Introducing the Fall 2015 Visiting Scholars
Welcome back to Oberlin! Shansi starts off the new school semester with two Visiting Scholars, Ms. Padmaja Sankararaj, from Lady Doak in Madurai, India and Mr. Abdillah Imron Nasution from Syiah Kuala University in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Read more about them below.
Ms. Padmaja Sankararaj is an Assistant Professor of the Physics Department and Coordinator of Center for Information Technology at Lady Doak College located in Madurai, India. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in physics on the topic of “Optimization of Non-Aqueous Electrolytes for Lithium Sulphur Batteries.” She is researching battery efficiency, performance and sustainability. She will also spend time in the Department of Chemistry to work on characterization of sample materials and analyze data for her thesis. In addition, she hopes to bring back to Lady Doak fresh insights of a more effective Learning Management System. Padmaja is passionate about exploring new fields of study research, and new technology in CIT. In her free time, Padmaja likes to cook and is excited to share her love for Indian cuisine with the Oberlin community.
Mr. Abdillah Imron Nasution is a lecturer in the Faculty of Dentistry at Syiah Kuala University in Banda Aceh, Indonesia and looks forward to studying in the biology and chemistry departments at Oberlin. Along with the sciences, Mr. Nasution also plans to enrich his knowledge and experience by utilizing the ESL and writing classes here at Oberlin to build skills in order to pursue a PhD that is similar to the work he did while completing his Masters of Science degree in Oral Biology at the University of Indonesia in 2009, specifically, the correlation between fluoride concentration and volcanic activity. His masters examined the nanostructure of fluorosis. Mr. Nasution also conducted research and supervised students in the faculty to use biotechnology, which sparked his strong interest in the subject of biochemistry. In fall 2014, Mr. Nasution taught Dentistry at the field of Orthodontic and Oral maxillofacial Radiology at Suleyman Demirel University, in Isparta, Turkey. In 2009, he was awarded the Best Science Paper on Research at the 15th Scientific Meeting and Refresher Course in Dentistry facilitated by Faculty of Dentistry, University of Indonesia in Jakarta. His hobbies are spelunking and photography. He is also active at a local non-governmental organization called Karst Aceh in planning, organizing, and managing resources for effective delivery and completion of specific project goals, outcomes, and outputs in implementing a Disaster Management Program in Aceh in response to natural disaster risk reduction.