Please join us in welcoming Nadia Hirbawi (she/her) to Schmid College of Science and Technology. Hirbawi will serve as an Instructional Assistant Professor ​of Chemistry.

Nadia completed her Ph.D. in organic chemistry this past spring and she is beginning her independent career at Chapman University. She has always been an artist at heart, and a chemist by practice. It is her pleasure to join the faculty in the Schmid College where she hopes to give her students creative tools to access a new language of organic chemistry.

Q&A with Nadia Hirbawi, Instructional Assistant Professor ​of Chemistry

Q: What role were you in before this one? 

A: This past Spring, I completed my Ph.D. in organic chemistry at UC Irvine. This is my first full-time teaching position.

Q: What are you looking forward to most this semester?

A: I am most looking forward to meeting my students for the first time as a professor. I’m curious to see how the dynamics change compared to interactions I had with my students as a graduate student instructor. I aim to still be relatable and approachable such that students will feel comfortable in my courses.

Q: What would you be doing if you weren’t a scientist? 

A: If I wasn’t a scientist, I would be an artist. Either a children’s book illustrator, a manga artist, or an animator. Something that speaks to my love for cartoons and anime since childhood.

Q: Got any fun facts to share?

A: Even though my career is in chemistry, I do have formal training in arts, specifically a Studio Art Minor during my undergraduate education. I love to draw portraits and am known for completing detailed sketches of people quickly.