Luke Chapdelaine graduated from Derryfield in 2016 and pursued his interest in science. He went on to attend the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering, earning his masters’ degree a few months later. His masters thesis paper topic was on the change of blood flow through an artery when the artery is clogged. He used simulations as well as Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to measure the blood’s movement. Chapdelaine is working toward getting his thesis paper published publicly, but for now it is currently published at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s library. Earlier this year, he started to work as a mechanical engineer for the Waters Corporation. Waters Corporation is a lab and experimentation company and many biotech and pharmaceutical companies use Waters Corporation’s products and studies. Chapdelaine’s focus is higher performance liquid chromatography, a technique in analytical chemistry that breaks down liquids and deciphers what elements the liquid contains. Waters Corporation had a part in helping both Pfizer and Moderna with the recent COVID-19 vaccine. Chapdelaine is very excited for this new chapter of his life and can’t wait to see what the world of science holds for him.
“Derryfield was where I learned to challenge myself. It bestowed in me a motivation to never give up and to commit. Derryfield really set the groundwork for me to be able to push through any difficulty that comes my way.” – Luke Chapdelaine ‘16.