Andrea Kadilak

Andrea is originally from Syracuse, New York and received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts. While at WPI, she worked with Dr. Terri Camesano investigating the effectiveness of antimicrobial peptides in killing various strains of E. coli. Upon graduation, she worked for two years as a process engineer for Solutia, Inc. at their solvent polymer resins plant in Springfield, MA. She began at the University of Connecticut in August 2010 and is pursuing a PhD in Chemical Engineering.

She currently works with Dr. Leslie Shor researching the applications of microfluidic devices in the field of soil ecohydrology to improve estimations in global climate modeling and is also working on a project utilizing microfluidics to recreate the biological interactions occurring within the termite digestive tract. Her research interests focus on utilizing chemical engineering principles and techniques to find solutions to environmental and biomedical problems. Andrea is also a NSF GK-12 fellow working at a Connecticut technical high school and enjoys participating in STEM outreach programs.

In her spare time, she enjoys playing and listening to music, reading, cooking, and drawing. When the weather is nice and she"s not in lab, Andrea also enjoys bicycling, rock climbing, camping, and hiking with her dogs.

 

Contact: andrea.kadilak@engr.uconn.edu