Nagma Zerin’s academic journey is quite interesting and diverse. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo in Canada, she returned to her home in Bangladesh. There she worked as a lecturer in the Department of Microbiology of Stamford University Bangladesh for about a year. She participated in collaborative research in the areas of antibacterial activity of medicinal plants and microbial contamination of consumer products. Then she returned to Waterloo to pursue her Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering and then went to Penn State University to pursue her PhD degree in chemical engineering. Her Master’s research was focused on modelling purification of antibodies used for cancer therapy and her PhD research involved designing composite polymer electrolytes for application in lithium-ion battery. After completing her PhD in early 2021, Zerin briefly worked in a biotech start-up in Boston. Then she joined as a lecturer in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in December 2021.
In addition to teaching Process Analysis (EN.540.202) and Unit Operations lab (EN.540.311/313) at Hopkins, she also teaches Cell Biology for Engineers (EN.540.307). She is also the faculty advisor for the Chem-E-Car team. Her current educational research is focused on understanding the ChemBE students’ mindsets and creating an inclusive classroom environment for the ChemBE courses.