Christina Zhang

Major: Chemical Engineering
Hometown: North Logan, Utah

Christina Zhang's first experiences as a Rose-Hulman student were the weeklong Outward Bound retreat with a group of Noblitt Scholars and New Student Orientation, and while she cherished both opportunities, the chemical engineering major from North Logan, Utah, knew her first year would only go up from there.

"I'm so grateful for that [Outward Bound] opportunity because I just felt a lot more comfortable being in a completely new place on my own," she said. "And I think Orientation was the perfect introduction. The energy on campus that week was so cool."

Since then, although she has only been on campus for a short time, Zhang has already joined the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Chem-E Car competition team, and Chi Omega Sorority, as well as made countless memories with her floormates in Baur-Sames-Bogart (BSB) Hall, including her first Greatest Floor competition.

"It's so nice to be around a lot of women who are facing the same challenges," Zhang said of BSB.

Zhang has also started independent research, exploring carbon capture and utilization techniques that she hopes to expand with a faculty member someday.

Zhang's passion for sustainability began while hiking with her family. While hiking in Zion National Park on the Many Pools Trail, Zhang noticed that many of the namesake pools were dry, and in fact some had dead animals in their place. She recalled riding a boat down the Colorado River and noting its falling levels as well. 

"They were talking about how the water levels had shrunk down so much, and that was impacting the entire area because so many people depended on that water," she said. "It was the first big realization I've had firsthand where I've seen the effects of climate change. After that, I was like, 'I want to do something about this, no matter how small.'"

As a senior in high school, Zhang created a novel Shade Dome to reduce water evaporation in the Great Salt Lake without adversely affecting its ecosystem, particularly the ability for brine shrimp to grow and reproduce. She successfully reduced the evaporation rate of water in the lake by 50% without impacting the brine shrimp. Her project qualified for the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair and earned the Service Society through Science Award and third place in the environmental engineering division.

"This is one of the main projects that really ignited my passion for solving real world problems and sustainability," Zhang said. "It is one of the reasons why I am hoping to continue conducting research within the field of sustainability at Rose. I hope to be able to utilize the resources that the Noblitt Scholars Program can offer, especially surrounding possible funding for research projects."

At Rose-Hulman, she's found a community united by their desire to make the world a better place.

"[Noblitt Scholars] are so smart and so passionate about really making a change in the future, so that's helped motivate me a lot," Zhang said. "Everyone I've met [at Rose] has the same core characteristics." 

Those core characteristics, embodied by Zhang herself, will enable her to make a difference in the world, both during her on-campus years and beyond.