Community Status: Student

Sophie Thompson ‘26

Sophie Thompson ‘26

Advisors: Professor Karl Wittrup (10-ENG); Tom Kinney (undergraduate)

10-ENG Concentration: Biomedical 

Why did you decide on Course X for your undergrad?

Going into college, I was very interested in the application of math, chemistry, and engineering in biomedical settings. As a first year, I took the chemical engineering introductory course, 10.00, which gave me a broad understanding of Course X. Through a series of hands-on projects, I learned about the basics of the engineering design process, systems controls, and systems level thinking. I enjoyed the course and thought that Course X would provide me with enough flexibility if my career interests changed.

What attracted you to 10-ENG?

As a first year, I began UROPing on a four-year interdisciplinary manufacturing and health systems project in the MIT Biomechatronics Group. The project included solving problems at the intersection of material science, mechanical engineering, and chemistry. My experience in the Biomechatronics Group was transformational to my future interests and career goals. As the project progressed, I found myself wanting to take classes outside of the Course X curriculum to supplement my understanding of the research. At the same time, I loved the flexibility 10-ENG provided to integrate these interests into the Course X degree. I chose to pursue the 10-ENG Biomedical concentration, which allowed me to take all the core ChemE classes, as well as additional classes in Course 2, 3, and 20.

How was your experience designing your curriculum?

After deciding on 10-ENG, I looked at the MIT course catalogue, Course X degree pathways, and recommended 10-ENG classes to I put together a 4-year course plan. I also met regularly with my 10-ENG degree advisor, Professor Karl Wittrup, to discuss course offerings, and he was very helpful in deciding which classes best suited my interests. Over time, my 10-ENG course plan changed as I became aware of different classes and course offerings changed. However, having an organized plan made substituting classes easy and allowed me to ensure I met all graduation requirements.

What are you doing now? Did 10-ENG help you with your career or personal growth?

I am now on a research Fulbright to Sweden, where I am studying and conducting textile recycling research at the University of Borås. The flexibility of 10-ENG allowed me to take many classes that will be beneficial to my background understanding of the project I will be working on in Sweden. Beyond the classes, 10-ENG helped me develop and identify my particular areas of interest. Through speaking with a variety of people about my 10-ENG curriculum, I was exposed to many different possible career paths and fields of study.

Do you think Course 10-ENG would be beneficial for MIT and Course X undergrads?

10-ENG is beneficial to anyone interested in exploring an in-depth subject outside of the Course X core curriculum. There are many different concentration options within 10-ENG, and students have the flexibility to choose from an array of classes within their concentration. The course allows students to create a niche skillset in their specific area, while also still gaining fundamental ChemE knowledge.

Do you have any other thoughts about your personal 10-ENG path or the program in general?

If you are considering 10-ENG, talk to as many people as you can. Although I stayed in the same concentration, the majority of my planned classes changed over the semesters as I learned about new classes and course offerings changed. Talking to my peers, advisors, and reaching out to professors of the classes I was interested in greatly influenced the courses I took. Through this process, I was able to find classes that were the best fit for my interests, as well as new courses I was not previously aware of.

Jesse Hinricher ’19

Jesse Hinricher ’19
Advisors: Dr. Barry Johnston (academic); Dr. Fikile Brushett (research)
10-Eng concentration: Materials Process and Design

Why did you decide on course 10?

In high school, I was fortunate to take AP Chemistry with a fantastic teacher, Mr. Dulas, who inspired my love of chemistry. Also, growing up on a farm, I wanted to continue using my hands to build productive equipment. Chemical engineering was the natural choice for me. It combined the technical skills I sought with the practicality to turn an idea into reality. When I transferred to MIT, I chose to continue majoring in chemical engineering because I knew it would give me a rigorous and flexible background that I can build on in graduate school. Generally, chemical engineering prepares students equally well for graduate school or industry. Chemical engineering is a versatile degree that equips graduates to have a long and fruitful career in whatever they choose.

What attracted you to 10-ENG?

As a transfer student, I wanted to both graduate in a reasonable amount of time and have a broad undergraduate experience that I could refer back to for many years. Before coming to MIT, I took a year away from school to work for a solar technology startup in Silicon Valley. While there, I was exposed to many aspects of materials science and engineering. I hoped to have the opportunity to study more of the concepts I worked with in my job when I came to MIT. I was happy to learn of 10-ENG and made a quick decision to pursue it. I was attracted to the diversity of courses that could fill the requirements and was confident that I could find something to interest me; indeed, almost everything that fills the 10-ENG requirements I wanted to take!

How was your experience designing your curriculum?

I was fortunate to have an idea of which track I wanted to pursue by the time I transferred to MIT. I was glad at the breadth of classes that could fill the 10-ENG requirements and created a list of classes that interested me. I met with my 10-ENG advisor and he recommended which courses made a coherent theme. I wanted to learn about electrochemistry and gain a foundational understanding of Course 3, Materials Science and Engineering. I chose to take 3.012, 3.014, 3.07, 10.426, and 10.467 to fulfill my requirements. This combination of courses allowed me to experience Course 3 and learn about electrochemistry and energy storage technology; all while making progress toward my degree.

What are you doing now? Did 10-ENG help you with your career or personal growth?

As a graduating senior, I am in the process of deciding which graduate school I will attend next year. I will pursue energy storage technologies that I learned more about by taking classes in my 10-ENG track. 10-ENG gave me the ability to take classes that I otherwise would not have; these classes sharpened my passion for energy storage and expanded my comfort zone.

Do you think 10-ENG is beneficial for undergrads?

I think undergraduates who are interested in a range of topics or fields will benefit from the flexibility of this major. Allowing undergraduates to tailor our major to fit our interests, or to explore areas that we would not otherwise be able to lets us take an active role in our education. We, as undergraduates, still get the core of chemical engineering, 10.10, 10.213, 10.301, 10.302, and 10.37, but we can choose labs and electives to make us more well-rounded or specialized on a certain topic.

[Read More about Jesse – MIT News]

Lucas Ospina ‘26

Lucas Ospina ‘26

Advisors: Prof. Michael Strano (academic); Prof. Michael Strano and Prof. William Tisdale (research)

10-Eng Concentration: Nanotechnology (concentration designed with Prof. Strano)

Why did you decide on Course X for your undergrad?

I found that the Course X community is super welcoming and the amount of mentorship available within the department is incredible. Really, I cannot imagine being where I am today without the mentorship of Andrea Aude (’24), Yijun Yang (’24), Annlin Su (’24), and Fiona Shortt (’24). They gave me so much perspective on what my undergraduate experience would look like, the many opportunities available to ChemEs, and moral support throughout the years. Even nowadays, I find myself instinctively turning to them for advice, and they are always so happy to reconnect with me. I think this is something unique to the supportive culture that Course X builds.

Opportunities like the Discovering Chemical Engineering FPOP and 10.000 (Molecule Builders) also made the transition to MIT a lot less daunting and gave me confidence in declaring Course X. The Department has supported me financially through the C. Michael Mohr (1955) Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) Fund, allowing me to fully immerse myself in the research projects I wanted to pursue.

What attracted you to 10-ENG?

Deciding on 10-ENG was a no-brainer to me. What other program allows you to foster such a close relationship with MIT-level experts in the field you want to work in? It’s really an incredible opportunity for students who are willing to take a risk and dive headfirst into a subject they find interesting. The flexibility of the 10-ENG program was really appealing to me because I had the freedom to take as many classes as possible at MIT that I found interesting. This allowed me to really focus on the topics I wanted, and to develop an interdisciplinary mindset that is more important now than ever.

How was your experience designing your curriculum?

Designing my own 10-ENG: Nanotechnology was the most fulfilling experience I had at MIT. I want to understand nanoscale phenomena and learn how those principles are being leveraged to create innovative technologies. The Chemical Engineering Department offers so many interesting graduate-level courses that cover these topics (that I highly recommend), like 10.51 and 10.585. I also got to get involved with MIT.nano’s facilities by taking 6.2540 and heard many interesting perspectives on the future of the field as part of Prof. Jeehwan Kim’s 2.S981. I really got to explore not just what Course X has to offer, but MIT’s School of Engineering as a whole.

By designing my own curriculum, I got to ask myself: What am I trying to get out of this class? Will I genuinely be interested in the content it covers? Do I have the background, or am I willing to put in the time to catch up? I think this approach to taking classes at MIT really solidified my topic specialization instead of just trying to check off the boxes to graduate. My advisors helped guide me down the right path based on their extensive knowledge of the field, making me feel confident throughout.

What are you doing now? Did 10-ENG help you with your career or personal growth?

I will be pursuing my Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and currently I am helping start Prof. Natsumi Komatsu’s lab that focuses on nanotechnology for brain chemistry.

Career-wise, 10-ENG has really allowed me to jumpstart my career by specializing in a super relevant topic. I feel much more comfortable being involved in discussions that relate to the applications of nanotechnology and the underlying physics behind nanoscale phenomena, which transcend just one application. In the two months since my graduation, I have met so many experts in the field and received specialized training from NIST.

Personally, I feel like 10-ENG has really helped me develop my independence of thought, allowing me to feel comfortable carving out my own path. It has also made me realize the importance of mentorship and perseverance in the face of uncertainty.

Do you think Course 10-ENG would be beneficial for MIT and Course X undergrads?

The mentorship, content-specialization, and independence of thought that 10-ENG builds are something I truly believe all MIT undergrads would benefit from. I believe that any Course X student who has an idea of what opportunities they want to pursue in the future should be pursuing 10-ENG to the fullest and complementing the 10-ENG experience with research opportunities and industry experience in the summers.