Making, Learning, Leading: A VIPER Student’s Path in the world of Materials Science

By John Russell

Justin Wang grew up between two places that shaped him in different ways. He was born around the bays of San Jose, but his family later moved back to Taiwan, where he spent a large stretch of his life. By the time he arrived at Penn, he carried both worlds with him: the pace of the Bay Area and the steadiness of home and family ties overseas.

Now a third-year student studying Materials Science and Engineering, Justin is also part of the VIPER program, which means he still keeps one foot in physics. Even so, he’s quick to admit where his heart has landed: materials. He likes the way it connects big scientific ideas to real things you can build, test, and improve.

Justin Wang | Photo credit: John Russell

When he talks about why he chose Penn, it isn’t some flashy slogan or a single moment. It was the kind of decision people used to make more often, by talking to real people and listening carefully. VIPER and Penn’s materials program drew him in, but what truly convinced him was the department’s culture.

Back in high school, he reached out to students in MSE, and one student in particular replied with a long, thoughtful message packed with advice. Justin remembers being struck by how generous and sincere it felt. To him, that reply wasn’t just helpful, it was proof of the kind of community Penn could be: small enough to feel close, and strong enough to support you.

Once he was in the program, Justin found himself enjoying the coursework more than he expected. One standout was Professor Peter Davies’ sophomore-year class, where thermodynamics finally clicked in a way that felt grounded and practical. He’d seen thermodynamics before in other contexts—chemistry, physics, and broad survey material—but materials-focused thermodynamics was different. It was narrower, yes, but in a good way: tied directly to solids, structure, and real engineering decisions. It gave him confidence, the kind that comes from understanding something well enough to actually explain it to someone else.

He also loved learning about devices from a materials perspective, like Professor Ritesh Agarwal’s course on solid-state electronic and functional devices, where the tiny components people take for granted become fascinating once you understand what’s happening inside the material itself. The course also focused on the industry side of things, which made it more relevant. For Justin, that blend of science and industry relevance is part of what makes MSE feel alive.

And his experience isn’t limited to the classroom. Justin helps build community through a club called the MatSci Makers, which runs hands-on materials workshops—about five each semester—open to students all across Penn. The projects are practical and fun: metal casting, glass fusing, candle-making, candy-making, and even soap. People show up from every major, not because they have to, but because they’re curious. Justin likes that.

“There’s something classic and satisfying about learning by getting your hands involved, seeing something take shape, and walking away with a finished object you can carry home.”

Outside academics, he stays busy with badminton. He’s one of the team’s captains, though he’s the first to say that doesn’t mean he’s the best. What matters more to him is the group: the practices, the tournaments each semester, the shared effort, and the routine of showing up.

“It’s fitness, sure, but it’s also fellowship, an old-fashioned kind of commitment that makes campus feel like a place where you belong.”

When Justin speaks to prospective students, his message is straightforward. From a career and industry perspective, he sees materials science as a field with real momentum. It touches everything: energy, semiconductors, metals, chemicals, hardware—and because it’s interdisciplinary, it leaves you flexible. You can move between sectors. You can grow into different roles. And in a world that keeps changing, he values a major that stays useful because it’s foundational.

But his biggest argument for Penn isn’t only about the job market. It’s about education the way it’s meant to be: learning directly from people who know the field, in classes small enough that you’re not just a face in the crowd. He contrasts it with the kind of huge lecture where you can feel like a number.

“In MSE at Penn,” he says, “you get real professor-student interaction, classes that might be twenty to thirty students, conversations that happen naturally, questions you can actually ask, and faculty you can meet without jumping through hoops.”

By the end of the conversation, the impression he leaves is simple and solid: Justin Wang is the kind of student who’s found his place by following the people, the craft, and the community. And when he says Penn’s MSE program is tight-knit, supportive, and worth it, he doesn’t sound like he’s repeating a brochure. He sounds like someone who’s lived it.