Rachel Rosenzweig

Degrees

Ph.D. Materials Science and Engineering, UCI, 2020 expected
B.S. Materials Science and Engineering, University of Washington, 2015

Biography

Rachel Rosenzweig is a doctoral student in Dr. Albert Yee's laboratory in the UCI Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. Her research focuses on engineering antimicrobial surfaces on medical device materials by inhibiting growth and motility of infectious microbes without the dependence on chemicals or antibiotics. The method involves changing the physical nanotexture of materials by imprinting tiny arrays of pillars 1000x thinner than human hair. The spikes are so tiny that a human can't feel or see them, but microbes can. This leads to growth and motility inhibition and new insights on the cell-surface interface!. 

Why is science communication important to you?

Schools often forget that people learn differently. Some people are visual, auditory, reading, and/or kinesthetic learners. Some people aren't even able to attend school. In a multi-media learning age, we need to provide inclusive multi-media avenues for science communication to translate exciting science to all types of learners. I believe science is for everyone and that no one should feel discouraged to pursue the field due to a lack of access to science news exciting to them. Science communication is a powerful tool that can inspired and recruit new, diverse talent to the field that would otherwise be left out.

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