Who am I
Name: Sushma Santhana
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Minor/Certificates: Entrepreneurial Management Certificate
Year: Fourth-year
Hometown: North Liberty, IA
A Little Bit More About Me
What is one piece of advice you would give to an incoming freshman?
Reach out to people in your classes and find a group of people to do homework and study with. Engineering definitely isn't the easiest major, but doing it with other people makes it so much easier and fun. People aren't competitive here and we want to help each other succeed! Getting involved with student orgs really helps to make these connections.
What is your favorite part about being a student at The University of Iowa?
Being able to participate in all the fun Big Ten college things (sports, research, etc.) and experience downtown Iowa City, while still being in a small close-knit community of engineering.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time at The University of Iowa?
Playing volleyball on the pentacrest, rollerblading by the Iowa River, going to Dairy Queen and Dane's Dairy for ice cream breaks, hammocking in Hubbard Park
What have you been involved with outside of the COE?
This year I am the Executive Director of Dance Marathon. This is our largest student org on campus that is dedicated to providing financial and emotional support for pediatric oncology patients and their families. I've also played multiple intramural sports including flag football, basketball, and sand/indoor volleyball. Last fall, my team and I won the championship for indoor volleyball.
What has been your favorite or most impactful course?
Engineering Drawing, Design, and Solid Modeling gave a lot of hands-on experience with 3D modeling software that will be super useful to me in industry as I want to create novel medical devices. I started from never having used the software before to designing a toy bulldozer. This class also introduced me to one of my favorite professors who has been super supportive to me throughout other classes and my extracurriculars.
Have you done any research with a professor? If so, what department was the professor and what was your research about?
I've done research with the Orthopedic Biomechanics Lab within the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. With this lab I was investigating tunnel placement in ACL reconstruction surgery. I also did research in Professor Fiegel's lab in the Chemical/Biochemical Engineering department. With this group I was helping to create hydrogels to prevent skin wound infections.
My team and I after winning the championship in intramural volleyball
At a football camp benefitting UIDM, got meet George Kittle and accept a check for $25,000
