Farian Mehjabin | Wayne State University

Unlike most people, my decision on a career came quite late. Perhaps the high school science
project on making an at-home fire alarm using the concept of expansion of matter provided me with
my first exposure to a process problem and solving it by converting academic concepts into tangible
technology. This drive for practicality over abstraction was what convinced me into choosing
engineering and eventually chemical engineering as a major.

I was ranked in the top 10 percent (9th out of 133) of my graduating class of Chemical
Engineering and Polymer Science at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology. My inclination
toward laboratory courses that were predominant in the last year is evident in my CGPA of 3.51 out
of 4, with a GPA of 3.78 in the final two semesters. My journey toward research officially started when
I joined the Bio Conversion lab during my final year. I started working on a project involving the
conversion of algal biomass to lipid and biofuel- which is currently one of the most promising fossil
fuel alternatives to sustain the world’s energy demand. The topic of my undergraduate thesis work
was “Evaluation of nutrient concentration for algae-based lipid production” – which included
examining the effect of various nutrients and substrates in algal growth and lipid production as well
as the development of a chemical analysis methodology to identify lipid content from algae samples
combining spectrophotometry with numerical analysis. I have presented parts of the work at the
International Conference on STEM and the 4IR and the International Conference on Mechanical,
Industrial, and Materials Engineering 2022 (ICMIME 2022).

Along with my mainstream research, I have attended various scientific conferences and
competitions, among which CEP Chem-E-Car was the one that gave me the most rewarding hands-on
experience of combining chemistry with analytics. My research experience as well as the exchanges I
had at these conferences has made me realize that the right path for me is a career where I can create
new knowledge by researching and interacting with the scientific community and the Ph.D. program
in Chemical Engineering at Wayne State University will give me a chance to do exactly that.

Aside from my research work, in the Plant Design lab course where I led a team of five to
design a hydrogen peroxide plant during my 3rd year, I had the opportunity to implement
fundamental chemical knowledge using familiar tools and problem-solving approaches as well as
organizing the efforts of different team members into one seamless project. The other courses that
significantly boosted my practical knowledge of chemical processes were a month-long course on
industrial process unit operation and process control techniques at the “Training Institute for
Chemical Industries (TICI)” and a visit to 11 process industries in Chittagong, Bangladesh. These
activities gave me invaluable real-world experience and a better understanding of the various aspects
of chemical engineering.

I have been actively engaged in community activities, outreach, and organizing during my
undergraduate years. I have worked as the Organizational Secretary for KIN SUST, a non-profit
organization that focuses on ensuring institutional and extracurricular activities for underprivileged

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 Farian Mehjabin | Wayne State University

children, and gave lessons to students of Grades 6-10 of KIN School. These activities stem from my
strong belief in cooperating with others and helping them realize their maximum potential. I have
worked in departmental organizations as a Women's affair secretary and also took part in cultural and
charitable works done by the department.

My research interests and future plans are compatible with the interdisciplinary research
done under the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. I believe that your Ph.D.
program will provide the depth of knowledge and research skills that will eventually prepare me to
conduct original and novel research in the broader field of chemical engineering, by either joining a
research institute or being a faculty member.

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