BUILDING A DIVERSE CLEAN ENERGY WORKFORCE OF THE FUTURE
As a child of refugees from Vietnam, I have seen firsthand how education can empower and uplift immigrants and minorities to achieve their dreams. Unfortunately, opportunities in science are still quite limited, and rarely go to those who need them most. As a scientist and an academic, I strive to use my knowledge and position to teach and communicate to a diverse audience of all ages, gender, socioeconomic, and ethnic identities—aiming to connect and provide them opportunities and mentorship like those I have been fortunate to receive in my career.
TEACHING
As a teaching assistant at Columbia University and the University of California, Berkeley, I have had the opportunity to teach 6 different courses and to work with over 500 different students. I also have worked with the Amgen Scholars program at Berkeley as a program mentor to teach basic scientific communication skills (e.g., scientific writing and poster preparation). Throughout these experiences, I have continually strived to improve as a teacher and a mentor and provide my students with further opportunities for success. Selected testimonials from these experiences can be found here.
Experiences
University of California, Berkeley
CBE250 (Graduate Transport Phenomena)
CBE150B (Mass Transport and Separations Processes)
Amgen Scholars Program (Scientific Communication)
Columbia University
CHEN4150 (Computational Fluid Dynamics)
CHEN3010 (Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics)
CHEN2100 (Material and Energy Balances)
ENGIE1102 (Introduction to Engineering Design)
OUTREACH
Partnering with local organizations, my mentees and I have developed a lesson plan that introduces elementary school students to artificial photosynthesis. In the lesson, we have the students perform a solar water splitting experiment with household materials and affordable PV-cells. By introducing a diverse group of young students to concepts in electrochemistry earlier in their education, we hope to set the stage for them pursuing careers in energy in the future. The manuscript on these plans can be accessed at this link, and all lesson materials can be found at this link.
Artificial Photosynthesis Lesson Plans
Liquid Sunlight Alliance Sunrise Network Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Co-Chair
The Sunrise Network is an advisory committee led by a diverse team of junior researchers within the Liquid Sunlight Alliance (LiSA) DOE Hub. Their main function is to coordinate with LiSA leadership to spearhead the development of programming to support career development, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, seminar programming, and outreach. Within the Sunrise Network, I co-lead the DEI initiatives within LiSA, hoping to engage local communities with the research performed in the hub, as well as to facilitate spaces within LiSA to discuss DEI and to provide greater opportunities for minority scientists to engage in LiSA research.
NYC Makerspace
With the democratization of manufacturing technologies like 3D printers, laser cutters, and CNC machines, it is now easier than ever to learn advanced manufacturing. However, the high cost barriers associated with owning these machines has traditionally barred low-income students from engaging with these exciting tools. NYC Makerspace aims to improve access to the exciting world of making by opening makerspaces in rec centers in conjunction with the NYC Parks Dept. During my time at Columbia, I worked with NYC Makerspace to build these spaces and developed curriculum for and taught classes on computer assisted design and 3D-printing.
PRESENT/FORMER MENTEES
As a Research Mentor at Berkeley:
Kaitlin Rae Corpus
undergraduate researcher, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
University of California, Berkeley - 2020-2023
Prausnitz Award Winner for Best Undergraduate Thesis
present: NSF Graduate Research Fellow at Columbia University
Samay Garg
undergraduate researcher, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
University of California, Berkeley - 2020-2021
present: NSF Graduate Research Fellow at Columbia University
Joshua Lee
undergraduate researcher, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
University of California, Berkeley - 2023-present
present: Undergraduate Researcher at UC Berkeley
Andrew Liu
undergraduate researcher, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
University of California, Berkeley - 2021-2023
present: Consultant at West Monroe Partners
Brooke Soobrian
undergraduate researcher, IEOR and Energy Engineering
University of California, Berkeley - 2021-2023
present: IEOR Undergraduate at UC Berkeley
William Wei
undergraduate researcher, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
University of California, Berkeley - 2022-2023
present: Ph.D. Student at Columbia University
Rosa Zhang
undergraduate researcher, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
University of California, Berkeley - 2021-2022
present: Software Engineer at Arbor Biotechnologies
Through Amgen Scholars:
Cameryn Burnette
Amgen Scholars mentee, Mechanical Engineering
University of California, Berkeley - 2021
present: Incoming Ph.D. Student at MIT
Marina Mehling
Amgen Scholars mentee, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
University of California, Berkeley - 2021
present: Ph.D. Candidate at University of British Columbia
Alexandra Ramos
Amgen Scholars mentee, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
University of California, Berkeley - 2021
present: NSF Graduate Research Fellow at Stanford University
Shalamar Solomon
Amgen Scholars mentee, Mechanical Engineering
University of California, Berkeley - 2021
present: Project Engineer at DPR Construction
Jason Chiu, Alex King, Andrew Liu, Joshua Lee, and Kaitlin Rae Corpus
Andrew Liu, and Kaitlin Rae Corpus
Cameryn Burnette, Shalamar Solomon, Marina Mehling and Alexandra Ramos
Kaitlin Rae Corpus
Rosa Zhang