Analytical and creative. Scientific and artistic.
It is these seemingly contradictory identities that chemical engineering student Hamood Qureshi feels most comfortable identifying as.
Working in a chemical engineering lab to develop more efficient methods of data transfer and honing his skills as a guitarist, Qureshi finds solace in the flexibility of both fields, exploring the groundwork of those professionals that came before.
“The combination of those two has really helped to shape the way that I think about things,” he explained.
Despite accomplishments as a Stamps Scholar at the Ogden Honors College, a student senator, an active musician and a lab assistant, Qureshi is only a freshman with aspirations still to come.
Qureshi has accomplished all of this and more before finishing his freshman year.
The youngest son of Pakistani immigrants, Qureshi grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana, where he attended Lafayette High School. Since high school, Qureshi was determined to try every opportunity awarded to him, which included participating in choir, Beta Club, quiz bowl and the National Honor Society.
“I did a lot of stuff like that and left no stone unturned,” he explained.
A major influence on Qureshi’s tenacious drive to pursue a multitude of experiences is his religious upbringing, being raised by Muslim parents who came to America in the 1990s.
“My parents were big on raising us religiously; I always went to the mosque when I was a kid,” he explained. “There has always been an emphasis on living within the ideals of Islam, like always putting your best foot forward and respecting the people around you.”
Qureshi said that he carries this mentality of putting one’s best foot forward in all aspects of his life, not just his spiritual life. One of the other major themes that was instilled in him was a strong work ethic.
“You’ve been blessed with so much, so get out there and work and you’ll get there,” he said.
This attitude continued into his choice of LSU as the place to get his degree. Originally skeptical about coming to such a big school, he soon found this to be exhilarating, allowing him to try everything that comes his way and see what sticks.
He describes LSU as the happy medium between rigorous academics and extracurriculars for those who want more than just one side of the experience.
“I was able to play jazz, do research and be in classes that aren’t strictly science-based,” Qureshi said. “Like I’m taking classes within the Honors College that explore a different side of the world, like discussing the implications of sea level rise and understanding and tackling the issue of poverty in Louisiana.”
He describes LSU as the happy medium between rigorous academics and extracurriculars, including his membership in the Society of Peer Mentors and as a Louisiana Service and Leadership Scholar.
“And I think it’s like a great combination of those two things,” he said.
Qureshi’s life is a series of balancing acts; he is not only balancing academics and extracurriculars, but also his simultaneous roles as a musician and a scientist.
A guitarist who takes inspiration from jazz and blues music like BB King and Jimi Hendrix, Qureshi said he has created his own style through a synthesis of his inspirations. In doing so, he has also started his own band called Rick’o’Shea where he hopes to further define his style, coming far from the pop and classic rock he played when he was first starting out.
“I ran into stuff like Parliament and Funkadelic and they’re awesome because that’s funk music; what they’re playing is its own style,” he explained. “There’s so many different styles with that, and finding out what I like to play and how I play with who I imitate has been its own adventure.”
Qureshi also brings his curious, experimental nature to his scientific work. Working with John Flake, a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Qureshi is helping to develop more efficient methods of data transfer for the future of technology.
The lab Qureshi works in is attempting to solve the issue of decreasing electrical strength in computer chips by testing new adhesive patterns to allow for more seamless transfers for use in autonomous vehicles and other applications.
“It is a daunting thing. You’re just thrown into it and told to figure it out,” he said. “Dr. Flake’s been awesome. He’s been guiding me as our research adviser. And he tells us to do things like this or like that do things like that. He’s been providing a lot of guidance. It’s really just a lot of like exploration.”
There are quite a few similarities between science and music, Qureshi explained, namely the ability to work both within the rules and break them.
“You can explore different links and see what works and what doesn’t,” he said. “There’s things that you can take from what’s been done. But there’s also been a lot of ‘let’s try this.’ And that is a direct parallel to what you do whenever you’re doing science. You pull from the literature and see what other people have done.”
Qureshi’s knack for intellectual exploration is what sticks out to his professors, even before he finishes his first year at LSU.
Elzbieta Cook, who taught Qureshi honors chemistry over the past two semesters, praised how punctual he is to class, always there in the front row ready to “ask an interesting or difficult question.”
“In science, we’re in constant pursuit of answers,” Cook said. “It’s good to know that there are some students [like Hamood] who want to learn reasons behind everything as opposed to what will be on the exam.”
Even outside of a strictly scientific environment, Qureshi’s professors praised his skills in discussion and as a supportive leader. Granger Babcock, Associate Dean of the Ogden Honors College, teaches Qureshi in a course focusing on social justice issues facing the state of Louisiana.
“He’s very dedicated to his studies and social justice,” Babcock explained.
Babcock’s course is the first in a series of courses for LASAL Scholars, which are students “very interested in changing Louisiana for the better and interested in engaging in problems on the ground.” Qureshi is a LASAL Scholar.
“It gives them the capacity to use different lenses to look at things and to use different methodologies to think about a problem, some of them scientific, some of them creative,” Babcock said. “It makes them more flexible as students and enables them to become deeper thinkers.”
It’s students like Qureshi that are attempting to find the emotional core of what it means to find solutions to real world issues, a theme he brings into all aspects of his life.
Even his classmates have taken notice of his unique skill set and motivation.
Political science and screen arts sophomore Anna Catherine Strong explained that Qureshi stands out as an extremely intelligent creative, something that caught her attention almost instantly after meeting him in the spring of 2021 when he toured LSU for the first time.
Since then, the two have fostered a friendship where both parties learn from one another; he learns more about LSU from her, and she learns about music from him. Still, Strong is inspired by Qureshi’s tenacity.
“He really crosses that barrier of wanting to do so many different things to actually doing all those things,” she explained. “He really has his cake and eats it too, and it’s wonderful to watch.”
Still, Qureshi is not done looking for new things to explore at LSU.
“I mean, frankly, I don’t know what the future has in store,” Qureshi said. “It feels like it’s just getting started like that phase I was in high school where I just try everything and see what sticks.”
Hamood Qureshi, far left, plays guitar at a rehearsal with his band Rick'o'Shea.
