Carnegie Mellon University

Ratiporn (Noey) Munprom (M.S. '11)

Ratiporn (Noey) Munprom was born and raised in Thailand with an undergraduate major in Materials Engineering from Kasetsart University, Thailand. With a goal to pursue a PhD in Materials Science focusing on materials for energy, she found the EST&P program as an excellent avenue to broaden her knowledge and skills. She was admitted to the program in 2010 with a concentration in Materials Science and Engineering.

The most valuable part of the EST&P program, according to Noey, is to get to know people in different fields and backgrounds. The interdisciplinary nature of the program allowed her to meet and interact with students from different majors, concentrations and different cultures leading to rich and diverse energy insights and experiences from all over the globe. She valued the different opinions and the wider perspective she gained from discussions in all her courses. One thing that surprised her was the active participation from students in the classroom which was contrasting to her previous schooling experiences where the teaching style was quite passive.

About Carnegie Mellon in general, she was particularly impressed with the support system the university has for its students. It provides numerous opportunities for students to excel. For instance, the academic development center which provides programs to help students to better understanding materials in class, was something that she really appreciated. “The university also offers the environment and atmosphere that support students’ learning.” says Noey. From arranging workshops or seminar series to broaden the knowledge to the various opportunities for students to develop their social skills, the university has it all. “CMU makes you feel like a part of the university community”, Noey expressed, recounting the numerous times she felt that student’s voices and opinions were heard (through the GSA or other entities with student involvement) and acted upon to improve various aspects of the school.

When asked if the EST&P program helped meet her initial goals, Noey had an affirmative response- “Definitely. During the program, I had a chance to do research on solid oxide fuel cell. The project was to develop a synthesis technique to obtain a material with high performance. This research experience stimulated my passion in conducting research on materials for energy applications in which I wanted to deepen my knowledge further.”

This experience has also helped her develop important skillsets for being a materials scientist which is useful for pursuing a professorship, which is exactly what Noey is up to nowadays. She is a lecturer at her undergraduate alma mater, Kasetsart University in the Materials Engineering department.