Moo-Young receives COE Faculty Senior Scholarship
Joseph Moo-Young, a senior in the Textile Engineering and Chemical Engineering departments at North Carolina State University, has been awarded the College of Engineering Faculty Senior Scholarship.
The COE Faculty Senior Scholarship is awarded annually to a full-time student who exemplifies academic excellence, intellectual breadth, and depth of character. The recipient must be a full-time student with a projected graduation date in the following academic year.
In summer 2014, Moo-Young worked in process improvement at Eastman Chemical Company in Kingsport, Tenn. He has worked for Merck & Co.’s Merck Manufacturing Division and for Pasquinelli Research Group.
He hopes to attend graduate school for chemical engineering with concentrations in either biomedical sciences or sustainable energy.
His ultimate goal is to work in the areas of biocompatible polymers, antibiotics for multiple-drug resistant bacteria, photovoltaics or second generation biofuels.
“Whether my work will be in academia or industry, I have yet to decide, but I will let my experiences over the next few years better inform my ultimate decision,” he says.
“I believe the College of Engineering has done an excellent job of preparing me for life and work following graduation, whether it is through challenging courses or excellent mechanisms for counsel and advising,” he says.
Moo-Young is interested in social enterprise. Since 2013, he has held the position of director of metrics and impact assessment with organization called Pennies 4 Progress that seeks to improve local schools by supporting high-impact projects in classrooms.
He serves as the academics commissioner in Student Government, where he worked on the 3rd annual Undergraduate Research Speed Date, in which students meet professors from all disciplines to learn about research.
He is also involved with SATELLITE (Science and Technology Enriching Lifelong Leadership In Tomorrow’s Endeavors), a 5-day summer camp where rising high school juniors in underserved high schools across North Carolina interested in STEM fields are introduced to opportunities in the field.
Moo-Young participated in a summer seminar on American public and cultural diplomacy policies in the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. He also participated in the Triangle Global Health Consortium Case Study Competition, where his team’s mission was to develop a comprehensive system for vaccine and primary healthcare delivery in rural Pakistan.
These opportunities showed him how important it is to maintain a holistic worldview and thought process. “As an engineer, I hope to contribute these perspectives in whatever work I do,” he says.
Moo-Young has been the recipient of numerous scholarships, including the Caldwell Fellowship, NC Textile Foundation Erlanger Merit Scholarship, and Merck & Co. Engineering and Technology Fellowship.
