USU Engineering Students Attend Summer Camp in Taiwan

Utah State University Engineering doctoral students Dillon Weatherston and Katherine Osorio-Diaz spent two weeks during the summer of 2023 in Taiwan for an annual research summer camp.

The summer camp, held at National Chung Hsing University each year, invites both graduate and undergraduate students to campus for the chance to experience Taiwanese culture and engage in research conducted at the university.

Weatherston and Osorio-Diaz each spent time with an NCHU engineering professor in their field, Biomedical Engineering Professor China-Hui Lai and Civil Engineering Professor Chia-Jeng Chen, respectively.

“I learned about cancer research and cell culture while I was in Taiwan,” Weatherston said. “Dr. Lai and I have even talked about collaborating on research together. It was a great experience.”

Weatherston is getting his Ph.D. in biological engineering with his research focusing on tissue engineering, advised by Professor Elizabeth Vargis. Osorio-Diaz specializes in water management for her Ph.D. degree in civil and environmental engineering, advised by Associate Professor Alfonso Torres-Rua.

In addition to hands-on experience with equipment and lab spaces, participants also got to visit museums and other cultural places and visited Micron, a leading manufacturer in semiconductors. The USU College of Engineering and NCHU paid for the travel and stay of Weatherston and Osorio-Diaz. Both said it was affordable and the students were friendly.

“My favorite part was getting to visit the museums,” Osorio-Diaz said. “It was very fun to learn about Taiwanese culture.”

NCHU and USU also offer dual Ph.D. programs in engineering, allowing any post-graduate student the chance to earn a dual PhD degree from both universities. More information can be found at this link.

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Writer: Sydney Dahle, sydney.dahle@usu.edu, 435-797-7512

Contact: Rose Hu, rose.hu@usu.edu, 435-797-0322