Virginia Tech Department of Chemical Engineering

⭐️ GRAD SPOTLIGHT: Gavin Harman ⭐️

It’s time for another , featuring senior Gavin Harman!

📓 Majors: Chemical Engineering

🙌 Involvement: RA for Pritchard Hall, First Year Leadership Experience (FLEX), Process and Product Engineering Co-op with WestRock, AIChE mentor, student tutor, and Jeopardy team member

🧪 Why you chose ChE: "After enjoying my first-year chemistry class and consulting with my advisor, I chose chemical engineering due to its diverse job opportunities and promising career prospects.The broadness of chemical engineering really appealed to me. I liked that I would be exposed to a variety of different fields, all of which have real-world impact."

🧡 Favorite Hokie Memory: “It’s hard to pick one, but my favorite memories involve finding people that I really clicked with and making lifelong friends. I was able to meet these people at the Big Event, football games, and American Institute of Chemical Engineers events every year.”

🎓 Post Graduation Plans: Process design engineer at Dow Chemical in Charleston, West Virginia

Congratulations, Gavin! 🎉

⭐️ GRAD SPOTLIGHT: Tiffany Fung ⭐️

Time for another , featuring senior Tiffany Fung!

📓 Major: Chemical Engineering, with a minor in Green Engineering

🙌 Involvement: Process Engineering and Environmental Engineering Co-ops at WestRock, Omega Chi Epsilon secretary and VP, UG researcher in Martin Lab, ChE showcase 1st place poster, Dean’s and President’s list honoree.

🧪 Why you chose ChE: “I initially chose ChemE due to my love for chemistry and math and academic challenges. I also knew it was a versatile degree with many applications, but especially for my passion for sustainability.”

🧡 Favorite Hokie Memory: “Getting to come back to my Virginia Tech friends after a year long co-op.”

🎓 Post Graduation Plans: “Work as an associate environmental consultant at Trinity Consultants in Dallas, TX.”

Congratulations, Tiffany! 🎉

We're excited to share that Sanket Deshmukh has been appointed to the Erin Michelle Lohr Faculty Fellowship! 🎉

The Erin Michelle Lohr Faculty Fellowship was established in 2024 with a generous gift from David and Diane. David Lohr, a 1976 graduate of our department, is both a founding and current member of the Chemical Engineering Advisory Board. The goal of this faculty fellowship is to help recruit, reward, and retain faculty within the Department of Chemical Engineering.

Thank you to the Lohrs for making this possible!

https://news.vt.edu/articles/2025/04/eng-che-deshmukh-appointed-erin-michelle-lohr-faculty-fellowship.html

⭐️ GRAD SPOTLIGHT: Brandi Shepherd ⭐️

Time for another , featuring senior Brandi Shepherd!

📓 Major: Chemical Engineering, with a minor in Green Engineering

🙌 Involvement: Safety Co-op at the Clorox Company, Social Events Chair and Mentorship Chair for VT AIChE, current President VT AIChE, Social Media and Communications Chair for W+GM, ChemE Jeopardy Captain, Virginia Tech Network for Engineering Transfer Students Recipient, all while being a first generation and transfer student.

🧪 Why you chose ChE: “I’ve always cared about the environment, and chemical engineering felt like a way to actually do something about it. I want to be part of creating solutions that make industries cleaner and more sustainable.”

🧡 Favorite Hokie Memory: “One of my favorite memories at Virginia Tech was getting a co-op offer after my first semester here. Some of my friends threw me a Shrek-themed send-off party. It was funny, thoughtful, and so much fun—but more than anything, it showed me how welcoming and supportive the VT community is. Building such strong, meaningful friendships so quickly meant the world to me.”

🎓 Post Graduation Plans: “Planning to go into environmental consulting or sales engineering”

Congratulations, Brandi! 🎉

⭐️ GRAD SPOTLIGHT: Marybeth Appleyard ⭐️

It’s time for another , featuring senior Marybeth Appleyard!

📓 Majors: Chemical Engineering/ Biomedical Engineering

🙌 Involvement: Dedicated 30 hours a semester to the Omega Phi Alpha service sorority, and had an internship at the University of Tennessee Oak Ridge Innovation Institute’s Oak Ridge National Lab developing a self-healing DuPont sealant

🧪 Why you chose ChE: “I love chemistry and being in the lab and a ChE degree is so vast and versatile that you can do anything you want with it. From working in a winery or brewery, to developing cosmetics, to patent law, anything is possible. It also challenges you every step of the way and makes you go the extra mile to grow academically and personally.”

🧡 Favorite Hokie Memory: “My favorite memory is from the football games each season when my mom would come to tailgate with my sister, our friends, and me before or after every single game!”

🎓 Post Graduation Plans: “I’m will be attending the University of Tennessee to pursue a PhD in energy science and engineering while doing research at Oak Ridge National Lab in the polymer engineering and radioisotopes/ radiochemistry field.”

Congratulations, Marybeth! 🎉

⭐️ GRAD SPOTLIGHT: Emma Dirks ⭐️

Here’s another for you, featuring senior Emma Dirks!

📓 Major: Chemical Engineering, with minors in French and Chemistry

🙌 Involvement: Two internships with BASF; Co-op with WestRock; Chemistry Sub-Team Lead for Chem E Car design team; Previous mentor for AIChE; Studied abroad in France for a semester to improve French language; One semester of research in Dr. Martin’s lab

🧪 Why you chose ChE: “I choose Chemical Engineering because I fell in love with chemistry in high school and I wanted to pursue something similar without being confined to a lab all day.”

🧡 Favorite Hokie Memory: “It’s impossible to choose a favorite memory at Virginia Tech when each memory I have made with my friends here is a fond one, and the friends I made will be walking step-by-step with me for the rest of my life.”

🎓 Post Graduation Plans: “I have accepted a position in the rotational engineering program at BASF.”

Congratulations, Emma! 🎉

⭐️ GRAD SPOTLIGHT: Nathan Joseph ⭐️

It’s time for another , featuring senior Nathan Joseph!

📓 Major: Chemical Engineering

🙌 Involvement: Co-op at Georgia Pacific as a process control engineer and web developer, process engineer intern at International Paper, undergraduate researcher in the Deshmukh Research Group, member of the Virginia Tech Chem-E-Car team, study abroad participant at Ruhr-Universität Bochum, presenter at various AIChE conferences, Chem-E-Car Chair, AIChE Peer Mentorship Program mentor, and Dean’s List honoree.

🧪 Why you chose ChE: “I liked chemistry in highschool and knew I wanted to pursue engineering in college, so ChE was the right path for me.”

🧡 Favorite Hokie Memory: “Performing at the ChemE Talent show over zoom because I was on co-op.”

🎓 Post Graduation Plans: “I plan to pursue my Master's degree in Applied Data Science at the University of Chicago in the fall.”

Congratulations, Nathan! 🎉

We're excited to welcome Samji Samira as the newest member of the Department of Chemical Engineering! 🎉 He joined us as an assistant professor earlier this semester and is already making a great impact. Read the story to get to know Dr. Samira! 👉 https://che.vt.edu/about/news/meet-samji-samira--new-assistant-professor-of-chemical-engineeri.html

Our Lab Safety Manager, Rachel Layman, organized an exciting Lab Safety Seminar for our graduate students this week! Students competed in teams to answer lab safety questions and win fantastic prizes. Congratulations to all of our winners! 🧪 🥽

⭐️ GRAD SPOTLIGHT: Sara Alsaleh ⭐️

Time for another , featuring senior Sara Alsaleh!

📓 Major: Chemical Engineering

🙌 Involvement: ChE Ambassador, Mentor in VT AIChE, Galapatia Leader for CEED, Upper Class Leader in the social committee at Hypatia LLC, Dean’s List honoree, and member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.

🧪 Why you chose ChE: “I chose ChE because I have always been passionate about science and mathematics. The field’s unique blend of rigorous analysis and creative problem-solving, along with its real-world applications, made it the perfect fit for me.”

🧡 Favorite Hokie Memory: “My favorite memory at Virginia Tech is the sense of community and collaboration I experienced through my leadership roles and hands-on projects—especially the teamwork and innovation in the social events organized through Hypatia LLC.”

🎓 Post Graduation Plans: “After graduation, I plan to launch my career as a Chemical Engineer, applying my technical skills and leadership experience to drive innovative and sustainable solutions in the industry!”

Congratulations, Sara! 🎉

⭐️ GRAD SPOTLIGHT: Aidan McCrory ⭐️

Happy Monday! We have another for you, featuring senior Aidan McCrory!

📓 Major: Chemical Engineering

🙌 Involvement: Internship at Applied Materials (world leader in semiconductor equipment manufacturing), Team Lead (President) of Chem-E-Car, Committee Head for Alpha Chi Sigma - Professional Chemistry Fraternity, jumps captain and executive board officer of 3 years for the club track and field team.

🧪 Why you chose ChE: “I chose ChE because I appreciate chemistry's fundamental role in shaping our world. From pharmaceuticals to semiconductors, nearly everything we use and rely on is rooted in chemical processes. I'm excited to apply scientific principles to solve real-world problems, develop innovative materials, and improve daily life.

🧡 Favorite Hokie Memory: “One of my favorite memories at Virginia Tech was my first football game against UNC. The electric atmosphere in Lane Stadium, with thousands of passionate fans, made it unforgettable. The excitement peaked with our victory against the #10 ranked team, embodying the spirit and camaraderie of Virginia Tech and reinforcing my pride in being part of such a vibrant community.”

🎓 Post Graduation Plans: Working for Applied Materials in Albany, NY as a Process Engineer

Congratulations, Aidan! 🎉

Commencement is just around the corner, and the excitement is real! 🥹🧡 The Hokie Engineer Launch Party was the perfect celebration to send our ChemE Hokies off to make their mark on the world! 🚀🌟