Times Edu Teacher
Ms Minh
Hillary Le
Environmental Systems and Societies, Chemistry and research methods
A Summa cum laude Chemical Engineering graduate with an MS from Rochester Institute of Technology (USA) and four years of real energy and environment research. She teaches the hardest part: turning knowledge into data-driven research and a criteria-based argument.
Programmes taught
Rochester Institute of Technology
Chemical Engineer, Summa cum laude
GPA, MS in Science and Engineering, RIT
Chemical Engineering GPA, Summa cum laude
Research in energy and the environment
Academic Tutor and Teaching Assistant
IELTS, plus SAT 1400
01 · Why Ms Hillary
Where IBDP ESS marks are lost
IBDP Environmental Systems and Societies marks are lost in two places: the Internal Assessment and linking science to society.
Internal Assessment
Students can recite the carbon cycle but cannot set up an individual investigation with a measurable variable.
Science and society
Students can write about pollution but cannot tie data to an argument about policy.
Teaching the hardest part
Ms Minh Hillary Le, a Summa cum laude Chemical Engineering graduate with a Master’s from RIT and four years of real energy and environment research, can teach exactly the hardest part of this subject.
02 · Key experience
From the lab to the classroom
Four years researching energy, materials and the environment in the USA, plus 5+ years teaching AP, SAT and IELTS.
Teaching · 5+ years
Academic Tutor and Teaching Assistant
5+ years as an Academic Tutor and Teaching Assistant, teaching AP, SAT and IELTS.
8/2024 – 2/2026
Alchlight LLC
Material Research Engineer
Researched superhydrophobic coatings, testing to MIL-STD-810 for humidity, high and low temperatures and thermal shock, and assessing anti-icing and anti-fog properties for aviation.
Electrochemistry · ML data
Corrosion research
Studied corrosion with electrochemical methods (EIS, LPR, Tafel plot) and measured 500+ contact angles to build a machine-learning dataset.
2023
MicroEra Power
Designed a separation column for thermal energy storage, researching phase change and emission cuts.
2020
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
Ran three analytical chromatography processes, cutting buffer preparation time by 75%.
RIT · Soft Matter Lab
DNA origami
Researched DNA origami structures for drug delivery and next-generation sequencing.
Energy materials · Python
Triblock copolymer self-assembly
Studied self-assembling triblock copolymers for batteries and solar cells using simulation and Python.
RIT · Team lead
Neurotechnology start-up project
Led 6 developers on a neurotechnology start-up project at RIT, building machine-learning software that recognises emotions from EEG data.
03 · Teaching approach
Six principles in her lessons
Lesson format
One-to-one, bilingual lessons: core ideas explained in Vietnamese when needed, practice and answers in English to exam standard.
Start from the system, not from the chapter.
ESS teaches you to see an issue as a system with inputs, outputs, flows and thresholds. Once you see it this way, every later topic connects to the others.
Internal Assessment starts from a measurable variable.
The research question must be narrow and measurable. The independent and dependent variables and controls are fixed first, then the topic.
Data must lead to a conclusion with criteria.
Tables and graphs only earn the descriptive marks. The big marks come from students saying what this data supports or refutes, and how reliably.
Evaluate sources of error like a researcher.
Where the error lies, how it affects the conclusion and what to do differently next time. She did this daily for four years in the lab.
Every concept is tied to a real-life situation.
Renewable energy, life cycles, corrosion and emissions all use examples from her own projects, not textbook illustrations.
Write every step; skip none.
In AP, scoring guidelines mark each step of reasoning. A correct calculation with only the final answer still loses most of the marks.
04 · Qualifications
Rochester Institute of Technology, USA
Bachelor’s and Master’s at RIT from 2018 to 2023, with three scholarships and the Excellence in Student Life award.
Master’s · 2021 – 2023
MS in Science and Engineering
Rochester Institute of Technology (USA)
Bachelor’s · 2018 – 2023
BS in Chemical Engineering
Rochester Institute of Technology (USA)
Certificates
- IELTS 7.5
- SAT 1400
In 2017
Scholarships
- Society of Women Engineers
- Nathaniel Rochester Society
- Full scholarship from RIT
Award
- Excellence in Student Life
RIT, 2022
- Taking IBDP Environmental Systems and Societies and needs to tighten up the Internal Assessment.
- Taking AP Chemistry or AP Environmental Science.
- Taking IGCSE or A Level Chemistry and needs a solid base for the next level.
- Preparing for the SAT or IELTS to study in the USA.
- Doing an individual investigation, Extended Essay or science project and needs guidance on method.
- Aiming for Engineering, Materials Science, Chemistry or Environmental Science.
- Wants to hear what engineering really is from someone who studied and did research in the USA.
06 · Beyond the classroom
A scientist changing course towards fashion design
Both are stories about materials, structure and how something holds its shape.
Ms Hillary is a scientist who is now moving into fashion design. It may sound like an odd leap, but it isn’t: both are stories about materials, structure and how something holds its shape. She is interested in literature, art, indie rock music and perfume — and perfume is almost applied chemistry in its purest form.
At RIT she chaired the Vietnamese Student Association for over a year, organising Mid-Autumn and Tet events for the Vietnamese community far from home. For students heading to the USA, she can speak to both the academic side and living alone abroad.
Book a lesson
One-to-one with Ms Hillary
Contact Times Edu to schedule lessons with Ms Hillary around the student’s curriculum and goals.
