Jie Jing

I grew up in Taiyuan, China, a city that is about a 5-hour drive from Beijing. My mom and dad are both engineers, so from a very early age, I saw engineering as a way to solve problems. I was convinced my dad could fix anything! In high school, I took the science route, and then went on to earn a college degree in materials science and engineering. After that, I went to graduate school at Iowa State University for my MS in materials science with a focus on polymers. I had never been to another country before I left for Iowa, so that was a very big step for me. It took courage and determination and helped me become the scientist I am today.

I joined Lyndra in August 2018. I knew the company was doing the kind of research I’m interested in, modified polymers for novel drug delivery. However, it was the on-site interview that really convinced me that this is where I wanted to work. From that first visit, I could tell that the people here are very self-motivated and energetic. It has been easy for me to make good friends, and many of us now get together socially, too. That’s important because at Lyndra, we take a very collaborative approach to research. This is a necessity because developing a new drug delivery system requires combining many different techniques from engineering, chemistry and biology. To be successful, we must support one another. We are always working together, learning and trying new approaches. I’ve found this to be the best way to solve problems, something I learned from my parents when I was young.