Kimberly Zubris: Outstanding Chemical Engineering undergraduate

As anyone in academia would tell you, it’s very rare for an undergraduate student’s work to rise to the level where scholarly journals deem it worthy of publication. Rare – but not impossible. Just ask Kimberly Zubris, a senior in the department of chemical engineering.
Kimberly’s work has been published in the June 2005 edition of the scientific journal Environmental Pollution. The article was based on soil contamination research Kimberly performed in the summer of 2004 as part of the NSF-Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at Cornell University.
“Kimberly's accomplishments are a true reflection of the high quality of students and educational environment in chemical engineering at Lehigh,” says Tony McHugh, professor and chair of chemical engineering. “What makes her accomplishment so unusual is that she participated in two different research projects in the summers between her junior and senior years. In the first instance her work has led to the publication of a research paper, co-authored with the group at Cornell, showing that her involvement was one of strong ownership and responsibility. Most undergraduate research at any university is performed not only under theoretical and conceptual guidance of a faculty member, but also under laboratory guidance from graduate students. Kimberly’s Lehigh education and research experience provided her the opportunity to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to perform research at a level that far exceeds what one would normally expect from an undergraduate.”
Kimberly’s research experience extends beyond her work at Cornell. She has also performed research in the Biomaterials and Bionanotechnology Summer Institute at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center this past summer. And for the last year she has been gaining additional biomedical research experience in the laboratory of Samir Ghadiali, assistant professor in mechanical engineering and mechanics, and member of Lehigh’s cross-disciplinary bioengineering program. In addition to her research accomplishments, Kimberly is vice president of the Lehigh University student chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, a Rossin Junior Fellow, and a member of the Society of Women Engineers, Biomedical Engineering Society and Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society.

Check out the abstract from Kimberly’s journal article at www.sciencedirect.com.