- Academics
- Alumni
On Friday, September 20, 2024, Matthew Confer ‘13 spoke to students in Mrs. Rebecca Mulrooney’s Introduction to Engineering class about chemical engineering in academia, sharing some of his discoveries, and focusing on exposing students to the merits of research.
“It was important for me to speak with the students at Catholic Central because they should have exposure to as many different career paths as possible to enable them to make the most informed choice regarding their futures,” stated Confer.
The topics he covered when speaking with Mrs. Mulrooney’s class ranged from his past and current research projects to how to get started in research and the positives and negatives of a career in academia.
“The main point I wanted to stress to the students was that research in engineering is a viable career path that provides a range of benefits including the ability to define the problems you work on, working on a diverse range of projects, and allowing for creative solutions that have an impact on the world,” Confer stated.
Confer graduated from Catholic Central in 2013 before attending the University of Alabama and receiving a BS in Chemical Engineering in 2016, a MS in Chemical Engineering in 2017, a MS in Chemistry in 2018, and a PhD in Chemical Engineering in 2020.
He has been a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign since 2021 and currently holds a National Science Foundation Division of Oceanography Postdoctoral Research Fellowship.
“My graduate research focused on experimental and computational studies of how materials, specifically hydrogen storage materials and polymers, break down,” Confer explained.
His current work focuses on the identification of microplastics, small pieces of plastic generated from everyday items, and the effect of microplastics on human health using spectroscopic imaging. Spectroscopic imaging provides pictures of how samples, including plastics and biological samples, respond to different wavelengths of light which provides information about the chemistry of the sample.
During his visit to Catholic Central, Confer was able to tour the new George and Mary Turek Hall of Science for the first time.
“The George and Mary Turek Hall of Science at Catholic Central is astounding and provides all the necessary facilities for training the highest caliber of STEM students. The merging of laboratory and teaching space removes barriers to experimentation and enables the development of critical hands-on scientific skills. The forward-thinking designs allow for modularity that ensures Catholic Central’s ability to adapt to the ever-changing STEM landscape. I wish that these facilities had been at Catholic Central when I was a student,” Confer stated.