Brian Surjanhata
Sophomore
Major: Biomedical Engineering
When he was in high school, Brian Surjanhata spent two summers interning as a research assistant at a medical school. It was always his plan to do research as a college undergrad, once he got there.
“I knew what research entailed,” he said. “I knew that at RPI, I'd have a little bit more freedom and would really be taking charge of my own project, while, at the same time, helping the professor out in some aspect of his work.”
Now a sophomore majoring in Biomedical Engineering, Surjanhata is working with a team of students to create nanodrums. These nanodrums are quite delicate to make, and involve gently transferring gold nanoparticles to the surface of a water droplet. After mastering this fabrication method, the students plan to play a nanodrum and use it as a membrane filter for biological molecules.
When asked what drew him into this research, Surjanhata replied, “He (Sang-Kee Eah, Assistant Professor of Physics) was my Physics 1 professor freshman year and often talked about his research. The subject he was working on is relatively new and something I had never encountered.”
So Surjanhata talked to Eah and started working in his lab. And has gotten a lot out of it.
“What I found interesting about research is how people are able to figure out methods to study something. Especially with this material, the work that Dr. Eah was doing was at the nanoscale, and how he ever figured out how to study it is still a mystery to me. It takes a lot of knowledge to do research.”
“I guess this research is making me think more analytical and abstractly,” he continues. “The research presents a problem with forming a thin layer of nanoparticles, but this is easier said than done. So every time I’m in the lab, I have to keep thinking about how to solve this problem.”
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