From a London carbon capture plant to a UChicago PME lab

Caitlin McGrath grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, but it was in the United Kingdom where she discovered a passion for sustainability and hands-on research that informed her experience at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME).

McGrath attended Notre Dame for her undergraduate degree, and during that time she participated in an internship with FM Global, an insurance firm specializing in commercial properties. The experience gave her greater insight into the practical impact that sustainable technologies can make.

Notre Dame also afforded her the opportunity to go abroad to Spain and England, and in London she spent a summer in a chemical engineering program. As a part of that program, she conducted research and work in an operating carbon capture plant, which ignited a passion for both renewable energy technology and firsthand lab work. McGrath brought both passions back to the Chicagoland area with her sights firmly set on the University of Chicago.

“It was the only school that checked all of my boxes,” she said.

It was the only school that checked all of my boxes.

Master of Engineering student Caitlin McGrath

As part of the Energy and Sustainability Track of UChicago PME’s Master of Engineering program, McGrath was able to get back into the lab, working to research and develop the technologies that will drive sustainability into the future. UChicago PME’s electrochemistry lab offers McGrath the opportunity to study and work on energy storage devices firsthand, and she spoke glowingly of the time she spent working with her instructional professor in the lab, Adarsh Suresh.

The quality of her instructors, the proximity to home, the opportunities for extracurricular experience, her time in the lab, and the welcoming environment of the University were all benefits of the program for McGrath.

Looking ahead from the program, McGrath maintains the same focus on sustainability and practical research that guided her long path away from, and back to, Chicagoland.

For her next step after the program, McGrath is interested in chemical engineering, specifically regarding renewable technologies, but regardless of the specific field, she hopes to continue in a technical engineering role. 

McGrath was able to foster her ongoing passion for this work at UChicago.

--Learn more about the Master of Engineering program at UChicago PME