Community Status: Undergrad Student
Christian Otero ’23
Christian Otero ’23
10B: Bachelor of Science in Chemical-Biological Engineering
How did you decide on Course X for your undergrad major?
When I first came to MIT, I knew I wanted to study something involving chemistry, biology, and math thanks to my amazing high school teachers. At the time, I didn’t know if this would entail chemistry or chemical engineering, and I honestly didn’t really know what the differences were between them. After taking 10.10 in the spring of my first year, I was able to see the diverse scientific fields that ChemE’s can contribute to and was hooked. I declared Course X-B because I wanted to supplement my ChemE education with biology courses and labs to prepare me for work in biotech.
How would you describe your experience so far?
I’ve loved it! I really appreciate the Course X community and all of the helpful faculty members who have been my instructors and advisors. Course X has provided me with the opportunities to get a world-class education while also getting huge amounts of hands-on experience in lab classes and undergraduate research. While the courses are challenging, they ultimately prepare you well for the real world. I really liked the fact that we constantly collaborate with classmates, especially in the design courses.
What are your plans post-graduation?
I have accepted an offer to pursue a PhD in Chemical Engineering at Stanford University this upcoming fall with intentions to pursue mammalian synthetic biology research. I will also be doing a research internship in Prof. Minhee Park’s lab at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) through MIT’s MISTI-Korea program. Once I finish a PhD, I hope to work in the biopharmaceutical industry working on research and development of next-generation gene and cell therapies, focusing on approaches with synthetic biology. I’m really excited for all of these opportunities to develop my research skills for my future career.
How has your MIT ChemE experience helped you follow your goals/passions?
My undergraduate research role in Prof. Katie Galloway’s lab has been one of the most influential experiences during my time at MIT. Thanks to Prof. Galloway and my graduate mentor Kasey Love, I have learned how to be a diligent biological researcher with a ChemE brain, and it has prepared me to pursue graduate studies and given me the confidence and ability to tackle many problems that lie ahead of me. I have been able to attend conferences to present my work and expand my professional network in many ways, all thanks to being a part of MIT ChemE.
Stephon Henry-Rerrie ’19
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.
Sarah M. Coleman ’19
Sarah M. Coleman ’19
Chemical Engineering
How did you decide on Course X for your undergrad major?
I knew that I was interested in Chemical Engineering ever since my IB chemistry class junior year of high school. During one of our lab days, we got to synthesize aspirin. While it was very impure and probably would have killed you if ingested, it was my first experience with chemical synthesis and I just thought it was the coolest thing ever. I asked my teacher what career I could have involving synthesis of these chemicals and she told me about Chemical Engineering. I went home and googled more about what ChemEs do, and I’ve been set on it as my major ever since!
How would you describe your experience so far in Course X?
Course X has been the most challenging and rewarding experience of my life to date. I’ve met great classmates and lifelong friends, learned about the world we live in in a way I never could’ve imagined, and challenged myself to do things I didn’t think I was capable of. I’ve had the opportunity to meet and work with professors at the top of their fields, travel around for ChemE conferences, and connect with inspiring classmates, faculty, staff, and graduate students.
What are your plans post-graduation?
After graduation, I am looking to pursue a PhD in Chemical Engineering, most likely in a biological-related field. After I graduate with my PhD, I would love to go back into the biopharmaceutical industry where I’ve done my internships, most likely in some sort of process development role.
How has your MIT ChemE experience helped you follow your goals/passions?
One of my favorite things about MIT ChemE is our student club, AIChE (American Institute of Chemical Engineers). I met the company I interned with last summer through the Industrial Networking Series they organize, and with it discovered my passion for biopharmaceutical process development. As president of the club, I’ve had lots of opportunities for personal growth as a leader and to help bring together the ChemE community, one of my personal goals.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
If you’re interested in Chemical Engineering, be sure to check out the advising seminars, 10.00, or our FPOP! I’ve been involved with FPOP planning for the past three iterations and it’s always my favorite time of year.
Isabel Kaspriskie ’19
Isabel Kaspriskie ’19
Chemical Engineering & Music, Computer Science Minor
How did you decide on Course X for your undergrad major?
I grew up in the town where Thomas Edison had his laboratories and I also share a birthday with Nikola Tesla, so it’s always felt right to me that I wanted to invent and create new things. I have always liked to build and solve puzzles, and math and science were my favorite subjects. I knew I wanted to be an engineer and I liked chemistry in high school, so chemical engineering seemed natural. I also knew that Course X held a lot of options for post-graduation paths, so I didn’t feel pigeonholed into a career from the get-go.
How would you describe your experience so far in Course X?
I met some of my best friends through the smaller class size of Course X, something I feel I would have missed in some of the larger departments at MIT. The professors take their time to get to know you in the department here. The coursework is challenging, but the kind of problem solving I’ve learned in ChemE has been applicable in all sorts of ways I wouldn’t have expected going in. I’ve done externships and internships in a wide range of fields, and feeling confident that I can go into a problem and find some way to get a useful answer is a good feeling.
What are your plans post-graduation?
I most enjoy computational problems, and I’ve loved working on software projects in and out of classes. I recently worked at edX, the online education nonprofit started out of MIT, and I loved helping to make tools that help people across the globe! After graduation, I’m planning on working as a software engineer to get some industry experience before making decisions about whether I want to go to graduate school and what I’d want to focus on there.
How has your MIT ChemE experience helped you follow your goals/passions?
My favorite things about MIT ChemE are also the things that best helped me follow my goals. Being able to interact with faculty, getting to know my classmates, and becoming a confident problem solver are all amazing benefits. Growing into someone who’s confident in problem solving means I am less afraid of diving into new things without any previous experience. For example, I wasn’t afraid of following a passion for software engineering and doing technical interviews without ever taking a CS course. That kind of confidence has helped me find what really excites me and makes me feel like I’m making a positive difference in the world.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Chemical engineering is such a broad field that you can truly do anything with it. Whether you’re more interested in problems in biology or mathematics or chemistry, whether you want to work in a lab or at a plant or in an office, chemical engineering is a way for you to be prepared for what you decide to do.