Shaping the Future with Sandhiya Thiagarajan

• July 5th, 2022
• in Student Spotlight

“What if I told you concepts in Marvel movies can exist today?”

These are the first words out of Sandhiya Thiagarajan’s mouth when asked about her cutting-edge research with Dr. Amanda Koh, Assistant Professor for chemical and biological engineering. Sandhiya, originally from the beach town of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, first met Dr. Koh in 2019 at a recruiting event in her home country.

Drawn to Dr. Koh’s influential passion for women in STEM, Sandhiya left the gorgeous beaches, temples, culture and home to pursue a PhD from The University of Alabama under Dr. Koh’s mentorship.

Dr. Koh operates the Koh Laboratory, a laboratory in the illustrious Shelby Hall named in her likeness. The Koh Laboratory focuses on engineering soft materials and material interfaces to enable new stretchable electronics, soft robotics, smart devices and porous materials. The lab emphasizes that as the needs and applications of devices in these areas become more complex and advanced, it is no longer enough to rely on single-function, bulk materials. By harnessing the unique capabilities provided by interfaces, the Koh Laboratory designs smart, responsive, multifunctional materials that are key to creating robust, practical and adaptive systems.

True to the nature of the Koh Laboratory, Sandhiya focuses on saving lives through her research of magnetic smart liquids. Suspended in an oil-like substance, these revolutionary liquids harden into a dense, peanut-butter-like material when activated and reset back to their original form when not in use. The odd traits of smart liquids make them seem other-worldly, or even out of a Marvel Movie. The goal of Sandhiya’s research is to find a way to make smart liquids stable and rust-free for longer so they can be used for stabilizing buildings during earthquakes.

Sandhiya’s research is particularly interesting considering India’s history with earthquakes. Just last year, Chennai, India was hit by an earthquake which is just one in a long line of earthquakes that have hit India ranging from devastating to relatively minor. India sits on a tectonic plate which leads to a high frequency and intensity of earthquakes, but earthquakes wreak havoc globally with very few recent inventions to prevent structural damage.

Because of Dr. Koh and The University of Alabama, Sandhiya could revolutionize earthquake protection. The liquids have been around since the early 2000s. The magnetorheological fluids

can be found in the suspension of the 2002 model of the Cadillac Seville STS and more recently, in the suspension of the second-generation Audi TT. Many have theorized that using these fluids for earthquakes as a damper system would work, but the scale and staying power that Sandhiya is moving towards could soon make that dream a reality. Sandhiya has published two research papers alongside Dr. Koh during her tenure on campus that focus on her research on magnetorheological fluids.

“They should be in the building for 10-20 years.” she mentioned, “I cannot walk in and say, ‘please move your building because I need to change the liquid.’”

Since enrolling at The University of Alabama, Sandhiya has done nothing but rave about her experience so far. From “the best lab” she has ever worked in, to the weather and the people she’s met, Sandhiya said, “I have only experienced the best at UA. Not great, not good, the best.” She goes on to talk about the faculty and staff and mentions, “people here are so kind and want you to succeed. They are great at listening and helping you with anything you need.”

When asked about her future, Sandhiya, like many others, has not quite decided. She said, “maybe stay at UA and teach or stay close to Alabama. I love the environment here and the people so much.” She closed the conversation with a note to people interested in the University by saying “Come experience it for yourself. You’ll feel yourself at home and grow yourself here.”

Looking Beyond the Mountains

• October 1st, 2021
• in Student Spotlight

Mingtai recalls when he was younger, he would always ask his parents, “What is behind the mountains?” Born in the village of Hejiaba in Sichuan Province of China, Mingtai Chen (PhD, Spring ’21) always had his eyes focused beyond the horizon. The tiny village sits on the banks of the Yangtze River and is surrounded by towering mountains covered in dense green forests. With only one way in and out of the village, these mountains created a sense of isolation for the villagers, especially the children.

The Yangtze River provides Hejiaba’s most significant export – ornamental river stones. These stones aren’t the pebbles you may pocket on vacation but heavy boulders for which Chinese stone collectors pay good money. Contrarily, the region’s rarest export is college students. Mingtai was a determined young man, becoming the first Hejiaba resident to leave the village to attend college, let alone acquire a doctoral degree. The event was so unprecedented, Mingtai mentioned that “when I got my offer from the university, there was a big ceremony at my home.”

While collecting information for this story, our team got to spend time with Mingtai at his aerospace engineering lab in Hardaway Hall. We ended up in the back of the historic building in a sizable warehouse-like space that serves as the home to The University of Alabama’s wind tunnels. With a dissertation dedicated to rotor-wing interactions, these wind tunnels are the catalyst for his research. To the average joe, the room looks like something out of a science fiction film. These tunnels dominate the room, and you can tell that Mingtai has found a new home.

Being an international student at an American university is an adventure experienced by few. When talking about the transition from China to the United States, Mingtai prioritized taking oral English classes.

“The language barrier is always an obstacle for international students, but living here is very comfortable,” he said.

He also found The University of Alabama’s weather pleasant.

“The climate is like Shanghai,” he said. “So you get used to the weather very quickly.”

Mingtai credits the classes in empowering him to adapt and engage in academic research. At the close of Mingtai’s interview, he looked back at his career at The University of Alabama with fondness and noted how lucky he has been.

He started by saying, “I really admire my university and hope UA can develop to be better and better…I hope many Chinese students can come to UA and to the United States. I’m glad I was able to make a small contribution to that.”

Mingtai is poised to continue his career in an assistant professor position in the United States. He will undoubtedly continue to make his village proud as he continues to look beyond the mountains for his next adventure.

Involvement Builds Sharniece Holland’s Success

• January 14th, 2020
• in Student Spotlight, Uncategorized

Sharniece Holland is a proven leader who demonstrates driven tenacity toward her goals – academically and professionally.

A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Sharniece first moved to Alabama to attend the HBCU Alabama State University, where she led multiple student organizations on her way to a Bachelor of Science in mathematics (2010). Immediately after graduation, she moved 100 miles north to take on a yearlong mathematics master’s program at The University of Alabama. 

Somehow graduate school wasn’t what she was expecting though. Knowing she wouldn’t be in Tuscaloosa long, Sharniece stuck to her studies. Though she really enjoyed UA, she readily admits her struggle came down to one condition. “I wasn’t prepared the first time for graduate school.”

In a hurry to begin her career, Sharniece took the most direct path to graduation, missing her opportunity to grow and explore. She completed her master’s in 2011, taking her first job as an English and math teacher in South Korea. With her added experience, Sharniece stepped into an adjunct position at a St. Louis tech school when she returned.

After two years at the tech school, Sharniece was restless. She had peaked where she was at and was looking for ways to make herself more marketable and increase her job options.

Confiding her frustrations to a friend, a physics student at UA, Sharniece dug to the root of what she loved most about math, realizing she enjoys utilizing math to solve much bigger projects. To her friend, the solution was obvious; Sharniece needed to switch her focus to materials science.

With more wisdom and experience, Sharniece returned to The University of Alabama as a materials science doctoral student with the resolve to make the most of her time on campus. “When I came back to UA, I was more ready,” Sharniece says. “I enjoyed my department, my advisor. I was more involved, and it really enriched my experience.”

“As a student, I wanted to be able to have an impact on my university,” Sharniece stated. And she did, first joining Tide Together, a peer mentoring program dedicated to helping underrepresented students build personal and professional connections. During her second tenure at UA, she also served as a graduate ambassador, a Graduate Council student representative and the president of the African American Graduate Student Association.

Sharniece’s efforts were not unnoticed. Her research secured funding from several national sources, including The Southern Regional Education Board Dissertation Scholar Fellowship, Alabama NASA EPSCoR Graduate Research Scholars Program, The National Science Foundation: Bridge to Doctorate Fellowship and The National Science Foundation: Alabama Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Program Scholarship.

The funding, programs and faculty guidance propelled Sharniece toward her vision. “Drs. Lin Li and Viola Acoff were very helpful and invested in my future. This school will work just as hard for you as you work. It really supported me.”

Now Dr. Holland, Sharniece is back in St. Louis, teaching in the Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science Department at Washington University, a position recommended to her by Dr. Li.

“The doctorate helped me land the job,” Sharniece says. “Campus activities gave me knowledge, and the Graduate School empowered me through funding and experience.”

Ready to find out how you can be involved at The University of Alabama? Apply today: graduate.ua.edu/prospective-students/apply-now/

Student Spotlight: Christine Bassett

• August 27th, 2019
• in Student Spotlight

Christine Bassett, a doctoral student in The University of Alabama Department of Geological Sciences, recently received the prestigious recognition as a member of the 2020 class of NOAA Sea Grant John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship finalists. In the coming weeks, she will join fewer than 70 other students in Washington, D.C. to contribute their research and intellect to executive and legislative efforts toward climate change. The potential trajectory of this honor places Christine on a new path toward career success.

Christine completed two bachelor’s degrees, a Bachelor of Science in geology and a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology, at the University of Georgia and thought a doctoral degree in anthropology was the direction she was headed. Christine was searching for a graduate program to help her make the greatest impact in understanding climate change and its effects on people. Her UGA adviser recognized the same drive he had seen in a previous student – Dr. Fred Andrus, a geology professor at The University of Alabama.

She gave Dr. Andrus a call. “We both knew instantly it was a good fit. Dr. Andrus explained his research that had just received a National Science Foundation grant, and they needed a grad student to do the dirty work of digging clams and processing shells in the lab.”

Relocating to Tuscaloosa, Christine pursued her master’s and doctorate in geology with steady determination and proof of success. She combines anthropology and geology to connect the past with what people are experiencing now due to climate change. “Anthropology looks at broad swaths of time as periods around 100 years or more. Geology lets me view seasonal microscale changes.”

She views those seasonal changes in the growth lines on butter clam and abalone shells. In order to retrieve the shells, Christine first had to secure her diving certification with an additional cold water specialty, not a common requirement for most graduate research. Her research includes the Unalaska Sea Ice Project, performing isotopic analysis on ancient clams found in archaeological middens (historical trash heaps). From the shells, she is able to extract sea surface temperatures and chemical make-up of the water the ancient clams lived in, developing a better understanding of how the animals and people of the Aleutian Islands adapted to a changing climate and forecasting how people might respond in the future.

While butter clams may be the shell of her start, Christine is furthering her research scope further south in the Pacific Ocean to the Channel Islands off of California’s southern coast. There, she is performing similar geochemical analysis on abalone shells, the iridescent shell often used for jewelry and buttons. Her analysis is a breakthrough development for scientists to better understand seasonal, local climate change through rising water levels and temperatures and their effect on abalone populations, continuing to paint a more robust picture.

“The story is that the research of these shells is needed to understand how the Pacific Ocean has aged and varied over 10,000 years across two localities. People who live along the coast, the Pacific or the Gulf of Mexico, they already feel climate change and they know it. People in the interior don’t realize how oceanic changes affect their daily lives. I want them to be able to see for themselves.”

Christine won UA’s 2017 Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, presenting her research thesis with catching storytelling palatable for any audience. In Spring 2019, she was named a 2019 American Geophysical Union’s Voices for Science advocate, no doubt leading to the Knauss Fellowship. The fellowship is a competitive process that included several rounds of interviews through the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium before review by a national panel of experts. 

“This made the blood, sweat and tears feel like it actually paid off,” sighed Christine. “Never give up. If you really want it, you find a way. I was rejected at first, but I asked for feedback and applied it, adjusting my application and research proposal to fit. I reapplied, and I’m here.”

Are you ready to join Christine and our other rising legends? The future is yours. The place is UA.

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