By Nancy Joseph
UW Arts and Sciences Perspectives
As a high school student in Redmond, Washington, Meghna Shankar was part of the Green Team, her school’s environmental club. Wanting to continue environmental work as a UW student, she was excited to learn that the UW’s Clean Energy Institute (CEI) provides research opportunities for undergraduates.
“I saw that the Clean Energy Institute was pretty well funded, with a lot of professors,” recalls Shankar, who graduates this month with a double degree in physics (College of Arts & Sciences) and computer science (Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering). “I wanted to do undergraduate research and I wanted to make an impact on climate change through my strengths in science. I saw the Clean Energy Institute as an opportunity to do that.”
By winter quarter of her first year, Shankar was working in the lab of CEI member Cody Schlenker, the Washington Research Foundation Innovation Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Clean Energy. She continued in his lab throughout her time at the University, while also pursuing physics research, participating in student organizations, and performing in the UW Symphony.