Tara Mahendrarajah
When Tara Mahendrarajah visited UMass as a high school senior, she knew immediately that it was the right choice: “UMass has such a wide array of majors and academic opportunities. It’s really invested in the sciences and in developing careers,” she says. Tara, a senior microbiology major and Commonwealth Honors College student, has taken advantage of all that UMass has to offer. One of 275 students nationwide to receive a prestigious Goldwater Scholarship, she is also a member of the CNS Student Leadership Committee, and previously served as a member and ambassador of the Biology Talent Advancement Program and a Resident Advisor. This past summer, she had an internship at Harvard Forest." (Story continued below slideshow.)
Since 2009, Tara has been working with microbiology Professor Jeffrey Blanchard and his research group to learn anaerobic techniques, High Performance Liquid Chromatography methods for analyzing products, and electron microscopy to examine microbes that can synthesize ethanol. Her research contributes to a broader understanding of biofuel production and carbon cycling, which could lead to new technologies that will increase renewable resources and decrease the environmental impact that results from current biofuels generation.
Tara finds science gratifying because, “you can ask any question, and you can answer it if you’re committed to your research.” She’s committed to working on biofuels research because “I hope to help preserve the natural environment for future generations,” she says.
Tara plans to continue on to graduate school, to earn a Ph.D. in microbiology and biochemistry. She wants to continue her research on environmental microbiology, with emphasis on clean energy alternatives.
This first-generation Tara’s got big plans for her future. "I plan to conduct research to contribute to the development of cost-efficient renewable energy sources," she says. "I hope to work for the Department of Energy, supervising a research laboratory in combination with teaching at the university level."
