Mihaela currently works as R&D Manager at Sun Chemical with a focus on innovation projects for sustainable materials.

After she obtained her Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering at Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj, Mihaela held the position of Assistant Professor in the Organic Chemistry Department for 3 years before coming to the US in 1992 to pursue a PhD degree in Chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition to her PhD, she also recently obtained a Professional Certificate in Sustainability from MIT that allows her to be directly involved in reducing the impact of the industry, especially the chemical industry on the environment.

Her career path brought her to different cities in the US over the past 30+ years: Chapel Hill NC, Columbus OH, Rochester NY, St Louis MO and finally Cincinnati OH where she currently resides. Everywhere she lived, she developed strong relationships with Romanians from the diaspora who became her new and extended family.

Maintaining strong ties with Romania is always a top priority for Mihaela. She is a member of a new political party launched in 2023 in Romania that focuses on maximizing the potential of the young generation and the protection of the environment.

The years spent as faculty at UBB left a strong impression on the importance of college education in shaping the future of the country. Mihaela joined RUF as a Founding Angel to be able to participate in and propose projects that have an impact on education but also on protecting the environment. These are two important focus areas for RUF that overlap perfectly with her interests.

Her most ambitious project is to bring back at least one Romanian University into the top 500 in the world by creating strong alliances with US Universities. This is where the power and influence of a strong organization such as RUF can be a powerful force for change.