International students from countries near and far interned at the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University for a summer of study and research that concluded with a presentation of related accomplishments and for some, plans to return for graduate school.
“This international internship program focuses on recruitment of top students from some very well-known universities in the world, e.g. IIT Kanpur (India)," said department head Dr. Nazmul Karim. "The goal is to showcase our research projects in the cutting edge technologies, with the hope that these students will gain very positive interactions with their faculty mentors, and would apply to our Ph.D. program in due course. With eight new faculty members hired in the last 12 months, including researchers such as Dr. Chris Floudas from Princeton University, the department is focusing on becoming a top graduate program in the country. This new initiative will help us achieve this goal.”
The interns were paired with expert faculty members and matched according to their research interests. 
Amandeep Gupta, a third-year undergraduate student from India, researched two projects with the mentorship of Dr. Benjamin Wilhite, associate professor of chemical engineering.
Gupta studied the conversion of heat energy into electricity for the purposes of powering portable and microscale devices.
“If these devices are manufactured in the industries, they can save a lot of capital costs and space…and could be a remarkable change in the field of electricity and power," said Gupta.
Gupta said he desires to return to the department upon completion of his undergraduate studies in one year. “I look forward to coming here for graduate school,” he said, adding that his career path would likely include the petroleum sector.
Caption (Above, Right): Amandeep Gupta presents to students the research he accomplished during his summer internship at the Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M.
Caption (Right): Dr. Sreeram Vaddiraju, assistant professor of chemical engineering, mentors intern Sukriti Gakhar.
Marcela Alves Freire of Brazil has three years remaining in her five-year undergraduate degree. In the department, she supported a research team that studied nanopore crystallization, with the mentorship of Dr. Jodie Lutkenhaus, assistant professor of chemical engineering.
In addition to the learning opportunities Freire gained, she said of Texas, “It’s so much safer than the city I used to live in. It’s a relief to be in a place… where I am not afraid.”
Abhilash Parvatina of India is a second-year undergraduate student, who studied with Karim and Dr. Katy Kao, assistant professor of chemical engineering.
“This internship has given me a chance to learn a plethora of technical skills in molecular biology…[with] hands-on experience of working in a fully-equipped laboratory," said Parvatina. "Besides that it has given me a one of a kind opportunity to know about the culture of the U.S., the traditions of the Aggies, and the working style and professionalism that are present here.”
Caption (Above): Students and faculty gather in the lobby the Jack E. Brown building at Texas A&M for a presentation by summer interns of the Department of Chemical Engineering.
Summer 2014: Intern Projects of the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering
1. “Adaptable and Amphiphilic Smart Systems in Enhanced Oil Recovery” – Iso Silveira de Araujo, Ming Zanhg, I-Cheng Chen, Dr. Mustafa Akbulut
2. “Apparatus for Preparing Fluid Mixtures” –Shashank Kamdar, Dr. James Holste, Dr. Kenneth Hall
3. “Curvature-Directed Crystallization of Isotactic Poly (propylene) in Nanopores” – Marcela Alves Freire, Dariya Reid, Bridget Ehlinger, Lin Shao, Dr. Jodie Lutkenhaus
4. “Enhancing Carotenoid Production in S. cerevisiae by Overproduction of Fatty Acids” – Abhilash Parvatina, Michelle Olson, Dr. Nazmul Karim, Dr. Katy Kao
5. “Label Free Detections of Membrane Protein with Plasmonic Nanocube Sensor” – Ayushi Sullerey, Nolan Worstell, Dr. Hung Jen Wu
6. “Life Cycle Assessment of Health Hazards of Carbon Nanoparticles” – Tushti Shah, Yi Liu, Dr. M. Sam Mannan
7. “Lithium-Ion Battery Safety Research: Studying Thermal Decomposition Reactions in Li-Ion Battery and Battery-Fire Incident Database” – Madan J. Taldevkar, Dr. M. Sam Mannan
8. “Simulations of a Micro Channel Propane Combustor” || “Gas Separation through Membrane” – Amandeep Gupta, Dr. Benjamin Wilhite
9. "Safety in Offshore Operations: An Insight Into the Human Error Aspect of Offshore Safety" – Aditya Samant, Ming Zeng, Delphine Laboureur, Dr. M. Sam Mannan
10. "Risk Evaluation for Oil Storage Tank Zones" – Jian Kang, Dr. M. Sam Mannan
11. "Mass Production of Zn3P2 Nanowires" – Sukriti Gakhar, Venkata Vasiraju, Dr. Sreeram Vaddiraju
"These summer internships offer us an opportunity to showcase our research. Since these students are highly sought after by our peer schools, this program gives us an edge in recruiting top students to our graduate program," said Dr. Arul Jayaraman, professor of chemical engineering and director of the graduate program.
These interns, from India, Brazil and China, have completed their assignments and are followed by Chinese and Colombian interns. American interns also perform research in the labs.
The Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, established in 1940, has consistently been a leader in chemical engineering education in the United States. This trend continues today where the undergraduate program impressively ranked in 2012-2013 as 12th among public institutions and the graduate program ranked 17th by U.S. News & World Report. Throughout its history and still today, Texas A&M Chemical Engineering is known for educating the highest quality of students, producing engineers who are immediately prepared for industry upon graduation.