Hello everyone,
My name is Matthew McVey and I am in the first semester of my Ph.D. program in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. I am being advised by Dr. Daniel Ciolkosz and am hoping to focus my research within some area of biofuel production.
I am from Little Rock, Arkansas. When I began my undergraduate studies at the University of Arkansas in 2010 I actually majored in creative writing. After one semester, I realized majoring in creative writing might not provide the best opportunities and decided to switch my major. My freshman roommate was an engineering major and convinced me to give it a try. I chose to join the department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made! In the summer of 2013 I took part in a summer research program at Auburn University. It was because of this research program that I solidified my decision to go to graduate school.
In January of 2016 I began my studies towards an M.S. degree here at Penn State (never in my life did I think I would live in Pennsylvania). After successfully completing my Master’s degree at the end of 2017, I moved out of the state to pursue my Ph.D. and be a little closer to home at the University of Tennessee. I soon realized that this was not a good fit for me and decided to look for job opportunities in Arkansas. While applying for jobs, I was talking to my M.S. advisor (Dr. Ciolkosz who would eventually also be my Ph.D. advisor) and he informed me that there was funding available for a Ph.D. student. So, after getting married this past October, my wife and I packed everything and moved back to Pennsylvania! I am very excited to be back here in PA and given another opportunity to obtain my Ph.D.
I am really looking forward to this class as I have always had an interest in teaching and hope to use what I learn in this class towards my dream goal of moving back to my home state and becoming a professor focused on bioenergy at the University of Arkansas!
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