Faculty Profile

Nirupam Aich headshot

Nirupam Aich

Assistant Professor
Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering
nirupama@buffalo.edu

Education:

  • PhD, Environmental Engineering/Nanotechnology, University of Texas at Austin, 2015

Professional experience:

  • Graduate Research Assistant, Environmental Engineering/Nanotechnology, University of Texas at Austin

What mentoring means to me:

I believe mentoring has diverse meanings. I have mentored students in research and also just via suggestions to reach their professional/personal goals. Inspiring people is what great mentors do and I believe a mentor can change a mentee's life. I had one of the best mentors as my MS/PhD advisor. From him, I learned how to help a student, even those not in my own research area. Oppositely, I saw my near and dear ones get really frustrated with their so-called 'mentors' and I realized how fortunate I was to have such a mentor. I value the mentorship role at the highest level and would love to be connected with students for their mentoring needs. I would like to hear out the students and guide them specifically (if my expertise or background allows me to do so).

Topics I am willing to discuss with students:

Minority Experiences

  • Racial, ethnic, cultural and/or religious minority status and related discrimination.

Nirupam adds: In my home country I am a minority because of my religion. My family and I have suffered discrimination in many situations. That really motivated me to help students, especially minority students. I currently am mentoring one minority undergraduate student.

Personal Circumstances

  • Non-U.S. citizen or immigrant experiences.

Academic Culture

  • Decoding and demystifying academic culture and norms.

Nirupam adds: I have seen both cultures from Bangladesh (my home country) and here in the U.S. I am happy to help international students to understand how the U.S. differs from other parts of the world.