Teaching

Throughout my journey from Iraq to Jordan to the US, I witnessed a lack of education plague my family’s aspirations to succeed ever since we escaped our home country. Consequently, education and mentorship are two major ways by which I hope to make an impact. At the University of Michigan and UC Berkeley, I have taught five courses and >300 students across three science and engineering disciplines. I’ve also been involved in Berkeley’s Bioinformatics Bootcamp and InspiritAI, which is an effort to teach machine learning to high school students across the world. Check out my CV for details about my teaching experiences and testimonials from my students.

Outreach

University of Michigan

My teaching experiences convinced me that my contributions as a researcher should extend beyond the laboratory. As and undergraduate at the University of Michigan, I led a group of my peers in designing a research-based course—supported by a $15,000 departmental grant—that introduced experimental and computational research topics and skills to students who attended underprivileged high schools that did not have research opportunities. We documented the construction and operation of the course in a publication to facilitate its adoption by other schools.

Strategy for developing a research-based course and introducing it to an undergraduate curriculum

In another example of research providing me with a platform to support my community, I gathered a group of my peers to create our University’s first campus-wide, undergraduate research symposium. We raised funds from 16 entities totaling $12,000 of support, accommodated 250 presenters and evaluators, provided students with an opportunity to practice communicating their research, and provided travel awards to support students’ attendance of larger conferences. We crafted a comprehensive report of our efforts that served as a template for future iterations of the event.

What’s most gratifying is that the symposium has continued to provide research communication opportunities to undegraduates for the last few years, and I can’t wait to see how it evolves over the coming years thanks to the tireless efforts of its organizers.

UC Berkeley

At Berkeley, I have mentored three undergraduate researchers. One is currently enrolled in Stanford’s Chemical Engineering PhD program, one will be starting MIT’s PhD program next fall, and the other is a Junior at UC Berkeley. I also contribute to science mentorship beyond the UC Berkeley campus through the Be A Scientist! program that supports local middle school students on guided science projects along with the Guiding Outstanding Learners to Discover program, which is designed to empower students in high school and at other undergraduate institutions to further their understanding of the chemical sciences and engineering. Continuing these efforts is important to my journey and growth because they provide me with an avenue to take full advantage of my privileged position.