Mentorship helps undergrads, grad students grow their research know-how

“My time at Iowa State has been defined by my research experience, and it has prepared me well for a career in chemical engineering. I’ve been working in this lab for four semesters now, and it is a vastly different experience compared to the classroom. I have learned a completely different subset of skills that I would not have been given the opportunity to acquire otherwise,” says Mac Catanag, a chemical engineering major (pictured, right).

“The research and mentorship opportunities in this department offer just what an education should. The interaction between undergraduate students and graduate students in the laboratory benefits both. In the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, students are provided with the opportunity to truly develop the skills that will take chemical engineering innovation to new levels in the future,” says Devanshi Mistry, graduate student in chemical and biological engineering (pictured, left).

Catanag and Mistry both conduct research in the lab of Jean-Philippe Tessonnier, professor of chemical and biological engineering and the Richard C. Seagrave Professor.