The next student spotlight of the year is Megan Fahrenkamp! She is a third year student, graduating in May 2024, minoring in pharmaceutical sciences from Centerville, Ohio. A fun fact about Megan is that she is a twin! In AIChE as a freshman, she was involved in the Social Events Committee helping plan events like the State Science Olympiad Tournament. Last year, she was on the Executive Board as the Fundraising Chair. This past summer, she worked at Emerson Climate Technologies in Sidney, Ohio where she performed benchtop chemistry tests on HVAC oils and refrigerants to help with quality control and customer/supplier issues. Outside of AIChE, Megan is the Career Fair Director for Society of Women Engineers on campus as well as a part of Food Recovery Network where she helps donate campus dining hall food to local food banks. Keep up the great work Megan!
Our first student spotlight of the year is Laura Benson! She is a 4th year, graduating in December 2023, from Mason, Ohio. Fun fact is that she is minoring in Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies and has played viola for almost 10 years! She has been involved with AIChE since her freshman year, participating in Buckeyethon, being the first Wellness chair and now the Secretary, and still very involved in the Wellness committee. This summer she interned for Cummins in Columbus, Indiana where she worked on testing different aftertreatment catalyst conditions and applications for Cummins new hydrogen internal combustion engine. She is also the Secretary for ChemE Car, another chemical engineering student organization on campus, a member of Society of Women Engineers, and a member of Advocates for Women of the World, previously the Gender-Based Violence Awareness Committee Director. Outside of the classroom, Laura likes to go to concerts, hang out with her cat, travel and craft. Her advice for students with career fair season coming up is to put yourself out there, even if you are a freshman or think you have nothing to talk to a recruiter about. Be ambitious and apply for as many positions as it takes, it will pay off in the end. Congrats Laura on all your achievements and hard work in AIChE!
Congratulations to our latest student spotlight, Jim Bradcovich! Jim is graduating in just a few weeks with the OSU Chemical Engineering Class of 2021. He has been an active member of AIChE throughout his undergraduate career, and he is also a part of the Buckeye Gaming Collective.
Outside of class, Jim interned with Chemical Abstract Services (CAS) in Columbus as a Data Science intern in 2018. Additionally, he is a part of Dr. Lin’s Computational Material Discovery Group, which aims to discover energy-efficient nanoporous materials using molecular simulations. His research is focused on the use of nanoporous materials for methane storage and atmospheric water harvesting.
Outside of school and work, Jim enjoys exploring downtown Columbus with friends, watching TV shows, and playing videogames. And as a closing note, he’d like to tell everyone “Go Bucks!” Congratulations again, Jim, and best of luck with graduation and beyond!
Congratulations to this week’s Student Spotlight: Kia Ruffin! Kia is a fourth year Chem E graduating this semester. She is from Cleveland, Ohio, and as the oldest of four siblings, Kia will be the first engineer in her family, proudly pioneering this career path for future generations! Around campus, she is a member of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and the Association of Women in Mathematics. Additionally, Kia works as a calculus tutor for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and is on the committee for the Diversity and Departmental Climate for the OSU mathematics department.
Outside of OSU, Kia has interned at A-Brite plating in Cleveland, and has also worked as an Electrochemical Research Fellow at Case Western Reserve University. Beyond college, she hopes to use her degree in sustainability engineering, as she is passionate about sustainability and hopes to get involved with either solar power, desalination of water, or recycling technology. In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with friends, cooking, baking, origami, knitting, and arts and crafts. Congratulations again, Kia and great work! We wish you the best of luck with the rest of your semester and beyond!
Congratulations to this week’s student spotlight, Sam Johnstone! Sam is a senior Chem E graduating in December 2021. Sam is very involved around campus, serving as a member of AIChE and Engineers for Community Service. In addition to these student orgs, he is also an undergraduate teaching assistant helping teach Transport I and is an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Winston Ho’s group focusing on gas permeable membranes for carbon capture. In his free time, he enjoys running, cooking, reading, and spending time with friends.
Outside of Ohio State, Sam has worked two terms for Appvion, a paper company focused on sustainable manufacturing for paper and paper products. This summer, he will be working for Matric, a proprietary research company in South Charleston, West Virginia. Beyond graduation, Sam hopes to use his degree in some form of sustainable engineering, either through the energy industry or in research. Congratulations again, Sam, and best of luck with senior year!
Congratulations to our first Student Spotlight of the New Year, AIChE’s very own Judy Garzanich! Judy is a third year ChemE graduating in December 2022. Around campus, Judy is very involved with AIChE, serving as our Professional Events Coordinator. We’ve been very grateful for Judy and her dedication to organizing this year’s DICE event series to help foster diversity and inclusion within our department. Aside from AIChE, Judy also participates in undergraduate research in Dr. Ozkan’s Heterogenous Catalysis Research Group. The group works on developing, testing, and characterizing CNx catalysts as alternatives to platinum in PEM fuel cells. Coming up this summer and fall, Judy will be working for Nexceris for her first co-op. She is excited for the experience and is looking forward to starting her career in the clean energy and fuel cell industry, which is how she hope to use her Chem E degree after graduation. Outside of school and work, in her free time, Judy enjoys reading fantasy novels, cooking, and healthy baking. Congratulations again Judy and thank you for all that you do for AIChE and elsewhere. Keep up the great work!
