Benefiting human health through engineering
When Anasuya Mandal started her PhD in chemical engineering at MIT, she wanted to have a big impact and leave things better than she found them, a sentiment encapsulated by a Hindi phrase she often heard growing up, “janhit mein jaari,” which loosely translates into “continued in public interest.” Whether developing microneedle technology to improve vaccine design and disease management, or joining student organizations to enhance student life, that is exactly what Mandal has done. A journey to MIT Mandal, who grew up in India, initially heard about MIT through the news articles she read when she was 8 or 9 years old and becoming interested in science. “I thought, OK, there's this really great school in the world,” she recalls. “But I never thought that down the line I'd be here.” Mandal’s interest in science and her high score on the national exam she took at the end of high school gained her...