Question 1: Caitlin, you weren’t with us for your entire undergraduate career, but you were a freshmen here at FSU before you transferred to the University of Alabama-Birmingham. How is FSU different or similar to UAB?

FSU has such a lovely campus I enjoyed walking to my classes and just spending the day outside, it made UAB feel like a bigger campus because it’s integrated throughout Birmingham. UAB had the curriculum I was looking for so I was able to get involved on campus and in multiple research labs, it’s been a great experience. I do miss the school spirit that FSU had, it was such a passionate campus to be a part of.

Haha, great question! Electrospinning uses a strong electrical field to draw fibers from a liquid polymer solution (natural or synthetic).

It’s similar to when you have a fuzzy sweater on and walk past an old television, the strings stand on end and are pulled by the TVs electric field. Electrospinning is similar, however the liquid polymer is pulled into thin fibers over a further distance and has the opportunity to solidify. These fibers can be used to make textiles, ropes, and even tissue scaffolds if you use a biocompatible polymers.

My degree is in biomedical engineering, I’m going to continue my studies at UAB to get my masters in engineering as well. I enjoy inventing devices to solve problems, and biomedical engineering allows me to create devices that directly influence people’s lives. I’ve always found mathematics and sciences to be my strongest subjects, I think this degree allows me to use the talents God gave me to help others to the best of my ability.

I genuinely enjoyed having a Lutheran support group, I love the memories I made at University Lutheran. Getting together with everyone during the week helped me turn the focus back to God when I was stressed.