-wracking yet highly rewarding. We kicked off day one with a lengthy safety inspection and poster competition. Afterwards, we competed in the AIChE Chem-E-Jeopardy and ended as semifinalists after exciting rounds against 5 other teams. They were very intense games, and we found ourselves using the things we learned in class more often than expected.

On day two, we tackled the Chem-E-Car performance competition. There were many other talented groups from universities across the Northeast and we had a lot of fun spectating and interacting with them. Although we didn’t come out on top, we definitely learned a lot that will help us in future years and also probably throughout our careers.

Unfortunately, like many other schools, our car didn’t move. However, we still got a lot out of the experience. At the end of the day, we were awarded the Chem-E-Car Sportsmanship Award.

What are your goals for next year?

Our top goal for next year is to have our car move close to the correct distance. During the competition, we quickly realized that there is a fairly low bar to qualify for nationals, and if we had gone just half of the required distance, we would have qualified. However, the fact that so few teams do it successfully proves that it is quite a challenge. Overall, we just want to continue growing the team and building a strong foundation for future years, as we hope that the Penn Chem-E-Car Team will make more of a tradition out of entering every year.

 

Undergraduate Research Spotlight

Emily Kim
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Class of 2024

Hometown: Duluth, GA

Programs:
CBE Major
Clark Scholars
Jack Kent Cooke

 

Research Conducted: Summer ’21-present
Principal Investigator: Michael Mitchell
Mentor: Rebecca Haley & Marshall Padilla

Research Project:
Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are often used to deliver protein and nucleic acid therapeutics. They are composed of cholesterol, a phospholipid, a PEGylated lipid, and an ionizable lipid (IL) (one of the most important molecules for delivery). Traditional ILs are expensive due to their synthetic complexity. We are proposing to replace traditional ILs with L-lysine-derivatized polymers. By using poly-L-lysine as the backbone, we can append a wide array of functional groups, which increases the synthetic diversity of the polymer. This can be accomplished using two simple synthetic steps, allowing for a diverse library of polymers to be synthesized with relative ease. The objective of the project is to formulate small and customizable ionizable polymers to use as substitutes for traditional ionizable lipids. These ionizable lipids will be synthesized and formulated into LNPs. They will then be tested for potential enhancement of protein and nucleic acid delivery.

 

 

Undergraduate Spotlight

Mara Rao
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Class of 2023

Hometown: Westfield, NJ

Programs:
CBE Major
Chemistry Minor
Pharmaceutics and Biotechnology Concentration

 

Why did you choose to pursue engineering? Why CBE?

I decided to pursue engineering because I was always interested in STEM and wanted to have opportunities to improve my problem-solving and collaboration skills. I thought CBE would be a great fit because I really enjoy chemistry classes and there are a wide variety of career options!

What are your areas of interest or research interests within CBE?

I am interested in drug development and delivery as well as analytical chemistry.

Have you had any internships or worked in a research lab? If so, where? Do you have any advice for other CBE students interested in doing the same?

I work in the Tsourkas Lab in the BE department studying antibody-drug conjugates. I will also be interning at Merck in analytical research and development. My advice is don’t be afraid to reach out to professors to learn more about their research even if you don’t have prior experience in their specific field.

What do you hope to do with your BSE?

I am not sure of my exact plants yet, but I hope to work at the intersection of engineering with health and medicine.

Where is your favorite spot on campus?

Towne 3rd Floor!

 

Congratulations! Akaash Padmanabha VIPER Senior, CBE & Chemistry Dual Degree

Akaash Padmanabha is a 2022 Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research (VIPER) Award for Interdisciplinary Academic Excellence recipient.

 

Students who receive this award have demonstrated outstanding academic achievements during their interdisciplinary course of study. This can be reflected in the choice of curriculum they have pursued at Penn, advanced levelcoursework, and performance in classes. Additionally, special consideration will be given to students who demonstrate the importance and impact of their dual perspective in studying fundamental science as well as engineering applications.

 

 

 

Graduate Student Spotlight

Ph.D. Spotlight

Kevin Juan
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Class of 2024

Hometown: Pennington, New Jersey

Where did you receive your undergraduate degree?

I received my undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University.

Who is your current advising professor?

My current advising professor is Dr. Amish Patel.

What made you interested in chemical engineering?

I became interested in chemical engineering because I enjoyed chemistry and math during high school and wanted a way to use my knowledge of both to solve problems at the microscopic and macroscopic levels. I especially wanted to use my skills to solve problems that would greatly influence society in a positive way.

What is your specific field of interest/research?

My research interest is in computational science. Specifically, I am interested in using molecular simulation and machine learning to study proteins to help develop novel materials.

Why did you choose CBE at Penn?

I chose CBE at Penn because there is a large cohort of faculty working in various sub-fields of computational science, which presented me with many options to explore my research interests. The students and faculty at Penn were also very welcoming when I visited and made it extremely easy to find people I would get along with and had similar interests as me.

What are your future plans and how do you plan to use your Ph.D.?

Right now, I think I am interested in applying my knowledge to industrial research involving, computational science. I think one of the great benefits of doing computational research is that it will give me the tools to explore exciting, new areas in technology that a standard chemical engineering education prepares for.

What do you enjoy in your spare time?

In my spare time, I enjoy working out, hanging out with friends and family, spending time with my dogs, cat, and exploring restaurants and spirit options around Philadelphia. I’ve also played ice hockey since the age of seven and currently play for Penn’s Men’s Club Hockey Team.

Tell us something interesting or unusual that readers may like to know about you.

I played ice hockey on the same rink where the “Miracle on Ice” occurred in 1980 when the US beat the Soviet Union.

 

 

Ph.D. Spotlight

Kaushik Shankar
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Class of 2023

Hometown: Chennai, a city in the southernmost State of Tamil Nadu, India

Where did you receive your undergraduate degree?

I received my undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.

Who is your current advising professor?

I am co-advised by Drs. Scott Diamond and Talid Sinno.

What made you interested in chemical engineering?

I was amazed by the widespread applicability of chemical engineering fundamentals. It equips one with the skillset to address solutions to a variety of problems, be it in human health, environment, or energy, among several others.

What is your specific field of interest/research?

My research is in the area of blood systems biology. More specifically, I am working toward developing a multiscale mathematical model to simulate platelet aggregation and deposition underflow. This would be useful in studying patient-specific blood function and thrombotic risk.

Why did you choose CBE at Penn?

I was greatly impressed by the CBE faculty at Penn, as well as their research program, which is highly interdisciplinary. Moreover, I wanted to work on something that would impact human health in some way, which made Penn an easy choice for me.

What are your future plans and how do you plan to use your Ph.D.?

I do not have a definite answer to this question. At the moment, I am leaning toward a career in academia, as I believe it would constantly challenge and enhance both my intellectual and creative abilities.

What do you enjoy in your spare time?

I enjoy watching sports in general, especially cricket and tennis. I also like watching movies and TV, and reading novels, especially fiction.

Tell us something interesting or unusual that readers may like to know about you.

I never originally envisioned myself majoring in engineering. I wanted to pursue commerce and economics in high school but ended up taking science and math, primarily due to peer pressure. I found the going quite tough and was regretful until I started appreciating its ingenuity, and it has been a fascinating journey since.

 

 

Ph.D. Spotlight

Anastasia Neuman
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Class of 2024

Hometown:  Abingdon, Maryland

Where did you receive your undergraduate degree?

I received my undergraduate degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering from MIT.

Who is your current advising professor?

I am co-advised by Drs. Daeyeon Lee and Rob Riggleman.

What made you interested in chemical engineering?

I became interested while working at the US Army Medical Research Institute for Chemical Defense in high school, studying bioscavengers for nerve agents.

What is your specific field of interest/research?

My research is in thermodynamics and transport phenomena in polymer nanocomposites under extreme nanoconfinement.

Why did you choose CBE at Penn?

I chose CBE at Penn because the faculty does interesting work, they are very friendly and supportive, and the location is great!

What are your future plans and how do you plan to use your Ph.D.?

My goal is to go into academia.

What do you enjoy in your spare time?

I love field hockey (I play for the club team at Penn and in local adult leagues), cooking, traveling (when I can find cheap flights), and exploring local beers gardens!

Tell us something interesting or unusual that readers may like to know about you.

I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie and I have sky-dived and bungee jumped into the Nile.

 

 

Anastasia Neuman, Named a Pl on an XSEDE Grant

Anastasia Neuman, a CBE Ph.D. candidate in Dr. Riggleman’s Computational Soft Matter Lab has been named a Pl on an XSEDE Grant. Anastasia grew up in Maryland and received her undergraduate degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering from MIT. Her research is currently focused on thermodynamics and transport phenomena in polymer nanocomposites under extreme nanoconfinement. The Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE) is a single virtual system that scientists can use to interactively share computing resources, data and expertise. The XSEDE startup allocation request made by Neuman was to investigate the dynamics of highly-filled polymer nanocomposite systems in which phase separation is inhibited.  They also aimed to understand how confinement alters the gas transport properties of these composites, as polymer nanocomposites are highly sought out for barrier and transport applications.