FINALIST - 2005

Gabriella Engelhart The “Lafayette ideal” seeks to be well rounded, pursues passion, and enjoys life. I accepted a great challenge by becoming an engineer, but it is through this trial that I have discovered how much I am capable of accomplishing. My time has been filled with unbelievable opportunities for research, travel, and fun. Lafayette has afforded me the chance to pursue my personal and academic passions in environmental chemical engineering, which began as I took part in the Semester in Environmental Science in Massachusetts. This experience gave me my first taste of research and defined what my childhood love of nature had already indicated – studying the environment was my future. Back at Lafayette I began an environmental chemical engineering project, which led to other projects and many close relationships with my professors, which is a big bonus at Lafayette. Research has also been my ticket to travel around the country and the world. I have had the opportunity to present my research in San Francisco and Austin as well as conduct experiments with my thesis advisor at the Max Planck Institute in Germany. Maybe the late-night engineering problem sets with friends in AEC were worth it after all? Of course, a purely academic life would not embody the “Lafayette Ideal”, so I am a proud member of the Club Field Hockey team, which is about having a good time as much as playing hard. I have the privilege of passing on my love of Lafayette by guiding prospective students around campus. I also embrace the arts by participating in Arts Society events and planning Marquis Scholar trips to Broadway. Perhaps my fondest memory of Lafayette, however, is petting a cheetah on an interim trip, which literally embodies my view of reaching out to something intimidating to find some of life’s greatest experiences.

 

Major: Chemical Engineering
Minor: Environmental Science
Thesis: "Synthesis & Characterization of Biofunctional Nanomaterials"

Academic Activities/Awards:

• American Institute of Chemical Engineers (1,2,3,4)
  • Brown Bag Programs Coordinator (2,3)
  • Secretary (3,4).
  • Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference Fundraising Chair (4)
• EXCEL Scholar (2,3)
  • Color Removal from the Wastewater Discharge of Pulp and Paper Mills (2,3)
    • Presented at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers National Conference in San Francisco, CA, October, 2003
  • Nanoscale Encapsulation of Single Living Cells (3)
    • Presented at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers National Conference in Austin, TX, November, 2004.
    • Second place honors
• Society of Women Engineers (1,2)
• Lafayette Environmental Awareness and Protection Organization (2)
• Air Products and Chemicals Intern
• Charles A. Dana Scholar (1,2,3,4)
• Marquis Scholar (1,2,3,4)
• Tau Beta Pi (3,4)
• Eugene P Chase Phi Beta Kappa Prize for Excellence as a First-year Student (2)
• Barry M. Goldwater Scholar (3,4)
• Morris K. Udall Scholar (4)
• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (4)
• Dean’s List (1,2,3,4)
• Woods Hole Semester in Environmental Science (2)
• Charles Duncan Fraser Prize (4)
• Dr. E.L. McMillen-K.K. Malhotra ’49 Prize (4)

Campus Service Activities:

• Campus tour guide (1,2,3,4)
• Overnight student host (1,2,4)
• Academic Tutor (2)

Community Service Activities:

• “Lunch Buddy” Volunteer for At-Risk Middle School Students (3,4)
• Habitat for Humanity Pre-Orientation Camp (1)

Athletics:

• Club Field Hockey (1,2,3,4)
  • Executive committee secretary (4)
• Intramural Floor Hockey (4)

Special Interest Group Activities:

• Lafayette College Wine-Tasting Society (4)
• Marquis Scholar event planner (4)
• Arts Society (3,4)