The SWE Graduate Community would like to recognize Amy Zheng for her commitment to SWE and the advocacy of graduate students throughout her collegiate career, especially her dedication to the GradSWE Mentoring Program, and excellence in chemical engineering.
Amy Zheng, Vanderbilt University
Amy is an active SWE member, advocate for graduate student success, and aspiring researcher. She is a 3rd year graduate student at Vanderbilt University studying Chemical Engineering, where she studies how to create a novel strain of algae optimized for biofuel production. She is currently a member of the SWE Graduate Community Leadership Team, where she is a veteran leader within the Mentoring Program.
Amy first became a SWE member as a freshman at the University of Kansas. Even as an undergraduate student, Amy supported the interests of graduate students by serving as that section’s Graduate Student Coordinator for two years where she built bridges between undergraduate and graduate students on her campus. For example, she established an annual seminar where faculty and graduate students could inspire interest in their research topics and share opportunities with undergraduates. Amy also served as the President of the University of Kansas SWE section, where she led a team of ten executive members, managed section-wide meetings, organized an annual conference trip, and worked with the alumni center to raise money and recruit guest speakers.
Amy first became a SWE member as a freshman at the University of Kansas. Even as an undergraduate student, Amy supported the interests of graduate students by serving as that section’s Graduate Student Coordinator for two years where she built bridges between undergraduate and graduate students on her campus. For example, she established an annual seminar where faculty and graduate students could inspire interest in their research topics and share opportunities with undergraduates. Amy also served as the President of the University of Kansas SWE section, where she led a team of ten executive members, managed section-wide meetings, organized an annual conference trip, and worked with the alumni center to raise money and recruit guest speakers.
The FY20 GradSWE Mentoring Team at WE19
Currently Amy is the Developmental Mentoring Coordinator for the societal GradSWE Mentoring Team. In her second year in the role, Amy has taken on increasing responsibility leading the four-person team, organizing bi-weekly meetings, helping new mentoring chairs transition into their positions, and improving other logistical and documentation processes. Her main responsibility is increasing available resources for program participants, such as newsletters and other pertinent content, as well as developing enrollment and assessment surveys to analyze program satisfaction.
Last fall Amy took her growing expertise on mentoring to a larger audience: the annual WE19 conference in Anaheim, CA. Her panel, “Mentoring in Graduate School” was accepted for presentation and well attended, despite being one of the last sessions of the conference. The panel consisted of three professionals, a graduate student, and two undergraduates and raised awareness of how mentoring can help increase the number of women engineers that go to graduate school and guide graduate students in increasing their career potential.
Last fall Amy took her growing expertise on mentoring to a larger audience: the annual WE19 conference in Anaheim, CA. Her panel, “Mentoring in Graduate School” was accepted for presentation and well attended, despite being one of the last sessions of the conference. The panel consisted of three professionals, a graduate student, and two undergraduates and raised awareness of how mentoring can help increase the number of women engineers that go to graduate school and guide graduate students in increasing their career potential.
Mentoring in Graduate School Panel, WE19.
On campus, Amy has also held leadership roles within the Vanderbilt Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Association. In the community she participates in several organizations which do K-12 outreach in Nashville and across Tennessee. She organized lectures for and created a fun and active learning environment for high school student through the Vanderbilt Solar Cell Outreach program for two years and taught science lessons to middle school students through the Vanderbilt Students Volunteers for Science program for a semester.
Amy’s potential as an aspiring chemical engineering researcher has been recognized by a variety of awards and invitations, such as the prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. She has received a travel grant to the International Society of Photosynthetic Research conference and presented posters at the Genomic Sciences Program DOE meeting and the Microbiome Conference.
Amy’s potential as an aspiring chemical engineering researcher has been recognized by a variety of awards and invitations, such as the prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. She has received a travel grant to the International Society of Photosynthetic Research conference and presented posters at the Genomic Sciences Program DOE meeting and the Microbiome Conference.
Amy is an engaged and dependable leader, passionate about empowering graduate students through valuable resources and networks. She plans to stay involved with SWE throughout her collegiate career, to use her personal and previous experiences to continue to make SWE and GradSWE more effective and inclusive for all female engineering graduate students.
The SWE Graduate Community is proud to recognize Amy Zheng (Vanderbilt University) as a 2020 GradSWE Outstanding Individual!
The SWE Graduate Community is proud to recognize Amy Zheng (Vanderbilt University) as a 2020 GradSWE Outstanding Individual!
