Nano-MSE student from August 2018 – May 2020
What was your most recently earned academic degree before you entered the Nano program and in what field?
Bachelors of Technology in Chemical Engineering
At what institution did you earn your most recently earned academic degree before you entered the Nano program and where is this institution?
Institute of Technology, Nirma University, Ahmedabad, India
What are you doing now?
I am joining the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Maryland as a PhD student starting in August 2020. I will be working with Dr. Christopher Jewell on developing materials for immunoengineering.
How did the Nano-MSE program help you advance your professional or academic goals?
First, I got to pick and choose courses that I was really interested in, which helped me build my knowledge base. Secondly, I got to meet people with similar interests in the department, which helped build my professional network. And, finally it helped me identify the kind of research I was interested in, and helped me get hands-on experience with tools and develop my skills.
What do/did you enjoy most about the Nano-MSE program and/or being at University of Pennsylvania?
The thing that I enjoyed most was the diversity of the program, both in terms of people and the courses that one could take. This helped me understand the field from a variety of perspectives. The thing that I enjoyed about Penn was the urban campus, and the collaborative approach towards reasearch. I was a part of a project that was a collaboration between bioengineering and dental medicine.
Do you have advice for people considering the Nano-MSE program at Penn?
Talk to people and make conections, only then you will make the most out of your time at Penn. The Nano-MSE program gives you an opportunity to exlore the field, so do not restrict yourself to just one path. I found that the courses not exactly related to my research interests also helped me a lot.