This Could Be YOU Too

This fall semester, the University of Pittsburgh’s George M. Bevier Science & Engineering Library gave students a simple way to see what research looks like, and to picture themselves doing it. On the ground floor of Benedum Hall, near the circulation desk, Head Librarian Carrie Iwema curated a shelf display called “This could be YOU too!” Meant to inspire Swanson School of Engineering students interested in research, the display highlighted the work of graduate and undergraduate students and the academic papers they helped author.

“I’m so impressed with the research our students conduct and the journal articles they help write,” said Iwema. “But for many, research is still a mystery, and I wanted to create a quick and encouraging answer to the question that new graduate students and curious undergraduates wonder: what does it look like?”

The display featured twelve cards, two for each of the Swanson School’s six departments. Each card was color-coded by department and paired a photo of the student with a short, plain-language introduction that translated the research into something anyone browsing the shelves could picture: a battery researcher who landed on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list, a PhD candidate who built the first discrete-event simulation of Kenya’s entire blood supply chain, and research that overturned three decades of thinking about how the bladder fills.

The research on display ranged from startup spinoffs and international public health collaborations to quantum computing, tribology (the science of friction and wear), and power electronics. The students, some now alumni, included Henry Ing (BS BioE ’22, MS ’24), Jordyn Ting, Andrew Ashmar (BS ChemE ’22), Becca Segal (ChemE PhD ’25), Ahteshamul Haq, Nathalia Silva de Souza Lima Cano, Yue Tang, Sabrina Helbig, Yiqi Tian, Yuxin Liu, Fatemeh Azari, and Hirad Alipanah.

“All these researchers were once new graduate students themselves – except for one undergraduate!” Iwema said. “They all had to find their way into a lab and a research question for the first time. It’s important to highlight the result of that.”

That is the idea at the heart of the display: a reminder that every researcher starts somewhere. Iwema hoped that students walking past would spot a familiar department, a recognizable face, or an interesting project and think, “that could be me.”

While the display was originally intended as a one-time exhibit and has since come down, the library is always looking for ways to support Swanson School graduate students and would love to hear about their work for a future display. Students and advisers interested in sharing research can contact Carrie Iwema.