Ryan McNaughton

Week 10 REU Student of the Week!

Representing Terrier Nation is one of our very own, Ryan McNaughton. As he prepares himself for his senior year here at BU, Ryan spent his summer working in Prof. Zhang’s lab while acting as a liaison between the REU’s and BU’s campus. If any of the other REU participants wanted to explore the city, or grab a bite to eat on campus, Ryan showed them the ropes. He was an essential component in the success of the program this summer.

Ryan is majoring in Biomedical Engineering and it is clear that engineering is his passion. He is the president of the engineering fraternity here at BU, Theta Tau. The fraternity is new to campus so the role of president is as important as ever as the frat gains it’s footing on BU’s turf.

Ryan has been participating in UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunities) for the past two years, and has done volunteer research work on top of that. He is also a member of the Biomedical Engineering Society. He says, “I could see myself going for a PhD in biomedical engineering.” He certainly has experience doing research and would consider continuing research through graduate school.

Because Ryan has been working in the Zhang lab for an extended period of time, he was able to watch the project grow in complexity as his knowledge and passion for his research did as well.

“There has been a lot of refinery of the process to what we do now. It is really cool to see the growth of the project because I have been working on it for so long. I have been able to see it from the beginning stages.”

On top of his impressive academics, Ryan enjoys running. “Yes, I actually run for fun,” he laughs. “I am training to run my first half marathon in October.”

REU truly benefitted from Ryan’s participation this summer, and look forward to seeing where Ryan’s passion takes him.

Learn about what Ryan is working on in lab with Prof. Zhang!