Clara Seo, PhD Candidate

Co-Director, Caltech Project for Effective Teaching (CPET)

Clara Seo is a second-year PhD student in Chemistry, working under Professor Karthish Manthiram. Her research focuses on the directed evolution of electroactive bacteria to interrogate and enhance the extracellular electron transfer phenomena. Clara holds a BA in Chemistry and Statistics from Amherst College, where her liberal arts education placed a strong emphasis on the quality and joys of teaching and mentorship. This experience deeply shaped her commitment to teaching. Over the years, she has taught everything from inorganic chemistry and data science to Taekwondo and EMT-B skills. Now, as CPET Co-Director, Clara is excited to bring her creativity to CPET programming, support her peers through their teaching journeys, and grow with the Caltech community.