Hey there!! I’m Hirushi, your Chemical and Materials blogger for 2023! When I’m not blogging or stressing over some assignment, I like to crochet, bake and try new food! To be completely honest, if you’d told me on my first day of university that I would end up doing chemical engineering, I would not have believed you. So how did I end up here? And why do I think that this is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made? Well, join me as we crawl through the pipes and vessels of CHEMMAT to find out why!
So what brings me here?
Every student I’ve met had a different reason for being in Chemical and Materials engineering. Many didn’t choose it, it was on the bottom of their list of what specialisations they wanted to do. Some really loved chemical engineering from the start. I go somewhere in the middle of those. I only started liking CHEMMAT pretty late in my first year. By pretty late, I mean the last week of selecting my specialisations 😐
When I first heard of chemical engineering, it wasn’t something that wowed me and fascinated me the same way the word ‘mechatronics’ did. Mechatronics just seemed more exciting, it was new, the higher GPA of mechatronics obviouslyy meant it was better (that’s what my first year mind thought). That’s not a good reason to be wanting to do a specialistaion! And I’ve met a fair share of people who were choosing their specialisation for that reason (*tsk tsk*). Guess what, I didn’t meet the GPA and I’m glad I didn’t!
Back to CHEMMAT! CHEMMAT was never something that stood out to me ever since I found out about it. I remember in highschool when I would watch day-in-a-life videos of different types of engineers, chemical engineering was one of the specialisations I liked the least. Factories? Like really? So whenever I thought of what kind of engineering I wanted to do in the future, CHEMMAT wasn’t even an option I considered! So how did I even end up choosing CHEMMAT as my first choice??
No offense to the other specialisations, but after dynamics, I didn’t know if I wanted to spend the rest of my degree going through all that again😬. Sorry, Hazim but mechatronics and mechanical were not for me! And if I’m being honest, I’m more of a science gal than engineering (forgive me!!) Science was where my heart was at (p.s. I’m an ex – engineering/ biology conjoint student) and CHEMMAT was able to cater to this and more!
Is Chemical and Materials for you?
Am I making the right decision? Should I just choose mechanical? It was a bitttt of a leap of faith when I chose CHEMMAT. From the moment I hit submit for my specialisation selection, I kept doubting myself. I knew know one who had chosen chemmat (bummer). But after my first few weeks of being in this specialisation, I can confidently say that I made the right decision. I’ve always loved science and with CHEMMAT, I feel like I am learning how the science I learn can be applied to engineering to solve issues in ways I would have never thought of. It’s essentially how we can use chemistry for applications in the real world as well as how we can ensure every process, system, machine and more operates how it is intended to whether it be the physical aspects of a machine such as it’s material or ensuring our end products of a process is exactly what we want them to be using math. And also, I’m okay with factories now! They’re actually super cool and I’ll tell you why sometime!
But that’s not all, another big reason I’m glad I chose CHEMMAT is the class sizes. My cohort is surprisingly small (like 50 people!!) and only a fraction actually show up to lectures. It feels like highschool again, seeing the same faces everyday! I’ve met some seriously cool chemmates (ehem excuse the pun – I also stole it) and it’s amazing knowing, we will only grow even tighter over the next few years. The first few weeks of my chemical engineering journey have been nothing short of inspiring. I’m thrilled to be a part of such a vibrant and dynamic community, surrounded by fellow CHEMMAT enthusiasts who share my enthusiasm and drive to helping the world!!
So here is a summary of why you should consider this amazing specialisation:
- You enjoyed ENGGEN 140 and want to delve deeper into process calculations
- You are enjoying CHEMMAT 140 and want to learn more about the science behind the materials we use in our day-to-day life
- You want a specialisation leaning towards science and want to learn more about ways chemistry and physics concepts are used in the world around us
- You want to be an engineer who looks over the whole process of a project, not just a specific mechanical or structural component
- You enjoy smaller, tight-knit classes
So there it is. This is why I joined CHEMMAT and why you should too! Thank you for reaching the end of my blog and feel free to ask me any questions! Stay tuned as I try and convince you to join this wonderful specialisation and what I wish I’d known so that I’d be more confident in my decision!
Catch you soon, Hirushi 🙂