MSE Ph.D. Candidate Encourages Other Female Researchers to Not Doubt Their Own Voices from the Materials Science & Engineering Department
As of 2021, female Ph.D. researchers like Suman Kumari are welcoming the challenge of pursuing a passion in a still male-majority field. Though representation has improved compared to decades ago, the imbalance in a classroom or lab can still be intimidating. According to Kumari, though it hasn’t been easy being a female in her discipline, this shouldn’t dissuade others from pursuing materials science and engineering. “Though the world is changing, it’s challenging as a female in the materials science and engineering field, but nothing is impossible if you have the will to do it. I would say, ‘listen to yourself, you know what you want to do,’” she says. In much of her career so far, Kumari has not let any hesitation stop her. She earned her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and computer science and engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) in 2017. During her undergraduate years, she did a summer internship at Clemson University. Following graduation, she worked as a project associate for an IT firm, Cognizant. A year later, she went back to IITGN to be a junior research fellow. As an intern at Clemson assisting in computational modeling of fluids through membranes, Kumari began to realize her particular interests which led to her future decision to pursue her Ph.D. She was involved in developing the framework for the fibrous membranes and determining the permeability of the flow when she became engrossed by the significant change in the flow properties which occurred when changing the microstructure. Kumari recalls this as a precipitating moment leading to her future as an MSE Ph.D. candidate.
“I was more interested in understanding the material’s behavior irrespective of their application in different domains,” she says about materials science and engineering as opposed to chemical engineering. Students in MSE often face two paths as they progress throughout their career leading up to their undergraduate graduation. Many students will find themselves drawn to either the realm of scholarly research or leaving formal academia behind for industry. According to Kumari, her exposure to research from Clemson to her fellowship at IITGN reinforced her affinity for the fundamental science of investigation, innovation, and experimentation in a university setting. In particular, Kumari felt inspired by the collaboration and kinship which can occur in group research. As a female— a minority in MSE— her sense of purpose in groups that are often all male drove her past any intimidation or challenge.
nected me to a few students in MSE from whom I got to know more and was impressed. Therefore, I chose UConn for my higher studies,” Kumari says. Kumari initially joined the UConn MSE Department with the thought of staying in her comfort zone doing computational work in polymers. However, this intention did not work out as planned, she says. Ultimately, she came to know about other groups doing similar work, though different from her prior work. One of the faculty members who was scouting for students was Associate Professor Volkan Ortalan. After talking with him about her interests, Kumari found upon closer introduction that his research would complement her past experience well while also pushing her. “The only thing was I didn’t have any experimental experience at all. I was very confused at that time, but I took it as a challenge to learn, and to my surprise, I started liking it,” she says.
“I liked the scientific discussions with my group members. It is the journey that one goes through and skills one obtains during their Ph.D. that was exciting for me. Even though I knew that it can become stressful sometimes, coming out of that and starting fresh again is something we need in all aspects of life, not just a Ph.D. So, basically, the entire journey of 4-5 years full of challenges and learning intrigued me to pursue a Ph.D.,” Kumari says. With her decision to pursue her Ph.D., Kumari then had to figure out where exactly she would want to be for the next few years. She came to know of UConn MSE from a past colleague she met as an undergraduate who had gone on to the department at UConn. “From her, I heard that the MSE department is quite good here, and she con-
MSE graduate student Suman Kumari
As of 2021, Kumari makes up the majority female student group led by Ortalan. Within the group, Kumari says she has been investigating the structure-propcontinued on next page
www.ims.uconn.edu
34
