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Celebrate Women and Multiracial Engineers
Clark Scholar thrives at the intersection of healthcare and engineering
Bioengineering sophomore Tamunobelema “Belema” Olungwe has been interested in medicine since she introduced herself to her dolls as “Doctor Belema” as a little girl. Her interest intensified in high school, when the Western School of Technology and Environmental Science student’s magnet program for the health professions gave her access to hands-on experiences at the University of Maryland Medical Center.
An early start to world-changing effects
The summer after 11th grade, she worked a full-time internship at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry (UMSOD). Under Dr. Yongrong Zhang, Olungwe began the process of building an antibiotic to fight C. diff, a bacterial infection that spreads rapidly through hospitals, killing an estimated 15,000 people a year.
She has presented her research and won an award for it at a UMSOD symposium. She also presented it more recently at the 2025 Mid-Atlantic Research Day as a member of UMD’s biomedical engineering society, for which she currently serves as vice president of service and outreach.
Olungwe chose biomedical engineering for the change in the world she could see herself making over her career. “There’s a certain impact I want to have,” she says, “and bioengineering sets you on that path of impact.”
Embracing heightened responsibility as a Clark Scholar
When she found out she had earned a spot in the A. James Clark Scholars Program, she and her family were “ecstatic.”
As a Clark Scholar, Olungwe has served as a Clark School Ambassador and a ClarkLEADER for incoming engineering students. As part of College Park Scholars, she serves as a teaching assistant for a robotics class and has visited a local elementary school to increase interest in engineering through hands-on activities.
Through both UMD programs, Olungwe is empowered to help the students in her path. As a Clark School student, she understands, “the university puts a lot into their engineering school,” she says. “In turn, we students are able to give a lot back to our community.”
Engineering new techniques to teach visually impaired students
This semester, Olungwe is working as a research intern for Byungseok Yoo, an associate research scientist in the Department of Aerospace Engineering. For his project funded by the UMD Do Good Campus Fund, Yoo has created a suite of 3D-printed materials for visually impaired students in local public schools.
Using slicing and modeling software, Olungwe has helped detail, remodel, and reshape the 3D-printed tactiles, which include braille markings, to introduce students to concepts like math symbols, chemical elements, and anatomical diagrams for sex ed lessons.
“This project and others have increased my interest in pursuing pediatric engineering, a new and growing field,” Olungwe says.
Thriving in a positive community
When she’s not studying or working, Olungwe likes to surround herself with positive, “spirit-led” people, in activities including Black Student Ministries and the UMD Gospel Choir. Her Nigerian heritage and connections—she will make her sixth trip to Nigeria later this year—give her a different perspective, particularly regarding the disparity of healthcare between the two nations, and intensify her desire to make a difference.
As a woman in engineering, Olungwe feels uplifted. “When I’m around other women engineering students, it never feels like we’re in competition, but in support of each other,” she says. “We’re unified, because the Clark School set up a system where we can thrive.”
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March 2, 2026
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