Jared Porter was looking for a way to bring his largely theoretical experience in chemical engineering into more practical applications, to bridge the gap from simulation to experimentation. That search led him to the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) Master of Engineering program.
Porter was previously engaged in combustion simulation research during his chemical engineering degree at Brigham Young University. Modeling patterns in turbulent combustion gave him experience mapping out data points in abstract space, but he wanted to learn more about the practical side of research.
“To match the computational angle with more hands-on experiences, I tried to find a mix of different internships and independent projects,” Porter said, describing his time at BYU.
Porter worked with a semiconductor equipment manufacturer, spent time at a startup focusing on carbon fiber technology, and honed his expertise in his free time, designing projects that made use of his computational knowledge and growing robotics skills, like his home-built self-moving chessboard. During this journey to widen and hone his practical knowledge, Porter found the Master of Engineering program at UChicago PME.
“This program appealed as a way to shore up my skills and transition towards the research I’m hoping to pursue as a PhD student,” said Porter.
In the AI/Computation for Materials Track, Porter takes many of the same principles that drove his self-moving chessboard and applies them on a grander scale and with greater scope. He spoke about the future of lab science and the ways that it will be augmented by AI, including streamlining the most tedious and hard-to-replicate portions of the process.
The program links back to his chemical engineering background explicitly through several courses in machine learning for simulating chemical systems.
“The program’s coursework has covered a really good mix of theoretical depth and practical applications.”
The practical applications for Porter extend beyond his formal coursework. During his free time in the program, he has volunteered in one of the labs on campus, further gaining the kind of bridging, hands-on experience that led him to seek the program in the first place.
“The work I’m doing fits remarkably well with my longer-term professional goals, matching the computational side of my studies to the laboratory settings in which I hope to apply those insights,” said Porter.
Since completing the program, Porter has continued onwards with PhD studies in North Carolina State University’s department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. He aims to work in the world of self-driving labs, an emerging discipline that he describes as nascent and singular.
“It’s an interesting field requiring a wide range of skills – chemical modeling, experimental laboratory methods, and robotics, to name a few. All in all, I’m excited to develop what I hope is uniquely human intuition surrounding these new tools for scientific problem solving.”
As various industries work to reach the goal, described by Porter, of AI-driven labs automating pieces of the research process, Porter is looking to stay at the forefront with the experience gained at the UChicago PME Master of Engineering program.
--Learn more about the Master of Engineering program at UChicago PME