An aspiring chemical engineer, Emily Tao ’10 (ENG) has a passion for the profession that is even evident in her pastimes.
“I like to experiment in the kitchen, because cooking is really chemistry that you can eat,” says the high-achieving Tao, who boasts not only a 3.8 GPA but also a designation as a New England Scholar and a United Technologies Corporation Scholarship in Engineering.
Tao also was named a finalist earlier this year for the Connecticut Technology Council’s annual “Women of Innovation” Collegian Innovation and Leadership Award, an honor she attributes to having served as treasurer for the engineering honor society Tau Beta Pi, and to having tutored an introductory course with chemical engineering’s Omega Chi Epsilon honor society.
“I never thought I was good at tutoring,” Tao said, “but when I helped freshmen, I saw myself several years ago. I related to how much they’re worrying about not understanding engineering concepts that I know they will understand in a couple more years. I let them know there’s light at the end of the tunnel.”
For Tao it is indeed a bright light. Sikorsky Aircraft, where she has interned for three summers carrying out analyses to determine the causes of aircraft gear failure and to recommend whether to discard or repair, offered Tao a job upon graduation.
“The funny thing is, I didn’t know what engineering was when I picked my chemical engineering major,” she says. “I knew it had something to do with math. I was good at that and chemistry in high school so I thought it would be a good choice. I also heard it’s really difficult, but that didn’t faze me because I like challenges.”
At UConn, Tao has also taken on the challenge of refocusing her work from chemical to biomedical engineering. “I took some biology courses and the professor said he was looking for people to help in his lab. I spoke up, and next thing I knew I was there,” she says.
That professor, Yong Wang, assistant professor of chemical, materials and biomolecular engineering, is attempting to create a drug delivery system that zeros in on cancerous cells, negating chemotherapy’s harmful side effect of destroying healthy cells along with sick ones. Tao describes the research as “part biology and part chemistry” and just “a small chunk in the big picture” of ongoing efforts to cure cancer. Tao’s work on the project involves identifying the DNA that make cancer cells unique, so that an encapsulated medicine can better target its cancerous destination.
“Within the next 10 to 15 years I’d like to be an engineering vice president,” Tao says. “I’ve met Sikorsky’s engineering and human resources vice presidents, who enjoy their high-stress jobs. I consider myself Type A, so I think I would enjoy the stress.”