Sofi Jeffrey Resume (PDF)

Chemical engineering × Mathematics

Mathematical thinking.
Real-world processes.

Hello - I’m Sofi! I'm a five-year student at Bucknell University where I work at the intersection of mathematical modeling, chemical engineering, and food and beverage R&D.

From fermentation kinetics to mass transfer, I’m interested in the science behind what we make—and how we make it.

Explore my work Download resume PDF

Bucknell University · B.S. Chemical Engineering + B.A. Mathematics
Expected May 2028

Sofi Jeffrey working with a glass extraction column in a chemical engineering laboratory
Models meet the physical world. Chemical engineering laboratory
700+Product samples tested
Dogfish Head sensory co-op
60+ bblProduction & packaging per week
Anheuser-Busch pilot brewery
2 disciplinesChemical Engineering + Mathematics
One quantitative approach

01 / Industry experience

From data to the brewery floor.

Two co-ops connecting analytical work with sensory testing, product development, and pilot production.

Jan – Jul 2026

Milton, Delaware

Boston Beer Co. · Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

Sensory Co-op

Applied transport modeling and data analysis within a brewery sensory program.

  • Developed a mass-transfer model to estimate dimethyl sulfide (DMS) levels in a reclaimed CO2 skid.
  • Analyzed historical brewing data with principal component analysis (PCA) in Python.
  • Facilitated internal product testing of 700+ samples.

Focus

  • Mass transfer
  • Python / PCA
  • Sensory testing

Jun – Dec 2025

St. Louis, Missouri

Anheuser-Busch · Research Pilot Brewery

Research Pilot Brewery Co-op

Supported new-product work through hands-on brewing, laboratory analysis, and process documentation.

  • Managed production and packaging of 60+ barrels (bbl) of product per week.
  • Collected and interpreted laboratory data for newly developed products.
  • Revised standard operating procedures for small-batch mixing and pilot-scale fermentation.

Focus

  • Pilot brewing
  • Laboratory data
  • Process documentation

02 / Selected modeling work

Putting mathematics to work.

Three food and beverage applications: fermentation kinetics, gas recovery, and coffee extraction.

Research · Spring 2023 – Spring 2025

Modeling single-yeast
sour beer fermentation.

How can a kinetic model represent changing yeast metabolism during fermentation?

The model
Developed a kinetic model to represent metabolic retooling during sour beer fermentation, including lactic acid production.
The experiment
Conducted an experimental fermentation with continuous gravity and pH measurements.
The analysis
Calibrated model parameters to capture fermentation behavior across multiple datasets.
  • MATLAB
  • Differential equations
  • Parameter estimation
Read the research abstract PDF

The abstract documents an early stage of this research.

Fermentation modeling workflow Measure gravity and pH during fermentation, model fermentation kinetics, and calibrate parameters using multiple datasets. Conceptual workflow, not experimental results. OBSERVATION → DESCRIPTION 010203 MeasureModelCalibrateContinuous gravity + pHFermentation kineticsParameters across datasets

A conceptual view of the research workflow.

Industry application · 2026

DMS in reclaimed CO2.

Bringing a transport model to a practical brewery question.

Question
How can mass transfer be used to estimate dimethyl sulfide levels in a reclaimed CO2 system?
Contribution
Developed a mass-transfer model for a reclaimed CO2 skid during my Dogfish Head sensory co-op.
  • Mass transfer
  • Process modeling
  • Beverage R&D

Academic project · Spring 2025

The transport behind a cup of coffee.

Turning an everyday brewing process into a first-principles model.

Question
How can flow, mass transfer, and diffusion during coffee brewing be represented mathematically?
Contribution
Applied engineering assumptions and simplifications to build a model of a Mr. Coffee brewer in COMSOL Multiphysics.
  • COMSOL Multiphysics
  • Diffusion
  • First-principles modeling

03 / Skills

Tools I work with.

Some problems start with an equation; others start with a measurement. Here’s what I use to work through them.

Modeling & simulation

From differential equations for fermentation to flow and diffusion in a coffee brewer.

ToolsMATLAB
COMSOL Multiphysics

Data & computation

Analyzing brewing records with PCA, fitting model parameters, and exploring mathematical patterns.

ToolsPython
Mathematica

Lab & pilot brewery

Brewing and packaging, monitoring fermentations, supporting sensory tests, and writing procedures.

ExperienceDogfish Head
Anheuser-Busch

Also in my toolkit

Excel & VBA · Java · Aspen HYSYS · Aspen Properties · LaTeX

04 / Mathematical research

Mathematics,
for the joy of it.

I believe mathematics is worth studying for its own sake. Sometimes that means looking closely at a drawing; sometimes it means diving into open questions in Operator Theory.

Geometric artwork by Emma Kunz, with yellow and orange rays and fine straight lines that form curved boundaries
Artwork by Emma Kunz · Where straight lines suggest curves.
Peer-reviewed publication · 2025

Finding curves
in Emma Kunz’s art.

Look closely at the straight lines in these drawings and curves begin to appear. With Sumit Dhar and Pamela Gorkin, I used mathematical envelopes to describe the curves in three of Kunz’s artworks.

The Mathematics Behind a Visionary Artist: The Envelopes of Emma Kunz
Sumit Dhar, Pamela Gorkin & Sofi Jeffrey
The Mathematical Intelligencer · 47, 222–228 (2025)

Read our paper
Manuscript under review

Summer 2023 – Spring 2026

Matrices with Multiple Crouzeix Extremal Functions

My work in operator theory explores patterns in extremal functions for n × n matrices. I generalized and proved these patterns in a manuscript now under review at the Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Mathematics Journal.

Earlier coursework & writing
Separation processes: course reference guidePDF Mathematical envelopes: 2024 course paperPDF

The 2024 course paper is separate from the published article above.

Sofi Jeffrey on a rocky coast overlooking the ocean
A little time outside.

05 / A little about me

It started with
a model of beer.

I wanted to practice mathematical modeling. I just so happened to be modeling beer.

For three years, I mostly worked on the model and only brewed once. That work led me to Anheuser-Busch, where I fell in love with fermentation and beverages. At Dogfish Head, I found another interest: sensory science.

Much of my work has been with nonalcoholic and low-alcohol products, including energy drinks. I love how tangible it is: taking an abstract mathematical idea, calibrating it against experimental data, and using it to make something beautiful and delicious.

Away from the lab, I enjoy camping and backpacking, poetry, creative writing, and French language and culture.

What I’m studying

Bucknell University

B.S. in Chemical Engineering
B.A. in Mathematics

Expected May 2028 · Lewisburg, Pennsylvania

Relevant coursework

Chemical Engineering Mathematical Modeling; Food Science and Technology; Heat and Mass Transfer; Reaction Engineering; Engineering Thermodynamics; Separation Processes.

Teaching & community

Sharing the mathematics.

At Bucknell’s Teaching and Learning Center, I’ve led weekly calculus lessons for 20+ students and helped train fellow tutors. As vice president of our MAA chapter, I also organized Bucknell’s first integration bee.

Quantitative Support Assistant · Aug 2023 – Present
MAA Chapter Vice President · 2024–2025

Say hello

Let’s talk.

Have a food science question, a research idea, or an opportunity in mind? I’d be glad to hear from you.

[email protected]
LinkedIn GitHub