A Rhodes Scholar. Earning this distinction means one has obtained one of the oldest international fellowship awards.
Every year for the past century (since 1902), the Trust awards 32 folks (between the ages of 18 and 24) a chance for years of education at Oxford University. The awardees have not only outstanding scholarly credentials, but their character, their commitment to the common good, and their leadership capabilities are what sets these chosen ones apart from all the other applicants.
This year, a young (21 y of age) woman was chosen. Naomi Mburu of the University of Maryland Baltimore County (known as UMBC) got one of the slots. And, Naomi is a Chem E. (Come on, you knew there had to be a reason why I was discussing Rhodes Scholars!)
Mburu is a first generation American. (Her folks are from Kenya.) As a senior in ChemE (who graduates this year), she has been mentoring potential ChemE’s at UMBC, which has some 13000 students overall. A passionate promoter of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), she has been a MARC U*STAR and Meyerhoff Scholar. These two programs aim to increase the number of minorities pursuing a PhD in STEM.
Mburu chose UMBC over several Ivy League institutions, to which she was admitted. I’m sure it didn’t hurt that her mom is an accounting manager at the institution. (Actually, the Meyerhoff program was another big plus- since it works with minority students to help them maneuver through all the hoops necessary to obtain a PhD in STEM.)
At UMBC, her research has been involved with developing a bioreactor to extend the viability of human organs that have been harvested for transplantation. (It is currently crucial to have the organ be transplanted quickly- or it may fail without ever becoming functional in the transplantee.)
Naomi also interned at Vanderbilt (Nashville, TN), where she was involved in 3D printing, at CERN (European Center for Nuclear Research) studying the various gas mixtures for muons, and also at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.
Mburu hopes to earn a PhD in engineering science. Her studies at Oxford should broaden her ChemE background to help further that goal. Her work at Oxford will be under the instruction of Dr. Peter Ireland (Oxford Thermofluids Institute), whose research involves heat transfer (one of the three tenets of transport phenomena; the other two are mass and momentum transport). In particular, Dr. Ireland focuses on what potential needs a nuclear fusion reactor will demand.
Watch out world. Here comes Naomi Mburu!
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wow, wish I would have known about this twenty years ago.
You know, Brenda, I had exactly the same thought. I had no clue that techies could apply for- and be designated as- Rhodes Scholars. I thought it was like Phi Beta Kappa- only BA’s may apply. (We do have Tau Beta Pi for engineers and Sigma Xi for researchers, though.)
Here she comes indeed! It sounds like Naomi is a remarkable young woman whose research is going to make incredible advancements in the world of healthcare and transplants. Thanks for sharing her story!
And, Megan, let’s hope she becomes an icon to egg on others to achieve such results!
I went to the Bronx High School of Science and I didn’t know techies could apply to be a Rhodes Scholar (not that I would have ever come anywhere close to being eligible). Who knew? Not me. I applaud Naomi and her research. A friend of mine died years ago because she wasn’t able to get the organ transplant she needed.
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Well, Alana. I didn’t go to Bronx Science, but I was a techie. And, I too had ZERO clue that I could apply to be a Rhodes Scholar. Which is why I wrote about Naomi. Maybe some other qualified folks can also apply!
Hi Roy! I just stumbled across the article you wrote about me winning the Rhodes! What a lovely article! I have been thrilled by the response of those both inside and outside my community, spreading my story and expressing how much this means for them! Have a happy holiday season!
Glad to oblige! I was thrilled to tell your story.