Masters Student ‘Develops’ Skills in UTA FabLab, Says Goodbye with an Open Mind

Surbhi Zambad, a masters student pursuing a degree in computer science and engineering, applied to work in the University of Texas at Arlington Libraries FabLab based on a former employee’s recommendation. That former employee just so happened to be her husband.

“He said this would be a great opportunity for me,” Zambad said.

Zambad joined the development team in the FabLab in June 2020, and for the last year and a half has worked on a range of complex projects that has pushed her to adapt—a challenge she has taken on with zeal and adaptability.

“Because I am in the computer science department, it’s really necessary for me to work in development,” Zambad said. “Working in the FabLab gave me the opportunity to learn new technologies and grow my skills.”

Zambad has worked for Eric Olson, one of the FabLab’s Technicians, who is excited for Zambad’s upcoming graduation in December 2021.

“Surbhi has been a dedicated and valuable member of the team for the last year and a half, and I’ve enjoyed seeing skills and confidence develop over her time with us,” Olson said. “We will definitely feel her absence, but everyone is excited to see her graduate successfully. She is already fielding interviews from companies like Google and Infosys, and I expect she will go far with her career.

“I do hope she stays in touch and comes back to visit in the future to see what her work with us has led to and to catch up with us on how things are going in both her career and life.”

Working in the FabLab presented some early learning curves for Zambad—namely the programming language that was used on many of their projects. But she discovered that adapting to the language used in the FabLab actually led to success in the classroom, too.

“When I came in, I was more comfortable in Java than Python,” she said. “But now, after a year of working in the FabLab, I can say that I am loving Python more than Java—and that helped me in my academics, because some of my courses called for using Python in my projects. I learned a lot from working in the FabLab.”

Zambad’s experience in the FabLab wasn’t all about the software and hardware, though—she also learned how to be comfortable with and even excited about learning something new.

“I won’t be holding myself back from trying something new once I’m in industry,” Zambad said. “I tried something new [in the FabLab] and I was successful doing it, so in the future I hope to implement all the skills I’ve learned in the FabLab when exploring new technologies.”

Reflecting on her upcoming graduation and the reality that someone else will be in her shoes soon, Zambad has some advice for her successor.

“Be open to every role offered to you and open-minded to learning any new technology you come across,” she said. “Communicate with your teammates so you get some insight to what’s going on within the team and Libraries—just be open and willing to learn.”