This month, I was thrilled to interview Jessica Strongin, a senior chemical engineering major from Cohort 36. Jess is an accomplished QUESTee, winning best capstone for her team’s 490H project for McCormick. She’s interned with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission focusing on incorporating data science into radiation protection codes and nuclear site decommission using drones. She’s involved on campus being both a teaching assistant for multiple courses and a board member of Snider Consulting Group, a club that does pro bono consulting for UMD student organizations. Jess and I discussed her postgrad plans and passion for research and teaching.

Jess (second from right) with her 490H team

After graduation, Jess plans to pursue graduate school as a chemical engineering PhD student. She has vast graduate research interests including focusing on the intersection of computational and experimental materials development. Jess has already had a vast amount of research experiences. She’s currently an undergraduate researcher in the Koeth Group, where she has completed projects in studying dielectric behavior in extreme electronic conditions and applying machine learning to radioactive sample classification. Access to research stimulates her ability to problem solve and taught her about how chemical engineering can be applied to solve the worlds problems. 

Jess described her graduate degree as a means to an end as she aspires to be a chemical engineering professor. Jess aspires to teach because of her love for chemical engineering and her knack for explaining tough technical topics. She’s been a teaching assistant for three classes at UMD: CHBE250, CHBE424, and BMGT438A (the QUEST data course). Each class pushed Jess to focus on different aspects of teaching. For the foundational courses such as CHBE250, she puts herself in the shoes of students who are new to approaching the math behind chemical engineering. She even developed a series of Excel modules based on problems students actually need to solve in classes later in the curriculum. She’s also learned how to adapt to working with different professors and then navigating how to best serve the students. Being a TA for BMGT438A, the QUEST data course, has been its own challenge as this course is sometimes difficult to understand for students without a coding background. Jess has taken this in stride and wants to be a knowledgeable resource for her students. She relies on feedback from students to meet their needs and address her teaching strategies. For example, she’s recently decided to review concepts by having students code along with her line by line, which has been met with an overwhelmingly positive response. Most importantly, her main goal is to make every class she TA’s for as accessible as possible for the students, specifically in building foundational skills for them to carry through the rest of their education.

Jess credits QUEST for helping her find her current path. QUEST gave her the framework to gain interdisciplinary skills and apply them in collaborative environments, skills she continues to use in her work. She advises current QUEST students to find their passion and to show up for the numerous opportunities presented to them. She encourages them to find what they like and don’t like and be open to meeting new people. Jess has found her passion in chemical engineering and in teaching, and we wish her so much success in her future education endeavors.

Cohort 36 is taking QUEST Conference preparation by storm as the final day looms in the distance. All the teams are excited and nervous, and we can’t wait to see their presentations on December 8th!

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