Shannon Moran

She/Her

I am gay and I am a PhD candidate in chemical engineering and data science.//

I’m easily read as queer and try to pair that visibility with being pro-actively out. My laptop sports @lwtech and @humanrightscampaign stickers and when I’m meeting new students I work my partner into conversation. I didn’t have a visible LGBTQ mentor to emulate until after undergrad– I want to be that example for others. At work, I spend my days coding. This surprises people when I say I’m a Chemical Engineer! I use computational physics methods to study non-equilibrium materials. I work to understand how changing material building blocks changes a material’s bulk behavior. This is a lot more easily done in computers than in a traditional lab. I’m grateful for strong mentors, supportive communities, and a slowly-more-inclusive culture for empowering me to be out and proud as an LGBTQ person in engineering.

Twitter @shannoninshort, Instagram @moranshann