Even though I have long left the comfort of academia, I feel compelled to write about my research because it was a passion that consumed so much of my first few years in this country. It was very tough making the decision to switch fields, but in the end, I think it was worth it. Definitely. Academia and the corporate life are such different animals; I am lucky enough to have experienced a bit of both.

Most of my research interests were environmentally related, specifically in the area of biological remediation of waters and wastewaters. In my undergraduate years at Penn, I spent much of my time volunteering at the Environmental & Resources Laboratory, where I worked on several projects related to bioremediation.

From 1993-1994, I worked closely with a doctoral student and good friend, Manaf El-Farhan, on a project related to the biodegradation of a nutrient-supplemented glucose-based wastestream using an anaerobic fluidized bed biofilm reactor (AFBBR) setup. From this came my undergraduate thesis, "Performance and Kinetics of Anaerobic Fluidized Bed Reactors under Steady-State and Dynamic Loading Conditions" for which I was awarded the 1994 Nassau Award and the 1995 Rose Undergraduate Research Award. Here is where I was first exposed to much of the hands-on lab procedures and techniques, as well as the more practical aspects of dealing with many people with different backgrounds, opinions and battling egos, perhaps none of which I could have experienced as vividly in the typical classroom setting.
     After this, I worked on two independent studies in the same lab. In the first project, "Denitrification of Phenol and Acetic Acid under Anoxic Conditions," I investigated the biodegradation kinetics of two artificial mineral-supplemented wastestreams using sequencing batch reactor configurations. Two separate systems were set up, one with an acetic acid substrate and the other with a phenolic feed. The second project, "Biological Degradation of Phenol and Monoethylamine" used a similar phenol-based substrate and was run alongside parallel studies using a monoethylamine (MEA) feed, both in fluidized bed reactor setups.
     During this time, I occasionally worked with and helped Ber-Lin Lai on his dissertation research. His work was focused on the bioremediation of monoethylamine in sequencing batch reactors under a 24-hour alternating anoxic/oxic operating environment. Here I was exposed to several new laboratory techniques and operating procedures, and I learned much from our collaboration.
     The next project was assigned to me as part of my Research Fellowship as a then-new graduate student. I was part of a small team put together to evaluate the feasibility and applicability of new anti-icing and deicing chemicals co-developed by NASA and 3M, and I focused on the physical characteristics such as vehicle skid-resistance and reaction to repeated freeze-thaw cycles. I worked primarily from the Civil Engineering Laboratory, in which many frustrations were borne as a result of a lack of both expertise and interest in this area. However, despite this, it was very much of a learning experience both in terms of apparatus design and construction as well as dealing with people on a wide range of levels.

My research experiences were mostly enjoyable and indeed richly rewarding. I've learned a bit how a motley assortment of bugs grows and lives. I've gone through the pedagogical trials and tribulations of planning and running experiments, and the occasional nail-biting critical hours of desperate attempts to save a dying reactor. I've experienced the hair-tearing all-nighters of data analysis, rushing to meet that tight deadline, and the flutter of gastrointestinal butterflies during intense presentations. But perhaps above all, I've experienced the proverbial pat on the back, the much-welcomed smile of approval, and the satisfaction of a job well done--all of which help to make it so worthwhile.

PUBLICATIONS
El-Farhan MH, Chin-Hong PH, Keenan JD, Shieh WK. "Performance of Anaerobic Reactors During Pseudo-Steady State Operation." Accepted for publication in Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology.
Lai B, Chin-Hong PH, Shieh WK. "Anoxic/Oxic Degradation of Monoethylamine in Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) Systems." Accepted for publication in Journal of Environmental Engineering.