Chemical Engineering MSE

Career Summary 

The Advanced Mathematics and Fluid Transfer curriculum has allowed me to revitalize our marine industry Chemical enforcement standards onboard cargo and longships.

Reflection on Time Spent at U-M

Work hard on academics but always leave time for hobbies. Life is too short to not live every moment!

I began my career focused on plant operations.  I was responsible for production, safety, and all related operations at several chemical plants in my first 6 years of employment.  I made a career switch into management consulting to broaden my exposure to all aspects of operations (e.g., supply chain, procurement, product development, operations strategy).  I then made a second career switch from consulting into portfolio company management within private equity.  Here, I’ve been able to use my full scale of skills to drive operational and financial performance within portfolio companies as part of their executive team.

How does your Master’s degree differentiate you from others?

My Master’s degree was definitely a differentiator when securing my first job post-school and has continued to be a source of credibility in both management consulting and beyond.   

Reflection on Time Spent at U-M

I really enjoyed my time at the University.  I participated in chemical engineering honor societies and fraternities.  I also volunteered time to the Detroit Project.  I took an interest in philosophy outside of my engineering studies.  I eventually was a graduate student instructor, which was surprising how much it pushed my growth.  I would encourage students to invest time in practical problem-solving classes, one example is Professor Fogler’s ChE 405 course: Problem Solving, Troubleshooting, Entrepreneurship, and Making the Transition to the Workplace.  It is extremely important to be able to translate the problem-solving skills we learned in an engineering context to any and every problem that comes up within a business.

Career Summary

I moved to the USA from India when I was 21 years old to start my graduate journey at the University of Michigan. It was a daunting experience made easy by the students and the professors. As a graduate student at the University of Michigan, I was surrounded by some of the best minds in their respective fields which helped me develop as an engineer and as a person. I gained a deeper understanding of Chemical Engineering principles and processes through the courses and laboratory research work. Besides the core courses, we also had to choose elective courses which gave me the perfect opportunity to get cross-trained and be well-rounded. I got the opportunity to work in a research lab which allowed me to apply my theoretical knowledge and get some hands-on experience. This exposure to both theoretical and practical knowledge helped me hone my analytical mind. I believe that the culture at the University of Michigan to encourage analytical thinking was crucial to my success both as a student and in the industry. I currently work at Linde Plc as a Development Specialist in Research and Development, which I got through networking with professionals during career fairs. The majority of my work is designing experiments and analyzing that data to improve the end product. The skills that I learned during my Master’s have helped me excel at my job.

Reflection on Time Spent at U-M

You will be surrounded by curious minds from a myriad backgrounds. There are a lot of research and course options available to you. Even though most of your coursework will revolve around the preset core curriculum, you will also get the opportunity to explore other fields via the electives. My advice would be to not get buried in books all the time but rather invest in making memories. One of the best parts of your experience is going to be the friends you make during this time. Most of my cherished memories revolve around my second home, the Duderstadt, where I spent my time doing group studies or hanging out with friends. The other things I explored were the activity clubs. There are several activity clubs organized by students and I am sure you can find a club which matches your interest. Besides these clubs, there are heaps of social activities (UMix late night, etc) taking place on campus. During my summer research, I would work during the day and then enjoy the live concerts/movie nights organized near the downtown campus. I had the best time of my life and I would definitely recommend you to make the most of your time in Ann Arbor too. 

My career path has been a bit different in that I’ve already moved around a bit since graduating. I spent 8 months at Apple on their Environmental Technologies team before joining the Emerging Solutions (ES) team at the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI). RMI is a non-profit think-and-do tank with a global presence. RMI has 12 programs that are vertically focussed on either sector (electricity, industry, mobility, etc.) or regions (China, Africa, India, etc.). The role of ES is to sustain institute thought leadership and explore new cross-programmatic areas of work. It’s almost analogous to the R&D division at a tech company that is in charge of innovation and incubation of new ideas. My university experiences set me up well for the positions I held after – being involved in a variety of projects that ranged from academic with no clear real-world application to very tangible on-the groundwork. This ‘experimental’ approach has helped me in two ways: 1. Learning more about myself and where my interests truly lie and 2. Gaining a broad set of skills and experiences, which I’ve found to be very complementary and beneficial in my work. Doing the double masters program also equipped with a breadth of subject matter expertise and opened up a broader range of opportunities. The academic/research-oriented projects honed valuable skills of critical thinking, structuring approaches, and designing solutions even in times of high ambiguity. Hypothesis development and testing are useful skills regardless of what type of work one ends up doing. Research also strengthened my fundamental technical and scientific knowledge, which definitely provided an edge in non-academic jobs. For example, working on photocatalysis and industrial ecology research has allowed me to make informed decisions on which technologies have the potential to work and which ones seem far fetched just based on thermodynamics or material/energy efficiencies. Additionally, conducting research in two different departments allowed me to draw connecting lines between different sectors and take a broad systems view of the problem at hand. My research experiences were well complemented with more professional projects – providing the opportunity to develop skills such as techno-economic analysis, multi-stakeholder engagement, rapid iteration on work products, how to factor in real-world externalities, and effective communication methods. For example, working on solar desalination and transportation systems in Costa Rica gave me a deeper understanding of technologies and also made me appreciate the nuances of working in an emerging economy setting. All these experiences have allowed me to be more effective in the work I do today – conducting rigorous research and understanding new-age technologies, being able to draw valuable insights from the messy data that is available, developing solutions taking a systems view of the problem, working with different types of stakeholders, and effectively communicating results that the audience can digest and comprehend. 

How does your Master’s degree differentiate you from others?

The largest differentiator has been the knowledge and experiences gained across two master’s programs versus one. Companies typically settle for either deep subject matter expertise or broad cross-functional thinking. Being able to do both – have a breadth and depth of knowledge can be a big differentiator and is key to honing systems thinking approach. It also allows me to choose what I want to do because I can fit into a variety of different roles.

Reflection on Time Spent at U-M

The community (both at UM and Alumni) is fantastic – share your concerns, ask questions, reach out to people [don’t stop till someone threatens you with a restraining order (mostly joking)]. Don’t be afraid to take risks and try new things – there are more people out there who are likely to support your efforts than try to foil them. Work hard and keep laughing.

During my time as a Master’s student at UMich, I took full advantage of the strength of the chemical and biomedical engineering departments by taking elective courses in both departments, focusing on tissue and protein engineering as well as biomanufacturing. The most influential experience I had while at Michigan was working in Prof. Timothy Scott’s lab. Working with Prof. Scott opened my eyes to the world of organic polymer chemistry and their broad applications – especially biopolymers. 

Coursework wise, two of the most significant classes I took while completing my master’s were: biomanufacturing with Prof. Henry Wang and protein engineering with Prof. Fei Wen. Biomanufacturing with Prof. Wang opened my eyes to biopharmaceuticals and their benefit over traditional small molecule drugs and piqued my interest in the industry. In the protein engineering course, Prof. Wen allowed us into her research lab and taught us the basics of protein engineering and cellular-based therapies – something I would have never experienced nor expected to enjoy, but I did! Both courses influenced me to pursue my Ph.D. in biomedical engineering focusing on biopharmaceuticals and clinical translation. My current project involves polymeric nanoparticles to encapsulated biopharmaceuticals to treat post-traumatic osteoarthritis. 

How does your Master’s degree differentiate you from others?

My master’s degree has helped me stand out because I am now uniquely qualified as a chemical and biomedical engineer now. It allows me to intelligently converse with engineers about process specification and pilot plant scale-up, while also being able to troubleshoot with biologist/biomedical professionals about cell-based experiments. Serving as the “go-between” for both groups has been vastly beneficial. 

Reflection on Time Spent at U-M

I highly recommend Prof. Fei Wen’s protein engineering course. Being able to see and learn cell culture and protein engineering techniques first hand was an invaluable experience. I was also a part of Léim Irish Dance while at Michigan – which allowed me to express my more creative side outside of the class/lab, which definitely helped with my work/life balance. 

My experience working with Prof. Scott uniquely qualified me to work with and synthesize polymeric nanoparticles, Prof. Wen’s protein engineering course gave me a leg up and helped me hit the ground running in my cell experiments, and Prof. Wang’s course has lead me to explore future careers in the biopharmaceutical industry and clinical translation. Amongst the other amazing experiences at Michigan, I had during my time there the thing I am most grateful for is the breadth of world-leading faculty and their vested interest in my personal and professional success. I continue to talk to several of them and try catching up with them at conferences as much as possible. Without them and their careful input and guidance, I would not be where I am today and I cannot thank them enough.

Right after I graduated from UM, I was offered my very first job from ConocoPhillips and became a petrophysicist at the R&D department in Houston. As a petrophysicist, I studied how hydrocarbons and water distribute in the core samples (rocks that we drill up from thousands of feet beneath the surface), interpreted various measurements of the samples, and built models to predict fluid properties in porous media. I also used these findings to support business units during their field explorations. In 2017, I went back to China and joined Sinopec to work on catalyst recovery research, and to help build a new research center focusing on industrial petrochemical catalysts. Recently, other than R&D projects, I also started as a liaison at our international department, working on global collaboration. My current job heavily relies on what I’ve learned during my graduate study in Michigan, especially the catalyst projects I did with Professor Johannes Schwank, as well as my experience at the R&D center in ConocoPhillips. 

How does your Master’s degree differentiate you from others?

My Master’s degree stands as proof that I have survived some very tough courses, training, research projects, and all other challenges this program has set up for me. Master’s degree training does not suffice all the requirements of your career, but it measures the level of your learning ability and earns you a better chance to start your first position so that you can continuously learn on the job. Another thing I appreciate about the program is that it prepared me for many opportunities I didn’t even know. I was very nervous about my first job as a petrophysicist because I thought I knew nothing about rocks. But as I started, I realized that I can borrow what I’ve learned from courses such as Transport Phenomena, Fluid Mechanics, and Reaction to understand the fluid behaviors in rocks. Similar things also happened when I began to build a new research center in 2017. My recollection of being a GSI and assistant lab supervisor for CHE360 came back to my aid and brought me many great ideas to design my lab. I think the experience from the Master’s program truly empowered me with the knowledge and confidence to take on new tasks throughout my career. 

Reflection on Time Spent at U-M

I still cherish every single minute of my study and stay at U of M. There are so many moments that I would like to relive in my memory: The department barbecue welcome party for new students, the blue and yellow wave (as well the bad traffic) during football season, giving my first lecture as a GSI, applying for a fellowship, even the sleepless-24hr- take-home final exam of CHE 542. But my favorite part above all is that back at U of M, I was lucky to have the best teachers, classmates, and friends that I can think of. Working with those brilliant minds was more than inspiring. Even for now, whenever I hear a “Go Blue”, I would know that is a fellow “Wolverine” cheering and being proud of our alma mater, and that warms my heart. As for the advice, I know we’ve all said things like “I will never use this in my life so why learn it”, but my experience told me the opposite. So learn and absorb as much as you can because you never know when you will use it. And of course, GO BLUE!