Stefan was born in Indiana where he lived for his first six years. He subsequently moved around (Florida then British Columbia then Washington DC) before finally settling in the Lake Oswego area 16 years ago. He wanted to come to OSU to take advantage of our in-state tuition and because he was interested in research. He has a deep commitment to giving back to society – believing that we exist for the sake of making societal progress (the idealized world of “Star Trek”). At OSU, he has been surprised how much the professors will do to foster his growth. He has worked particularly closely with Distinguished Emeritus Professor Darrah Thomas and Distinguished Professor Doug Keszler – commenting “I was surprised how important I was to them… they have been insanely supportive.” in fact, his life-long goal is to “follow in the footsteps of Dr. Ken Hedberg and Dr. Thomas by continuing to do research as long as possible.” His favorite courses so far have been in the Physical Chemistry series and his favorite professor has been Professor Wei Kong. Professor Kong “stays true to the material, doesn’t dumb it down – very pure.” Stefan is already following through on his commitment to giving back to society by serving as an Undergrad Research Ambassador. He gives talks to new students to get them excited about science. Once he graduates he plans to get a masters degree in Chemistry before pursuing his PhD. After school he would like to first work in industry (his dream job is working at Intel), but would like to end his career as a professor. Stefan’s energy, passion and excitement are infectious. It is students like him that make OSU an amazing place and we congratulate Stefan for all his hard work!
