When Taneisha Deans was growing up in Glenville, she thought of an engineer as someone who repaired cars or other large equipment.
But then she became part of Case Western Reserve’s Envoys program, and learned that the discipline included such fields as computer science, chemical engineering and even polymers.
“When I was younger, I didn’t really understand engineering,” she said, “that’s where this program helps out.”
For Deans, Envoys provided more than an introduction to the subject. It led her to a bachelor’s degree in 2012, and, next month, a doctorate in Macromolecular Science and Engineering.
“I had always heard about Case [Western Reserve],” she said. “My dad was always reading the newspaper and got me in the habit. Case [Western Reserve] was always in the news about some grant that [its researchers] received for cutting-edge research.”
Today Deans conducts some of her own cutting-edge research—specifically, finding ways to replace the hazardous materials in flame retardants with ones that are more environmentally friendly.
Administered through the university’s National Science Foundation-funded Center for Layered Polymeric Systems, the Envoys program provides underrepresented minority students from the Cleveland Metropolitan and East Cleveland school districts a chance to participate in intensive research and learn more about STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
After becoming a student at Case Western Reserve, Deans embraced the opportunity to mentor Envoys participants—just as others had supported her. Her longtime faculty mentor David Schiraldi, for example, was the first to suggest she consider getting a Ph.D.
Schiraldi, the Peter A. Asseff Professor and Chair in the Department of Macromolecular Science, not only reminded her regularly that PhD was well within her reach—he also told her she could become “Dr. Deans”
Get to know Deans in this week’s five questions.
