Paul Loberg, '24 Chemical Engineering - Biotechnology & Bioengineering Track

Where was your Internship?

USALCO in Baltimore, Maryland

What is the focus of your Internship?

The focus of my internship was to develop an economical way to produce dry aluminum chloralhydrate. I am helping design and conduct experiments which would be used to advance the current R&D project through the pilot phase to a scaled up industrial version. I also did lab work to prepare and test the samples we collected from the experiments.

What are you looking forward to the most about your Internship? 

I am looking forward to returning in the winter and seeing how the project has progressed and working on it further.

What was the best part of your Internship?

The best part of my internship was the level of autonomy I was given, as an intern, by my bosses and co-workers. We had a voice during all discussions, we could make designs and sketches independently, and give our personal feedback on the project and the direction we thought it should move.

What advice do you have for students who are interested in getting involved in research or an internship?

My advice would be, even if it's late in the spring and you haven't managed to find an internship, keep applying to postings you want. I got the text for an interview during finals week while I was taking my last exam. Definitely start applying earlier if you can but don't let rejections or a lack of responses stop you.

Are you a member of any clubs/campus organizations?

I am the Treasurer of UMBC's student chapter of AIChE as well as a member of the Chemical Engineering Jeopardy team. I play basketball for the intramural CBEE team formed by ChemE students.

What are your goals after graduation?

I want to do R&D or process engineering full time.

Yoonjin Cho,

‘24 chemical engineering at Chung-Ang University, South Korea

When did you do your Internship?

Summer 2023

Where was your Internship?

Blaney Lab, UMBC

What is the focus of your Internship?

We are working to develop sampling methods for certain PFAS compounds. This is necessary as governments and regulatory agencies are actively evaluating and implementing measures to restrict the use of certain PFAS compounds and set acceptable exposure limits.

Specifically, I am working on the following projects: 

-Detection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in wastewater, and biosolids samples. 

-Researching the impact of solution pH, temperature, and salt concentration on KPFAS Cl using membranes for passive sampler 

What are you looking forward to the most about your Internship? 

I look forward to improving my ability to read papers effectively and efficiently, as well as gaining practical experience in a laboratory setting and enhancing my data analysis skills.

What was the best part of your Internship OR What was the biggest learning moment of your Internship ?

I gave a presentation about the calibration curve and internal standard during a group meeting. At first, it was challenging to understand the concept, but through the process of looking things up in English and asking questions to team mates, it became fulfilling. Additionally, presenting in front of my colleagues in the lab pushed me out of my comfort zone. 

What advice do you have for students who are interested in getting involved in research or an internship?

Use diverse sources, including not only academic papers but also platforms like YouTube and blogs, to gain an understanding of the topic you're interested in.

Take your time looking for fields you would like but don't hesitate to take action!

Are you a member of any clubs/campus organizations?

University of Maryland-Baltimore County(exchange student)

Chung-Ang University, Korea(senior majoring in chemical engineering)

What are your goals after graduation?

Pursuing master's degree

Ethan Banks, ‘24 Chemical Engineering - Traditional Track

When did you do your Internship?

Summer 2023

Where was your Internship?

W.R. Grace in Curtis Bay, Maryland

What is the focus of your Internship?

Correlating laboratory results to easily measured in-process variables in order to improve the efficiency of production in a specialty catalyst plant.

What are you looking forward to the most about your Internship? 

Getting to learn new things in a real working environment

What was the best part of your Internship OR What was the biggest learning moment of your Internship ?

Getting to work in a manufacturing environment everyday and applying the skills learned in my classes to the real world. I really enjoyed seeing all of the unit operations and core concepts I've learned about come to life.

What advice do you have for students who are interested in getting involved in research or an internship?

Apply early and often! It can't hurt to apply to any opportunity that you may be interested in. Also, be sure to leverage your network. If you know somebody that works at a company you are interested in, don't be afraid to reach out.

Are you a member of any clubs/campus organizations?

Vice President of UMBC's student chapter of AIChE, ChemE Jeopardy Team Member, Current Teaching fellow for ENCH300, Past Teaching Fellow for ENCH225L and ENCH215, Subject Tutor for Chemical Engineering Classes at UMBC's Academic Success Center.

What are your goals after graduation?

Get a full time job in industry

Learn more about Ethan Banks: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethan-banks-b3622521b/ 

Nicholas Schmidt, '24 Chemical Engineering - Traditional Track

When did you do your Research?

Summer 2023

Where was your Research?

Dr. Singh's lab, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UMBC.

What is the focus of your Research?

Solid crystal optical properties

What are you looking forward to the most about your Research? 

I am looking forward to attending and presenting a research poster at The Material Science and Technology conference during the first week of October. This should be a really good opportunity to see research going on across the country and to gain speaking experience in an academic setting.

What was the best part of your Research?

My favorite part about doing research was gaining hands-on experience with research equipment as well as working collaboratively with undergrads and grad students in the. 

What advice do you have for students who are interested in getting involved in research or an internship?

My advice is to ask around about opportunities -- talk to people -- especially your professors and your classmates who are already involved in research. You won't always get internships or research directly from the people you ask, but they might know of someone who has an opening or know of an opportunity.

Are you a member of any clubs/campus organizations?

Navy ROTC, Tau Beta Pi

What are your goals after graduation?

After graduation, I will be commissioning into the US Navy, hopefully to become a submarine officer and learn about nuclear power. 

Learn more about Nicholas Schmidt: 

www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-schmidt-111b56265

John Velkey, 
'24 Chemical Engineering - traditional track, Mathematics minor

Where was your Research?

ATOMS lab with Dr. Josephson

When did you start your Research?

January 2023

What is the focus of your Research?

Writing programs in Lean 4 that perform scientific calculations, and have verifiable mathematics

What are you looking forward to the most about your Research? 

Opportunities to present research to broader audiences at conferences

What was the best part of your Research OR What was the biggest learning moment of your Research ?

I have really enjoyed the process of learning a new programming language.

What advice do you have for students who are interested in getting involved in research or an internship?

Apply early and often, and tailor applications to individual opportunities. 

Are you a member of any clubs/campus organizations?

I am a teaching fellow for ENCH 300 - Chemical Process Thermodynamics.

What are your goals after graduation?

I am looking forward to getting into the workforce and taking a bit of a break from school, (for now)

Learn more about John Velkey: 

@_Velkey on X (FKA Twitter), LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-velkey

Terra Miley, 
'25 Chemical Engineering - biotechnology & bioengineering track, Minor: Entrepreneurship

When did you do your Research?

Center for Advanced Sensor Technology with Dr. Govind Rao at UMBC

What is the focus of your Research?

The focus of my research is fluorescent sensor technology and developing genetically encoded sensors to be used in Cell-Free Bioreactors.

What do you enjoy the most about your Research? 

I am surrounded by extremely intelligent engineers and researchers from whom I have the privilege to learn so much from. I am specifically looking forward to working with my mentors, Chad Sundberg Ph.D. student and Dr. Govind Rao, to become a better researcher as well as advancing in my project.

What was the best part of your Research OR What was the biggest learning moment of your Research ?

The best part of my research experience are the small wins and discoveries that are made in the lab each and everyday. Through working with others, it is amazing to see what can happen when multiple different people approach a problem. I have been able to apply what I learn in my classes to my research project. I have been able to learn so much from others, and I look forward to continuing to learn and apply our research to solve real-world problems.

What advice do you have for students who are interested in getting involved in research or an internship?

My advice is to not hesitate to reach out to research labs or internships that you are interested in. Reach out early and do research ahead of time to learn about the research done in the lab.

Are you a member of any clubs/campus organizations?

I am the Secretary and Communications Conference Chair for the American Institute of Chemical Engineers as well as the Panhellenic Delegate and Historian for Phi Mu, Phi Gamma Chapter. I was also a teaching fellow for ENCH 215, Chemical Engineering Analysis, during the summer.

What are your goals after graduation?

After graduation I plan to continue my education in graduate school, to hopefully pursue my Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering.

Learn more about Terra Miley: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/terra-miley-690885268

Emily Bolt,
'24 Chemical Engineering - traditional track, Minor: Entrepreneurship and Innovation

When did you do your Internship?

June 2023

Where was your Internship?

Clene Nanomedicine in North East, Maryland

What is the focus of your Internship?

I evaluated the amount of the edible gold nanoparticle medication in samples. The medication is intended to reduce the symptoms of Parkinson's, ALS, and MS.

What are you looking forward to the most about your Internship? 

I had prior experience as a Federal Employee for a Federal Contractor. Working at Celene allowed me to expand my experience. I was inspired to work at Celene, a small pharmaceutical company, because they focus on developing medications for diseases that are frequently underfunded and aim to treat conditions like Parkinson's, ALS, MS, and many more. 

What was the best part of your Internship OR What was the biggest learning moment of your Internship ?

The highlight of my internship was when a drug trial participant found out they were likely to be examined by the FDA and they sent a heartfelt email promising to do anything they could to support Clene Nanomedicine. The treatment they received as a drug trial participant was life changing for them. 

What advice do you have for students who are interested in getting involved in research or an internship?

My advice would be to diversify the applications to help find what is best for you, even if you think you might not be eligible for some jobs. As a chemical engineering major I even applied to roles for electrical engineering at NASA and got an interview. I got interviews for positions I applied to mechanical engineering roles, process control roles, safety roles. Applying to various positions allowed me to explore all the options and select the position that was the best fit for me.

Are you a member of any clubs/campus organizations?

UMBC Crafters: Founder and President

What are your goals after graduation?

I plan to work in the industry after graduation. I am still deciding if I want to pursue a graduate degree.

** Originally published in UMBC's Undergraduate Research Group** 

Meet Garrett Hill, a FOUR-TIME URA Scholar! 

Garrett attended Mount Hebron High School in Howard County, where he had the opportunity to participate in the Biotechnology Career Academy at the Applications and Research Laboratory (ARL) program and conduct research at UMBC during his senior year at Hebron. He is a senior Biochemistry and Molecular Biology major, a Meyerhoff Scholar, and conducts research in the Marten lab.

Research Title: Characterization of the PrkA Protein Kinase in Aspergillus nidulans

Describe your project:

My project aims to investigate the way that mold repairs its cell wall after damage and how the cell organizes structures related to this repair. New understandings gained through this research can contribute to how we use fungi to make drugs and enzymes and may even help others to design new antifungal medications.

Who is your mentor for your project? 

I work with Dr. Mark R. Marten in the Department of Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering. As a high school senior, I was a part of a program that allowed me to participate in research at neighboring institutions, and I came across Dr. Marten and his lab when searching for research I may be interested in. After meeting and talking about the work done in the lab, something that stood out to me was how Dr. Marten stressed the importance of project ownership. Being the “expert” in the lab on a project gives students a unique level of both responsibility and drive, and this is what drew me to joining his lab.

How did you become interested in this project?

Before starting work on this project, I had assisted some graduate students with their projects, and that’s when I learned that I had an interest in both the molecular genetics and the fluorescence microscopy that we do in our lab. This project seemed to combine both interests, so I decided to choose it when looking for a project of my own.

What has been the hardest part about your research/what was the most unexpected thing about being a researcher? 

Something that really took getting used to was the number of setbacks I faced in my project. I quickly learned that in research, it takes many tries to get something right, and failure became much more familiar to me throughout my journey as an undergraduate researcher.

What has been the most rewarding part?

I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to engage in research at almost every stage a projects life. I started with comprehensive literature reviews, where I then formulated my own hypotheses, and under the guidance of my mentor, I designed experiments to test these hypotheses. I also got experience communicating my science in conferences and presentations, allowing me to get a great view of what research really feels like.

How will you disseminate your research?

I plan to present my research next spring at URCAD and look forward to the prospect of attending conferences to potentially present my work.

What is your advice to other students about getting involved in research?

I think getting involved in research can seem a little daunting at first, so I would recommend that people just take the leap! There is a lot of exciting research being done at UMBC, so I would say to just see what’s out there and if something seems interesting, reach out to the lab to see if you can get involved. Now is the time to experiment and see what you want to do in your career, and there are many mentors here that could help you on that journey.

What are your career goals?

After graduating UMBC, I plan to pursue a PhD in microbiology. The prospect of staying in academia and becoming a mentor for others is exciting to me, but I also look forward to exploring what other career paths I might be able to follow after graduate school.

Read more about UMBC's URA Scholars:

ur.umbc.edu

Danielle Larios,

‘25 Chemical Engineering - traditional track, Ancient Studies Minor

When did you begin your Research?

Spring 2023

Where does your Research take place?

Hennigan Lab, Department of Chemical, Biochemical and Environmental Engineering, UMBC

What is the focus of your Research?

Investigating the effects and properties of Aerosols, such as brown carbons, present in cloud water.

What are you looking forward to the most about your Research?

I look forward to working together with my fellow research assistants towards a real world, practical goal and continuing to do so throughout the next year.

What was the best part of your Research OR What was the biggest learning moment of your Research ?

If you are interested in research or internships, then be proactive! Even if nothing comes from it, you can only benefit from creating relationships with your professors and networking with potential companies.

Are you a member of any clubs/campus organizations?

Student Ambassador for CBEE, Social Coordinator for Tau Beta Pi

What are your goals after graduation?

Pursue a master's degree in environmental engineering

Learn more about Danielle Larios:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-larios-6936a127b/ 

Matthew Quintanilla,

‘27 chemical engineering - biotechnology &  bioengineering track

When did you do your Internship?

I started in June 2022 as a high school student at Broadneck High School and I am continuing the research as I begin my undergraduate studies at UMBC.

Where does your Research take place?

Marten Lab, Department of Chemical, Biochemical and Environmental Engineering, UMBC

What is the focus of your Research?

I primarily focused on screening the entire kinase knockout library to find out more about their respective kinases' involvement with the cell wall biosynthesis and repair.

What are you looking forward to the most about your Research?

I am looking forward to the 3-D printing aspect of my internship, meeting a lot of new people, and living in a new area of the country.

What was the best part of your Research OR What was the biggest learning moment of your Research ?

It is crucial for everyone with a future in science to challenge their own thinking; either with in-depth, difficult content, or with unfamiliar content. I implore others to step into areas with the intention to do that.

Are you a member of any clubs/campus organizations?

I am not yet involved in any clubs or organizations on campus.

What are your goals after graduation?

I would like to attain a PhD in biochemical engineering

Learn more about Matthew Quintanilla:

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-quintanilla-101651260/