Shawn Serafin, ‘23 chemical engineering - traditional track, minor in chemistry

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

When did you do your Research Experience?

Hennigan’s Lab: May 2021-May 2022

Where was your Research Experience?

I worked in Dr. Hennigan’s Lab in the Department of Chemical, Biochemical and Environmental Engineering at UMBC.

What is the focus of your Research Experience?

I focused on two different projects. The first project focused on characterizing the solubility of environmentally relevant gasses into salt solutions with varying conditions. The second project focused on characterizing the effect of pH on the presence of brown carbon with cloud water samples.

What was the best part of your Research Experience?

Our periodical meetings with Dr. Henningan where we learned about new ideas and projects, presented and discussed ongoing results, and recalibrated and refreshed our efforts.

INTERNSHIP

When did you do your Internship?

May 2022-May 2023. I went for a summer in-person, and continued remotely during the 2022-2023 school year. 

Where was your Internship?

I went to Santa Fe Springs, CA, for an summer in-person and continued remotely during the school year.

What is the focus of your Internship?

Process/Manufacturing Engineering of Carbon-Carbon Composite Plane Brakes

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

The unexpected test failures of parts that required fast, on your feet thinking, and lots of extra long hours of work and thinking.

More about Shawn…

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

Start with on campus research: show interest in a professor’s research and try to get involved. Then, utilize that relevant experience to build your knowledge and interests. Finally, work to attend as many career fairs as possible to speak with people and try to show interest in their work and be likable, and the opportunities will come flowing in. Become more than just another name on the page. 

Are you a member of any clubs/campus organizations?

I am a member of Tau Beta Pi, The Engineering Honor Society. I was the treasurer for the 21-22 academic year and the president for the 22-23 academic year. I have also been a teaching fellow for the CBEE department every regular semester since I was eligible.

What are your goals after graduation?

I have a position at Northrop Grumman as a Systems Engineer in the pathways program. Perhaps, I will move into a more managerial position, and then farther down the line I will run various business ventures.

Learn more about Shawn Serafin: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-serafin

An Dang, '24 chemical engineering - biotechnology & bioengineering track

When did you do your research/internship?
May 2023

Where was your research experience?
Purdue University, with Dr. Brandon Boor, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering

What is the focus of your research/internship?
Air filtration

What advice do you have for students who are interested in getting involved in research or an internship?
Make sure to start looking for opportunities as early as late October, and start asking your Professors/supervisors for recommendations early!

Are you a member of any clubs/campus organizations?
I was a teaching fellow for ENCH225L in Fall 2022 and Spring 2023, we mainly graded homework, quizzes, exams, held review sessions, and had office hours. I am a CBEE ambassador. I help run the tiktok account, attend outreach and recruitment events, and give department tours to prospective students. I am an ISSS Global ambassador: I answer prospective students' questions on Unibuddy, write blogs (sometimes...), and film promotional videos for UMBC. I am also involved in the UMBC chapter of AIChE, I am the 2023-2024 service chair. 

What are your goals after graduation?
Industry or Graduate school

Learn more about An Dang: ✓ @anhongdang (Twitter) Check out An Dang’s profile on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/anhongdang 

We are proud to announce that the Chemical, Biochemical, Environmental Engineering Department was acknowledged for our involvement in the Fall 22 STEM Expo and Fall Fair, as well as for representing the COEIT department in the First Lego Program STEM Education Research at the Annual Annapolis Area Christian School STEM Program.

We extend our gratitude to the Annual Annapolis Area Christian School system, the COEIT department, and all the students, staff, and faculty members from CBEE for their generous support and contributions.

When did you start your research experience?

May 2022 in Hennigan Lab UMBC, Department of Chemical, Biochemical and Environmental Engineering

What is the focus of your research/internship?

Our project looks at the evolution of brown carbon molecules in cloud water when exposed to changes in pH or UV radiation, and how this affects their light absorbing properties. We are currently performing experiments in photolysis, where light splits these organic compounds that changes their interaction with light and thus, their effects on climate. Light absorption is important for understanding how atmospheric aerosols can increase or decrease global warming.

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

If there are topics you learn about in class such as water treatment, air pollution, etc that seem interesting or you want to learn more about, there is probably a UMBC professor who is actually doing research that is advancing our understanding of that topic!

Meredith Morse
'25 chemical engineering - biotechnology & bioengineering track, 

When did you start your research?

January 2021 in MartenLab at UMBC, Department of Chemical, Biochemical and Environmental Engineering

What is the focus of your research?

I am focused on characterizing the Aspergillus nidulans kinase deletion library for increased septation in response to cell wall stress. More broadly, I use microscopy techniques to investigate gene deletions in filamentous fungus in order to determine the gene products' role in the upkeep and repair of the cell wall. 

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

Do not be afraid to reach out to professors, older students, or others for advice! Getting involved can seem overwhelming, especially when you do not know where to start. Turning to those with experience can be really helpful as they can provide guidance and mentorship. The real world advice and support they can provide is invaluable as you discover your own path. 

Are you a member of any clubs/campus organizations?

Center for Women in Technology (CWIT) Scholars Program, Phi Mu Fraternity for Women

What are your goals after graduation?

PhD in Chemical Engineering

Madison McLaren 

Where did you conduct your research: 

Dr. Hennigan's lab, UMBC

When did you start your research on campus?

I started my research in June of 2022. I was partnered with Dr. Hennigan through the LSAMP program, which I participated in during the summer of 2022. For the fall semester, I was hired under Dr. Hennigan as an undergraduate student researcher and I plan to continue to research in the lab until graduation in May of 2023.

What is the focus of your research/internship?

The focus of my research is to study brown carbon content in cloud water. Brown carbon is light absorbing organic material that has an effect on climate change.

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

Reach out to professors and do your research on other clubs and organizations on campus. Your connections are your best bet in getting involved in a lab.

Are you a member of any clubs/campus organizations?

AIChE, Tau Beta Pi. 

What are your goals after graduation?

I will be attending Rice University to obtain a PhD in biomedical engineering starting Fall 2023

Learn more about Madison McLaren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mclrmadison/ 

John Velkey, '23 chemical engineering - traditional track, mathematics minor

When was the internship? 
Summer 2022

Where was the internship? 
Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, in Newport News, Virginia

What was the focus of your research/internship?
As the Plant Utilities Operations Engineering Intern, John provided facilities and utilities engineering support. 

What advice do you have for students who are interested in getting involved in research or an internship?
Apply early, apply often, consider a wide range of internships/research fields

Are you a member of any clubs/campus organizations?
John works for the UMBC Undergraduate Admissions Office.

What are your goals after graduation?
John would like to pursue a career in industry after graduation. 

Learn more about John Velkey:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-velkey-2a3507189 

Joana Hernandez

Degree: B.S., Chemical Engineering, biotechnology & bioengineering track
Hometown: Hyattsville, MD
Post-grad plans: Applying to biochemical engineering Ph.D. programs

McNair Scholar Joana Hernandez is a research enthusiast who found her interest in scientific exploration and mentorship while at UMBC. Since 2019, Hernandez has worked as a research assistant in the lab of Fernando Vonhoff, assistant professor of biological sciences. The lab uses fruit flies as a model to study human neurological diseases. It was in Vonhoff’s lab where she realized that there were opportunities to turn her love of learning into a career in research. 

Hernandez has taken her interest in conducting research to the next level by helping to guide fellow students who may be unfamiliar with the academic research process. As a teaching fellow in the McNair Scholars Program, Hernandez led workshops in a class dedicated to teaching students how to develop research proposals. During these workshops, she presented on topics ranging from how to give a research presentation to how to apply to Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs). 

Hernadez shares that she’s proud to be a McNair Scholar. “As a first-generation college student, it can be difficult to navigate academic spaces and obtain resources on applying to graduate programs,” Hernandez says. “McNair welcomed me with open arms and helped grow my confidence by providing me with opportunities to conduct research and present at national conferences.”

Has there been a mentor or fellow student who influenced your time at UMBC?

“My mentors Fernando Vonhoff and María Célleri, assistant professor of gender, women’s, and sexuality studies, have both had a positive influence on me. As a first-generation college student, I was unaware that undergraduates could participate in research or present at research conferences. When Dr. Vonhoff enabled me to join his lab my freshman year, it opened the doors to a lot of future opportunities. I am very grateful to have had a research mentor that was so understanding and encouraging.

“Dr. Celleri, my McNair mentor, is someone I can always count on to give me advice about navigating academic spaces as a Latina, and how to balance my life between my immigrant household and school. I appreciate all the wisdom I have gathered from her.”

What academic achievement are you most proud of?

“I am most proud of when I presented the research I did in the Vonhoff lab at the 2019 Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS). That was the first time that I had attended a national conference and flew out to the West Coast. It was an eye-opening experience being able to see other undergraduate researchers from diverse backgrounds who were also just as passionate about communicating their work.”

Applying philosophy to excel in chemical engineering

Max Bobbin 

Degree: B.S., Chemical Engineering; B.A., Philosophy
Hometown: Joppa, MD
Post-grad plans: Ph.D. in chemical engineering, University of Delaware

Max Bobbin may still be an undergraduate, but he’s already made significant research contributions in the Artificial Intelligence and Theory-Oriented Molecular Science (ATOMS) lab, led byTyler Josephson, assistant professor of chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering. Bobbin was the first in the research group to develop expertise in the programming language Lean. He took on a leadership role, teaching other lab members, including Josephson, about new ways to use Lean. He also selected appropriate projects for new team members, helped the group prepare for Josephson’s parental leave, and initiated new directions for the lab’s work.

Bobbin believes his additional philosophy major supported his engineering work in important ways. “For an engineer, the most important skills are problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication,” he says, “and philosophy is a major built around those three ideas.”

Bobbin also served as vice president of the UMBC American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) student chapter and led UMBC to the AIChE Jeopardy national championship in 2022.

Photo credit: L-R, Max Bobbin, Dr. Mark Marten, Colin Jones, Catherine Wraback, Dr. Neha Raikar, Pavan Umashankar, Alex Von Gunten B.S. '20 chemical engineering

Photo credit: Max Bobbin (Marlayna Demond '11/UMBC)