Munsell

PAWTUCKET –– Erik Munsell’s interest in chemistry and biomedical engineering goes back to Varieur Elementary School, where he discovered he was good at math and science.

But don’t expect to find him shut away in a laboratory when he graduates four years from now from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y.

Munsell, the Shea High School valedictorian, is planning to study chemistry or biomedical engineering at RPI so he can apply what he learns there to the real world.

“My main goal in life,” he says, “is to make a difference in the world, which I can do if I become a doctor or a chemical engineer.”

Munsell, the 17-year-old son of Lauren and Peter Munsell, says he hasn’t decided yet which of the two fields he is going to pursue.

Either will prepare him for medical school, Munsell figures, should he decide to become a doctor.

Both will give him the kind of practical knowledge he needs to make a difference if he decides, instead of becoming a doctor, to embark on a career in science

Chemistry will make it possible to work on developing alternative sources of energy, helping to solve the oil crisis, Munsell says, by perfecting fuel-cell technology.

Biomedical engineering will enable him to help injured Iraq war veterans, he figures, by developing artificial limbs.

In terms of their practicality, both fields are a far cry from astronomy — the first branch of science that grabbed his interest.

Munsell says he dropped the idea of becoming an astronomer because employment opportunities in the field are few.

Munsell participated in sports all four years at Shea, rising to captain of the varsity golf, soccer and swimming teams.

One reason was his own ability, which made it possible for him to juggle sports and studies.

But another reason, Munsell says, is Shea’s ethnic diversity, which discourages students from pigeonholing one another and encourages them to interact

“There’s no cliques. Everybody’s friends with everybody,” Munsell says.

“If I’d gone anywhere else –– to school in Lincoln or North Providence — I wouldn’t have been able to meet everybody. I would have been put with the kids who study.”

jcastell@projo.com