Career

I was recently offered a research internship opportunity at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST). Under the Mathematics, Mechanics, and Materials unit, my PI and I are conducing experiments on the use of nanodiamonds as photothermal material to help filter water faster through solar desalination.

Artifacts

OIST Research Internship

I was recently offered an internship opportunity at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST). Under the Mathematics, Mechanics, and Materials unit, my PI and I are conducing experiments on the use of nanodiamonds as photothermal material to help filter water faster through solar desalination. This is important to me because this is a step towards my interest in the filtration of water.

About Me

Hi, my name is Aliyah. I was born and briefly raised in D.C. and now live overseas. I’m curious, I love taking adventures, thrift shopping, admiring nature, and having food challenges— have you tried natto? I intend to major in Civil engineering with a focus in Environmental Engineering and a minor in French and Humanitarian Engineering.

I’m very interested in environmental sustainability and I have a dream of becoming a Humanitarian Engineer. I hope to aid communities in need of clean water. I believe that water is the most important source for life. With clean water, you can grow food, prevent diseases and sustain life. Recently I’ve been interested in solar desalination and sustainable approches of cleaning water such as using Moringa seeds.

 

Year in Review

I arrived at t’OSU as an Early Arrival student and this quickly helped me get adjusted to life on campus. As an Engineering scholar, the dorm I had was Drackett Tower and the floor I lived in was mainly for Engineering scholars, like myself. Drackett can be wild at times but overall, some of my best times at t’OSU was in Drackett.

The beginning of the semester flew by really fast. I was instantly shown a wide range of new experiences from football games to discovering cool places/ things in and out of campus. It was definitely overwhelming at first, but in a good way. As the weeks went by I found my routine.

I joined 3 clubs: The Somali Student Association, the Polyglot club, and the Swimming club. Unfortunately, I wasn’t as active as I wanted to be because I was trying to focus on getting good grades. Eventually, I was able to balance my social and academic life and joined Engineers without Boarders (EWB).

Fast forwarding a lot of priceless times, a week before Spring Break I joined the National Society of Black Engineers. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to be active because the pandemic broke loose. When the COVID-19 pandemic was announced to the world, I had to move out of my dorm and quickly make it back home before it was too late. Like most schools, we had to do online classes. Classes became more rigorous and a +13 hour time difference didn’t improve the situation, but in the end, everything worked out.  And that was a very brief review of my freshman year of college.

G.O.A.L.S.

I’m part of the Engineering scholars (ES) community as well as the Engineers without boarders (EWB) chapter in OSU. As a result of joining theses two I’ve had the opportunity to participate many community services. I’ve also learned ways I can contribute to aiding people in other countries through different service opportunities. I hope to continue on this path and learn to improve my networking skills.