Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Graduate Student

E18-509

Email: forsuelo@mit.edu

http://www.michaelforsuelo.com/

I grew up in Orange County, California. Besides giddy trips to Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm with buddies or late nights playing League of Legends and Starcraft, my family cultivated in me a strong drive for work and academics. Also, I was exposed to the diverse ways of life in California: I was a Boy Scout, joined in community service clubs, worked as a factory hand, attended leadership camps, dabbled in sports and was almost a track runner. I was also a chess enthusiast and competed for rank. In high school, I tried working on a research project about climate change, which introduced me to Gaussian and the field of computational chemistry.

I enrolled in BS Chemical Engineering at UC Berkeley. My mother encouraged me to add a BA in (Pure) Mathematics in my sophomore year. I completed both degrees with High and Highest Honors respectively in 2015. While at Berkeley, I did research under Professor Birgitta Whaley on applying quantum mechanics to model charge transport in organic photovoltaics and nanowires. I also did research under Professor Jeffrey Reimer on spectroscopic characterization of cerium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet and silicon carbide for energy efficient and quantum computing technologies. I was a SURF intern at Caltech and Berkeley during two summers and worked on variable valence oxides (i.e. doped cerium oxide) for solar production of hydrogen fuel and molecular wires (i.e. lead phthalocyanine, carbon nanotubes) for organic photovoltaics and electronics, respectively. During my gap year, I assisted with consistency tests for D-Wave Quantum Computers through Professors Whaley and Lidar at USC. I was also a tutor in Math, Chemistry and Physics and enjoyed the interactions with students from elementary through college.

My research project under Prof. Green is to investigate the Fundamentals of Polymer Fouling in Ethylene Crackers with company sponsor Dow. In my spare time, I enjoy playing the piano, traveling, museum hopping and trying different cuisines (that’s the Southeast Asian-American in me—the love for good food). I love playing video games and will not miss the annual Anime conventions with Caltech buddies!