The Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University welcomes Dr. Chelsea Hu. Hu will enter as a visiting assistant professor as part of the Accountability, Climate, Equity, and Scholarship (ACES) Fellows Program, which recognizes researchers who are committed to enhancing equality and fostering inclusion on campus.
Hu received her doctoral degree at Cornell University in chemical engineering and conducted her postdoctoral studies at the California Institute of Technology.
Hu’s research focuses on the interdisciplinary field of synthetic biology, systems biology and control theory. Through a hybrid approach of experimentation and computational simulations, she studies the system dynamics of synthetic genetic networks and their control strategies in synthetic microbes. In addition, Hu aims to enable the design and engineering of safe, robust and reliable diagnostic and therapeutic applications to improve human health.
“It was very important for me to join an institute with a diverse research landscape, so I can fit in and serve the community as a bridge,” said Hu. “Being trained as a hybrid researcher in both computation and experimentation, I hope that my background can play a role in facilitating new collaborations between research fields at Texas A&M.”
In addition to research, Hu says she looks forward to teaching and providing mentorship to students. A critical initiative she would like to spur is providing more resources for students transferring from junior or community colleges to Texas A&M.
“I would like to advocate for community college transfer students because I was one myself, and I remember how overwhelming it can be,” she said. “There's a great shock when transferring, and there are many ways that we can improve these students’ experiences.”
Throughout the ACES program, Hu will have access to state-of-the-art facilities, a network of skilled faculty and research opportunities as she transitions into a tenure-track faculty position.