My favorite part of my job as a Professor of Teaching is to help eager students learn difficult concepts. Coffee, believe it or not, is a great way to get hands-on and learn chemical engineering in a fun, relatable context. If you are interested in learning more about coffee or are contemplating a major in STEM, this course is for you!
My journey to chemical engineering started in high school when I realized my favorite subjects were chemistry, physics and math. My wise calculus teacher advised me to look into chemical engineering, and I realized that this was a great way to use my love for science and math to solve important societal problems. My father had passed away from colon cancer when I was 9 years old, and I learned that I could use chemical engineering as a means to model disease states like cancer and evaluate potential therapeutics. I pursued my Ph.D. close to home at the University of Connecticut, where I worked to infer networks of biomolecular interactions from real data using evolutionary algorithms. Along the way, I fell in love with teaching and decided to pursue a teaching-track faculty position after earning my Ph.D. I have been privileged to help guide over 800 chemical engineering graduates since I started at UC Davis in 2015!
I hope you join us in “The Design of Coffee” as we explore chemistry and engineering problem solving through the lens of coffee roasting and brewing. We will tackle a range of important fundamental topics through hands-on labs and develop your understanding, problem-solving skills and technical communication skills in a friendly and fun environment. I hope to see you in class!