Outstanding Undergraduate Student
Mark May
For some, the decision to study engineering comes naturally, and Mark May is one of those students. The senior in chemical and biomolecular engineering had a scientific background in chemistry, and his aptitude and interest in analytical modeling led to a strong foundation in mathematics. Out of this was born a desire to study chemical engineering. “I am fortunate to have an education-oriented home life,” May said. “My parents helped me develop a dedicated work ethic and appreciation of the value of learning.” May calls his parents “the most intelligent man and woman” he knows. His father holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry and would use everyday examples such as preparing food in terms of organic chemistry, which not only fostered May’s interest in chemistry but in cooking as well. His four older siblings also guided his educational development. “I attribute half of my accomplishments to good parents and the other half to supportive siblings,” May said.
May graduated fifth in his class from Hillsboro High School in Nashville, Tennessee in 2005. Engineering initially appealed to him because of the learning opportunities, job responsibilities and career potentials. His decision to attend the University of Tennessee was three-fold: it’s a large campus within a short drive from Nashville where he felt opportunities existed to excel. “As a proud soon-to-be-UT-graduate, it is safe to say these opportunities did present themselves,” May added. May completed three terms of the Office of Professional Practice’s Co-op program with Dow Chemical Company. He receives several scholarships, including the John Prados Scholarship and the Dennis and Connie Denihan Scholarship for Outstanding Performance, and is a member of Tau Beta Pi and AIChE. “Any circumstance where I worked and studied with peers makes up a favorable engineering memory,” May said. “Most of the fun was having a laugh with my fellow students while putting a presentation together, and I’m glad we worked through chemical engineering with supportive camaraderie.” His favorite past classes include fluid mechanics, organic chemistry and differential equations, and reactor design and kinetics tops the list this semester. “Organic chemistry stands as my favorite undergraduate course because I enjoy learning new reactions and using that knowledge to supplement other classes,” May said. “A common theme among my other favorite courses is solving physical phenomena and chemical reactions through appropriate models.”
May’s affinity for solving physical phenomena will benefit him after graduation: he aims to work in energy conservation and clean water supply. “My goal is to positively impact local and global communities, whether through making reverse osmosis water filters or researching biosynthetic approaches for conserving energy,” May said. “These efforts will require staying true to several values: commitment to learning, embracing an open mind and making selfless decisions.” May has decided that he’ll pursue graduate school upon his May 2010 graduation.
“Bio-polymers and advanced materials are the motivation behind graduate school because bridging chemical engineering with biological systems is appealing,” May said. “I plan to take more biochemistry to facilitate these efforts.” Regardless of where May ends up, he plans to spend summer 2010 living in Hawaii with his older brother. “I intend to pick up a part-time job, learn to surf and go on shark diving cage tours,” May said. “I look forward to any opportunity to see sharks and seeing my brother won’t be so bad either.”