Materials engineering is important to me because I can make an impact in many different industries, such as aerospace and medicine. For example, I worked on new material for airplanes and also on materials for a hip-replacement implant while I was in graduate school.

The chemical sensor that I engineer can be used to detect dangerous explosives in airports or chemical weapons that can hurt our soldiers. It can also immediately detect the presence of diseases such as tuberculosis on the breath of patients, rather than having to wait for lab tests that can take a few weeks.

It's never boring. I never stopped learning. I feel that I can make a significant difference in society by working on new technologies to improve people’s lives.

B.S. and M.S. in mechanical engineering, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts. My graduate research was in materials engineering.