Applying philosophy to excel in chemical engineering

Applying philosophy to excel in chemical engineering

Max Bobbin 

Degree: B.S., Chemical Engineering; B.A., Philosophy
Hometown: Joppa, MD
Post-grad plans: Ph.D. in chemical engineering, University of Delaware

Max Bobbin may still be an undergraduate, but he’s already made significant research contributions in the Artificial Intelligence and Theory-Oriented Molecular Science (ATOMS) lab, led byTyler Josephson, assistant professor of chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering. Bobbin was the first in the research group to develop expertise in the programming language Lean. He took on a leadership role, teaching other lab members, including Josephson, about new ways to use Lean. He also selected appropriate projects for new team members, helped the group prepare for Josephson’s parental leave, and initiated new directions for the lab’s work.

Bobbin believes his additional philosophy major supported his engineering work in important ways. “For an engineer, the most important skills are problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication,” he says, “and philosophy is a major built around those three ideas.”

Bobbin also served as vice president of the UMBC American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) student chapter and led UMBC to the AIChE Jeopardy national championship in 2022.

Photo credit: L-R, Max Bobbin, Dr. Mark Marten, Colin Jones, Catherine Wraback, Dr. Neha Raikar, Pavan Umashankar, Alex Von Gunten B.S. '20 chemical engineering

Photo credit: Max Bobbin (Marlayna Demond '11/UMBC)