Matthew Nagorzanski is an Environmental Engineering Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. His research interests involve developing polymer nanofiber composite materials and deploying these composites as passive samplers looking for emerging contaminants in air and water. Matthew got his start in research as an undergraduate student at the University of Iowa working on similar environmental projects. He loved the research projects so much that he chose to stay at the University of Iowa to do his graduate degree. Throughout this time at Iowa, Matthew also earned his Graduate Certificate of College Teaching, developing an interest in advocating for diversity issues within higher education, and co-created a seminar for engineering undergraduates discussing diversity. In his free time Matthew loves biking, reading, and growing far too many plants to put on his apartment front steps. After earning his Ph.D. Matthew hopes to work as an environmental consultant, with the goal of one day returning to higher education to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in engineering while getting undergraduates excited about environmental issues.