Priya Seetharaman

I am passionate about environmental protection and remediation, especially the development of novel practices and technologies to provide adequate clean water resources to communities. I have a B.S. in Environmental Toxicology and a M.S. in NanoEngineering. I have experience operating SEM/EDS, working in a wet lab with chemical and bio-hazardous substances, performing statistical analysis, and writing technical reports. I also have excellent organizational, interpersonal and customer service skills from working as a restaurant server throughout my education.

I worked as a student researcher during my undergraduate program and analyzed the surface metal content of local algae samples using SEM/EDS. I performed statistical analysis using GraphPad Prism, MS Excel and RStudio. I extensively researched and wrote a thesis on the uses of and science behind nanoparticle enhanced biochar for environmental remediation. During my graduate program, I worked as a researcher in a BSL 2 (biosafety level 2) lab and practiced safe handling and disposal of chemical and biological materials. I am experienced with working in a biosafety cabinet, using proper aseptic technique, isolating and culturing mammalian cells; and preparing cells for RNA sequencing and FACS (fluorescence activated cell sorting). I worked for a year as a nonprofit administrator and am well-versed in MS Office Suite and have experience with budget preparation, accounting and clerical work. I additional worked as a restaurant server throughout my education and have excellent organizational/multi-tasking skills, can think quickly on my feet, work well as part of a team, and am skilled at customer service.

I obtained a B.S. in environmental toxicology with a minor in chemistry from Western Washington University in 2020. My program gave me the opportunity to draft an EIS (environmental impact statement) and CAP (cleanup action plan) to address contamination at a local site under Washington state's MTCA (Model Toxics Control Act). I took courses in contaminant fate and transport, toxicology and organic and aquatic chemistry. I am familiar with the properties of and challenges of treating environmental contaminants, such as POPs (persistent organic pollutants), EDCs (endocrine disrupting compounds) and PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons). I recently completed an M.S. in nanoengineering. During my program I learned about the physical and engineering principals behind common analytical instrumentation; manufacturing of nanomaterials and ecotoxicological hazards from the production process.