Michelle Nguyen

My name is Michelle Nguyen and I am a 4th Year Electrical engineering undergraduate at the University of California, Santa Barbara.  During my undergraduate education I have had the opportunity to participate in several research programs working on the following projects: Professor Palmstrøm Group, Mentor: Jason Kawasaki project: Shape memory effect in Nickel Titanium (CEEM 2010); Kimberly Turner Group, Mentor: John Tamelier project: Bio-Inspired Reversible Adhesives (SIMS 2007); project:Liquid Crystal Research Group (Trinity College Dublin), Professor Jagdish K. Vij, Mentor: Dr. A. D. L. Chandani project: The Electro-Optical Properties of Twisted Nematic Liquid Crystalline displays (CISEI 2010).

I hope to attend graduate school and pursue a Masters Degree in Electrical engineering, then work in Industry for a bit, and if I was able to find a project that really interests me, I would like to pursue a PhD most likely in Europe.

Getting involved in many different organizations and networking with people is one of the greatest experiences I had in college.  It was able to land me great internships in scientific research.  Most of the internship programs I was involved in was thanks to my involvement with campus organizations, because there was where I found out about these opportunities.  I've been actively involved in the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native American in Science, holding a leadership position for 3 years, of which I was the organization's president for one of the years, and currently the Vice president this year.  I have been involved with other campus organizations around campus as well, such as Engineering Student Council, Los Ingenieros, Society of Women Engineers, and many more.  Being involved in these organizations allowed me to find out about the many opportunities around campus, and even opportunites abroad.  I was fortunate enough to participate in a research internship in Dublin, Ireland, at Trinity College Dublin. 

I have always wanted to try doing research as an undergraduate.  I believe that it is an experience that any undergraduate should try out because we are given this chance to do so at the university.  Certain other universities do not have such opportunities like this, and going to a renounced research institution, it is a chance of a lifetime that you can't miss. I would encourage other undergraduates in science and engineering to take a chance to try participating in undergraduate research like the internship programs that CSEP has to offer for the experience, and who knows, maybe it might change your mind about pursuing a higher degree after undergraduate studies.