I was strongly attracted to the vibrant, walkable city of Philadelphia, which is well-connected by air from my home in South Florida. Drexel Materials offered opportunities for freshmen to engage in research, the dominant activity in the department, an extension of Drexel‘s learning through experience principle. I also received a generous scholarship that would cover a B.S. and M.S. degree, which was a major factor in the decision

 I currently work under Dr. Antonios Zavaliangos, our department head, leader of the Powder Materials Group (PMG), and a wonderful advisor. I never thought about just how many things are made from powder until I joined the group. Speaking generally, we are currently investigating a method of reducing microcracking during the pharmaceutical tablet manufacturing process. So far, I‘ve been trained on two different mechanical testing machines, methods of measuring tablets, and an optical microscope. I will start training on the microCT scanner as well. It‘s been a chance to acquire useful skills and experience before my first co-op. I find that working in a research group makes me more interested in fundamental concepts that come up in Physics or Chemistry 101, because I now see their application beyond solving exam problems.