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I am a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY, class of 1955.  Following my graduation, I served three years with the U.S. Forces in Germany. Upon my return to the U.S. in 1959, I was sent to the U. of Michigan for two years to earn an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering in preparation for a teaching assignment at West Point.  I was fortunate to have Professor Gordon Van Wylen as my advisor, and during those first two years (1959-61) I completed the M.S. requirements, as well as the course requirements and qualifying exams for a PhD, not knowing whether I would ever have the opportunity to earn that degree.  At the end of my first year of teaching at West Point, I was sent back to Ann Arbor and given one year to complete a PhD thesis.  At that time I had three young children, so my life was somewhat hectic. I had some vague ideas of what I might do for a PhD thesis, but Prof Van Wylen was unimpressed.  He said that he had recently learned that NASA was preparing to use liquid-hydrogen-fueled rockets in the space program but that pumping liquid hydrogen (which boils at about 15 degrees K) mechanically was not practical, so they planned to use pressurized helium gas for this purpose. They needed to know the solubility of helium in liquid hydrogen, from about 15 to 30 K, to have some idea of how much helium would dissolve in liquid hydrogen and go through the combustion process as an inert substance.  Prof Van Wylen selected Asst Prof Richard Sonntag as co-chair of my doctoral committee, and gave me an initial grant of a few thousand $ to get started. We wrote a proposal to NASA to carry out the necessary research, and I was assigned lab space in the new Automotive Engineering Lab on the North Campus.  The proposal was funded, and I began work immediately.  In the course of the next 11 months I somehow managed to complete the experimental studies, measuring the liquid-vapor equilibrium in normal hydrogen-helium at 11 temperatures between 15.5 and 32.5 K, and pressures up to 500 psi.  Shortly after my return to West Point I went back to Ann Arbor to defend my thesis, and the degree was awarded.

The experience I gained in my PhD research opened up a new field for me: measuring liquid-vapor equilibrium in mixtures of light gases at low temperatures and high pressures.  After returning to West Point I built equipment suitable for studying mixtures between about 15 and 300K, and at pressures up to 10,000 atm.  I did a lot of that work at West Point before retiring from the Army in 1978.  I then joined the faculty of chemical engineering at Cornell University and continued my research.  in 1984 I was appointed Dean of the College of Engineering at Cornell, a post I held until my retirement in 1995.

My studies in the ME Department at the U. of Michigan were the key to my successful academic career spanning more than 35 years.

U-M’s Mechanical Engineering Department has allowed me to thrive in my teaching and research endeavors. The department is diverse in faculty research, which was especially appealing to me, as my work crosses multiple disciplinary boundaries. I have found the department welcoming, supportive, and a fun place to work! I have great faculty mentors and I am continually impressed by the passion, creativity, and critical thinking of students. I’m thankful to be part of the ME community at U-M.

I interviewed at ME in 1994, while I was still a PhD student.  At most places I interviewed, I would have been the first (and only) woman faculty member, whereas when I joined ME in January of 1995, I was one of five women faculty (Maria, Ellen, Diann, and Ann Marie), which was great. In the College, we had a group called FEW = Faculty Engineering Women, who met for lunch about once/month to build connections.

I remember during my first semester at UMich, Prof. Yoram Koren asked me for a 2-sentence biosketch to include in his ERC proposal.  When the ERC-RMS started in the fall of 1996, I was invited to write a short proposal on research topics in control for reconfigurable manufacturing systems.  Being part of the center was a wonderful experience for a junior faculty member.  The senior faculty mentors (Yoram & Galip) were fabulous, the problems posed by industry were challenging and interesting, and the funding from NSF allowed (and expected) fundamental research results that could be published in academic journals.  Many of my graduate students worked in the ERC over the years, and the topics I was exposed to early in the center changed the trajectory of my research career.  I continue to do research in the area of control for reconfigurable manufacturing, with strong industry collaborations, and have enjoyed bringing Prof. Kira Barton into the group to continue the spirit of academic-industry research partnerships.

As a graduate student, I never understood the statement, “If it is fun, it is not work”. I always took that to mean I was not working hard enough. Now, after seven years in the ME Department at the University of Michigan, I have finally come to understand the gift of loving what you do; the excitement of tackling a problem, moving past the most recent failure, solving the latest challenge, or celebrating a new success ceases to feel like work. I attribute this discovery to the amazing students and wonderful faculty and staff that I have had the privilege to work with at U-M ME. I cannot wait to see what exciting challenges and new discoveries the next 150 years will bring!

The ME Department at the University of Michigan is the first department I joined as a faculty member. The department has fast-tracked my career by providing me access to some of the best students and facilities in the world. In addition, the faculty and staff’s wealth of experience and their willingness to share that experience has made leveraging these multitudes of first-class resources straightforward. I would not have the success I have right now without UofM’s ME Department!

Combine a long-standing reputation of academic excellence with a very warm and supportive climate and you get U-M ME at 150. I’m truly delighted to be part of this great department at such an auspicious time, and to help shape its next 150 years!

I am a farm boy that grew up on a duck ranch on Eastern Long Island in New York State who had to repeat the 4^th grade and missed out on a wrestling scholarship because of injuries.  Plan B was to attend a community college in a technical field because I was a good math and science student in high school.  With focus redirected toward academics, I ended up 2^nd in my class at the community college and that opened the door to U of M.  The 2-year school taught me how to study which was extremely important in ME at U of M, especially since the ME Department was rated 4^th in the nation in the 1960’s and still is.  I learned early on that working hard in your studies made the difference and I was never afraid of hard work whether on the duck ranch, in sports or in the classroom.  Within ME, I truly loved design, the mechanics of materials and all lab work.  All my ME professors were great teachers including fluids, thermo and heat transfer, my least favorite courses.  My capstone project was in fluids only because Professor Ward Winer was the best teachers I ever had at U of M.  After U of M, Prof. Winer ended up being my mentor, coach, advisor and a friend to this day.  In other words, he taught me more than fluids.  In my last year at U of M, I took a senior/grad course from Professor Robert C. Juvinall that left a lasting impression.  We used his unpublished book entitled Engineering Considerations of Stress, Strain and Strength.  He was a great teacher and the subject matter was right in my sweet spot.  My ME design training led to my first job in high energy physics at Brookhaven National Labs and my ME training provided a great foundation for my grad studies at UMass and opened the doors to my 44-year career at GE Global Research in laser technology.  It was this foundation that led to my election to the National Academy of Engineering and being selected to the National Inventors Hall of Fame. I truly love the ME Department at U of M where I have recruited over the years and served on its Advisory Board.  Happy 150^th Anniversary! GO BLUE!

In high school, I had absolutely no idea what I was interested in. I heard “You’re pretty good at math and science. You should be an engineer!” My image of an engineer was the tinkering guy in a garage working on cars. This did not line up with my image of myself at all. I had never tinkered or taken anything apart to see how it works or designed and built anything. How could I possibly be ready to be a mechanical engineer?

My first semester started and I still hadn’t the slightest clue. I tried to join a design team, but I wasn’t interested, not until November when I heard about STARX. I joined them and immediately was welcomed into helping design an exoskeleton. I never expected to get anywhere close to that so soon. And I began learning CAD and got experience machining. I loved it. I knew I had to take an ME course in the winter and what better than ME 211.

The class was introduced to me by Professor Barber saying, “Being in this class is like being on train tracks with a train barreling down on you: there’s no avoiding getting hit, but if you start running you won’t get hit as hard.” He was absolutely right: the class was brutal. I had mixed feelings until I started seeing what he was trying to show us. He did demos in class sometimes of just breaking materials to show us how they break and why it is that way. Then, I started seeing mechanics everywhere. I could look at anything and understand parts of why it existed the way it did. I couldn’t get enough of it. 

Now as a sophomore starting to learn how to weld while learning about the mechanical behavior of materials in class is just about perfect. I learn more and more every day as the mechanical lead of STARX. And I can’t wait to see what new skills and new viewpoints I get to discover next.

For as long as I can remember, I have always loved understanding how things work, taking stuff apart, and putting them back together. From the age of 3, I was building structures of blocks taller than me. My passion for creating soon turned to Legos and Kinects, and while most people despised it, I even loved constructing IKEA furniture. This passion for creating was complemented by my favorite subjects of science and math, propelling me toward mechanical engineering.

When visiting Michigan, I was immediately attracted to the machine shops of both the ME building and the Wilson Center. I knew right away that I wanted to be a part of the incredible program, utilize the extensive engineering facilities, and play a role in one of the cutting-edge student teams. My freshmen year I joined a small project team of only about 10 people where I quickly took up a role on the mechanical sub-team gaining skills not only in designing in CAD but manufacturing those parts on machinery like the water jet, mill, lathe, and welding. With time I worked my way up to be the SPARK team captain and together we built an all-electric motorcycle that set 2 world records. Coupling the knowledge I gained throughout the comprehensive courses in Mechanical Engineering with my experiences on the project team, I am confident and excited to begin my career in the manufacturing industry working for Pratt & Whitney. I will always be proud to be a Michigan Wolverine and thankful to have been a part of the mechanical engineering department for all the incredible opportunities that it has allowed me.

Choosing ME has been one of the best decisions for me. I’ve been blown away by so many people in the department: including professors, GSI’s, machine shop staff, and classmates. They have taught me so much about how to be an effective and collaborative engineer. I want to give a shout out to Mike Umbriac for being an awesome lecturer and making ME 250 and 350 two of my favorite and most useful courses. Being a part of the ME department has been one of the best parts of my Michigan experience, and I know it will continue to be an important part of my journey when I leave.

I joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME) at the University of Michigan (U-M) in Fall 2013, right after having my undergraduate degree from Middle East Technical University, Turkey. Nearing my five years here, I can say that it has been an absolute pleasure to be a part of ME and Michigan, for many different reasons. 

Research-wise, the ME department offers many advantages to grad students in terms of collaboration opportunities and overall research impact.  For my PhD project, I have been working on optical diagnostics in internal combustion engines under the supervision of my co-advisors: Prof. Volker Sick, a physical chemist, and Dr. Michael C. Gross, an electrical engineer. I love working on my project and collaborating with my advisors and labmates, because my project is highly multidisciplinary in nature, and I have the chance to interact with many experts from diverse professional and personal backgrounds. I learn a lot from them about many topics that are considered nontraditional for a mechanical engineer, such as optics, image processing, plasma science, and quantum mechanics, and I apply this exotic-at-first-glance set of knowledge to solve a real-life problem in internal combustion engines, which is traditionally a mechanical engineering application. Through this project, I have collaborated with international automotive companies, such as Bosch and BorgWarner, and observed how my unorthodox diagnostic tools can guide the design and analysis of real production engines.

After my first couple of years in the department, having gone through my own adaptation period to a new department, a new city, and a new country, I wanted to be more actively involved in helping out other graduate students to ease their transition to their new environment. For that reason, I joined Mechanical Engineering Graduate Council (MEGC) as the Mentorship Chair. I have organized events and activities in which senior grad students can guide and mentor new grad students over a broad range of topics in terms of PhD candidacy exam preparations, adjusting to grad school or a new culture. Similarly, I have helped organize events for undergraduate students to inform them about grad school. Through MEGC, I also had the chance to get involved in many outreach activities towards Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and Detroit K-12 students. These activities definitely helped me understand and connect with the local community better, and I am glad that I could be a part of it and have a positive impact on it.

The ME department helped me become a more proficient researcher, a more involved member of the community, and overall a happier person. 

I went through my senior year of high school almost certain of what I wanted my undergraduate major to be. When I got to UM and took my first course related to it, I was surprisingly unhappy. I had been so excited to design a medical diagnostic test–design was one of those things that always sounded intriguing but felt unattainable in high school. However, I walked into class on the first day to find that we weren’t getting to make a final product–we simply had to come up with the ideas and setup. 

I got through the project. Something was missing. The tangible end result, the ability to prove that I understood the concepts with something real. So I opened my mind to different majors and found ME. ME has been a wonderful community for me the last two semesters. Everyone shares the same desire to not only learn, but to apply what we learn to create. ME has shaped my life by introducing me to the intersection of knowledge and innovation, something I had searched for and was unable to find in other engineering majors. The variety of career interests within mechanical engineering has also opened my mind to the basic relationships between what feel like very different things.

When I was younger, my dad would take me to his work’s Christmas parties and they had a display of robots. One was a giant chicken maybe 5ft tall, and it pecked the ground. I was hooked, of course. Any eight year old gets excited about the concept of funny robots. 

While this one didn’t exactly have a purpose, except to entertain, I decided later I wanted to make something that was different and new and exciting. I came to the University of Michigan and flopped around majors in LSA, but I was drawn back to the topics that made sense and were not based on opinions. I decided to transfer to engineering and to my joy, I got in last summer. 

Since then, I’ve been having the best time making an RMP in 250, talking to companies about how they’re improving their products and what role an intern would have (such opportunities are amazing to hear about and even better to receive), and learning how to approach real-world problems. I’ve also made friends who are the most wonderful people to be around and professors who care deeply about how much I learn, and who work to make sure everyone understands. 

I’m very excited about the mechanical side of engineering because it contains the concepts that intrigue me and hopefully will lead me to help create something that will be even cooler than a giant chicken robot.

Going to the University of Michigan has always been a dream of mine.  I come from a low-income family so this merely stayed a dream when I was growing up.  When I was twelve I had to get my first job to contribute financially to my family, causing me to miss out on a lot of great opportunities as a kid.  Then when I turned 18 I was finally able to get a job at Chrysler, giving me great experience in chemical management and metallurgy.  From there I moved to General Motors where I developed a procedure for testing heat-treated crankshafts in their 4 cylinder engine. After almost two years at General Motors, I got the chance to work in materials for Hyundai’s research center in Ann Arbor.  Even though these companies are unique and gave me different experiences, the one thing that was always in the back of my mind was my lack of education.  This made me feel that the doors to greater opportunities were never going to present themselves to me.  Because of this feeling, I started to focus on my education and was able to enroll in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan.  Since then, many of those doors that were once closed have been opened up to me. Because of the help from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, I am now in a position to pursue any future I want, and what once was a dream has now become a reality.

I began my life at the University of Michigan as a transfer student in 2014. I transferred with the hope of pursuing a degree in Materials Science and Engineering. The transition to this university was not an easy one and made me realize that MSE was not a field I was passionate about. I spent the following two semesters trying to figure out what major and college I wanted to switch to. In the process of taking both Engineering and LS&A courses I came to realize that I wanted to stay in engineering and ME 211 helped me realize that. While taking ME 211 with Professor Thouless I was able to learn a lot about the foundations of mechanical engineering with an amazing group of students. After that semester I had concluded that the ME staff, students, and classes are one of the strongest and tightest departments I had come across and I wanted to be a part of it. All the classes in ME helped me shape my mind and narrow down my main interest to design and manufacturing, specifically the process involved in the launching of products. Mechanical Engineering at U of M has helped me acquire an amazing education with multiple levels of experience as well as unforgettable friends. 

I had no intention of major in engineering until I took a physics class my junior year of high school.  I clearly remember the one lab that caught my interest which involved firing a metal ball into a bucket that we placed wherever our calculations told us. After I pulled the string to release the projectile, I knew I wanted my future education to include hands-on experimentation.  The University of Michigan’s Mechanical Engineering program allows exactly that.

After being in the program for only a year, I have learned how to use the mill, lathe, and waterjet.  I have built a robot and working prototype of an underwater vehicle.  Every year ME students must annually take a course that involves designing and manufacturing which is exactly what I wanted to do coming into the university. These classes not only allow hands-on experience but also teamwork experience since each project must be completed in small teams.  Working on these teams, I have made great friends who I see and study with almost daily.  Learning how to design and work with others, the ME department has already led me to achieve an internship working at the automotive supplier Adient which I will begin May 2018. The program may seem intense, but what I have learned so far and the friends I have made have been a million times worth it.

After applying to over 15 universities (and visiting several over spring break) it was clear that the University of Michigan was the one. It was obvious after the campus tour when my parents bought me a Michigan sweatshirt and a huge block M to put on my fridge. Even though I hadn’t made my decision yet, it felt like they had. Little did I know that would become the best decision of my life.

Before the start of freshman year, I attended a program called M-STEM at the University of Michigan. Here I gained life-long friends and a support system that would help me throughout my college career. It was humbling to be in the same room as people who already had so much engineering background when I had none. Many of the students I met knew exactly what they wanted to major in, whether it was Computer Science or Industrial Operations, while I had no clue. I decided to choose Mechanical Engineering after learning that it was the broadest type of engineering and one that would give me access to a wide range of career paths. 

Mechanical Engineering’s versatility is reflected in the kinds of projects I have worked on during my time at the University of Michigan. During my senior year, I had the privilege of working on a multidisciplinary design team to build a dust generation and measurement machine for Amway to help determine the dust concentrations of their various food powders. Here, I was able to work with Chemical Engineers, a statistician, and fellow Mechanical Engineers to solve this problem. In addition to applying the skills I learned from ME250, ME350 and Fluid Dynamics, I was able to gain new crucial team skills such as communicating with team members who do not possess the same background knowledge as me. 

My absolute favorite experience at the University of Michigan was my senior design project where my team and I designed a hand rehabilitation device for low-income communities. This project required the team to think outside the box to create an innovative design that allowed for mass production. Working on projects such as these allowed me to explore the different paths that mechanical engineering allows for. I found that I was able to apply my knowledge to whatever problems I was presented with, regardless of whether or not I had prior knowledge of the subject. I am grateful for the education, experience and journey that the University of Michigan’s Mechanical Engineering department has provided me. Regardless of what I choose to do in the future, I am certain that I can apply what I learned at the U of M and excel.

I remember driving to skating practice at the end of my freshman year and saying to my teammate: “I love it here so much, I’ve already decided I’m going to stay for my M.S.E. after I graduate.” Pretty bold statement, right? At that moment, I had based this decision on several things: the incredible professors and GSIs I had already been fortunate to interact with, the hands-on experience I received as part of my Engineering 100 team and Supermileage, the wonderful friends I had made, and my synchronized skating team, UMSST. 

Looking back on my 5 years, and seeing that these “first impressions” led to a research position with one of my professors, building and racing an electric car that got 4,500 MPGe, becoming friends with former GSIs, professors, lab-mates, & teammates, and winning 2 national collegiate skating titles, I realized that maybe that statement wasn’t so crazy after all. I started to experience the reality of being an ME student in my first year at UM, and the encounters and involvement I initially had continued to evolve and shape my career path into something I’m excited to pursue!

Being a do-er has always been a core value to me. See something you want but doesn’t exist: build it. Think a product you bought could better serve you if it was altered in some way: fix it. Think the products around us haven’t caught up to the science we know: explore ways to bring them pragmatically to market! There’s only one field that does it all: engineering! For me, mechanical engineering was the “jack of all engineers” who gets to play with all the cool tools and gets experience with a wide range of fields. That’s why I chose mechanical engineering. There have been plenty of times I’ve doubted myself whether I can hack it as a good engineer, but Michigan has always given me the resources to be successful. I’m now doing research with real companies, on real products, with substantial implications in the world. Being empowered to use math and science to improve the world is a powerful thing, and that power was bestowed in part by Michigan Engineering. Soon I’ll put these skills to the test to help SpaceX in their quest to make humans a multi-planetary species; a testament to how well Michigan can prepare its alumni.

I have always known I wanted to be an engineer. The only difficulty came in selecting what type. To me, the appeal of engineering was how it is a refined form of problem-solving. MechE, in particular, was broad enough that it gave me all the tools I needed to succeed in my life after graduation. MechE had everything I wanted in a bachelor’s degree: design classes, lab classes, a focus on teamwork… and flexibility for me to pursue a minor in a field I am very passionate about (boats!). I am now a Ph.D. student in the Naval Architecture field, and I truly appreciate how MechE helped me to get here.

Like many aspiring engineers, I always had a passion for building and tinkering, whether it was building toys, woodworking, or fixing cars. My interested in engineering grew when I realized what I was learning actually had an impact on these activities, such as using tight triangle theory to help build staircase railings. When I came to the University of Michigan I found the Baja SAE team and was able to combine my interests in cars and manufacturing. Now in my second year on the team, I am getting to experience how the concepts I am learning in class such as stress concentrations, torsional moments, and heat transfer apply to building a racecar. This hands-on experience to reinforce the coursework is what I love about the ME department here. I was also excited to learn that this experience is not reserved only for project teams but incorporated deeply into the curriculum through the X50 series of classes. With every day I spend I can see the progress I am making and can feel myself becoming better prepared for a career that suits my unique interests. 

I have the stereotypical ME story. I liked Legos. I built robots. I joined science olympiad. But coming into college, I didn’t know whether to do computer science or mechanical engineering. I had a dream to work at Boeing after visiting their factory, but I was still unsure. Throughout freshman year, I was debating between the two until I finally decided on ME. I am now in my sophomore year and I do not regret my decision one bit. Through ME, the world makes sense. When you look outside and see bridges, planes, cars and more, you realize that every aspect of it was done for a reason. The classes the ME department offers, mainly the x50’s, offer the best idea of what I can work on in the future and those are the ones that I enjoyed the most. It has also allowed me to join the Baja SAE design team, where I am currently getting a full engineering experience through the school. Thanks to the ME department, I am closer to my goal of working at Boeing!

Someone once advised me that while focusing on weaknesses can allow you to do more things passably, growing strengths gives you the chance to be exceptional. Michigan’s Mechanical Engineering department has given me the opportunity to focus my education and develop particular strengths. Engineering school focuses on how math can be used to understand science and the world at large. This understanding can then be used to problem solve, design, and provide a new perspective when collaborating with other disciplines. Through the University of Michigan’s Mechanical Engineering program, I’ve been able to identify which areas of engineering interest me and delve into learning more about those areas through energy-system controls research in the Electrical Engineering department, internships with Ford and DTE Energy, sustainable and human-centered student-team design work through BLUElab: Woven Wind, and upper-level tech classes that interest me. During undergraduate, I grew as a leader, my perseverance and resourcefulness in the face of challenges increased, and I strengthened in my conviction that asking questions is the best way to learn.

I’ve enjoyed spending a year pursuing a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering through the SUGS program. Gaining knowledge of theoretical controls and other engineering skills will be a huge advantage that I’ll be able to apply as soon as I start work in the “real world.” Pursuing a master’s degree in engineering has deepened my technical knowledge, increased my understanding of the intersection between engineering and other disciplines, and opened up opportunities for me to have a larger-scale impact.

Growing up in the Metro-Detroit area and having family members who have attended the University of Michigan, I have dreamed of attending from a young age. I have great memories of going to football games with my family. What little kid who experiences a football game at Michigan Stadium with over a hundred thousand fans, doesn’t say “I want to go here”? It was when I started researching colleges that I realized how I had the opportunity to go to a world-class university that was in my backyard. 

Like a lot of engineers, I have had an interest in robotics from a young age. When I was first introduced to LEGO robotics in elementary school, I knew designing and building robots was something that I was interested in. As I grew older, I was a part of VEX and FIRST robotics teams. As of more recently, I have developed a great interest and passion in 3D printers. It started out with a high school teacher buying one, and I volunteered to set up and learn how to operate the machine with him. Over time, this interest has led me to build my own printer. I am always tinkering with the machine, switching our parts for upgrades, or printing out cool designs I have made in CAD. Furthering my interest, in ME 250 I learned more about other more fascinating methods of additive manufacturing.

Also at the University, I became involved in the Michigan Autonomous Aerial Vehicles design team. We build an autonomous drone that interacts with other autonomous robots on the ground. This design team has been an invaluable experience in continuing my passion for robotics and furthering knowledge of mechanical engineering concepts in the design, build, and test, of our drone. I look forward to continuing my education in the Mechanical Engineering department here at the University of Michigan for the next two years until I graduate. 

When I was 11 years old, I knew I wanted to be a mechanical engineer. I was naturally drawn to Michigan because of its strong reputation and huge opportunities for students, especially the design teams in the Wilson Center. In my internships, my mentors have been impressed by the range and depth of topics I had experience with—from material fatigue to mechanism design—which I owe completely to Michigan’s outstanding curriculum, focusing on industry-relevant skills. The people here and networks formed have also been amazing—while at interning at Boeing, 2000 miles away from Ann Arbor, I met dozens of ME alumni. It’s great to be able to bond with new people, connecting over shared experiences of great times in 250/350 with Mike Umbriac and surviving some brutal nights working on 395/495 reports. It really can help you find a home away from hoMe.

From the moment I first arrived at the University of Michigan, I knew I had found my new home.  However, this first trip happened 2 months before I had even applied to the university.  During undergrad, I was invited to join the engineering graduate symposium, and during this trip, I saw what Michigan had to offer.  When it came time to apply the University of Michigan had made it to my top choice. I was overjoyed to return to Ann Arbor, this time for good. The emphasis on collaborative research and support convinced me that Michigan was the place to be.

I have since advanced to candidacy and launched myself fully into my research. However, it was the friendly staff, the engaged graduate student body, and the many brilliant faculty in the department that brought me here.  ME has shaped my career by providing me a space where I can perform my research and be surrounded by a collaborative community.  I have been able to network with future employers and collaborators early and often. Everyone is working on their own project and we all work to make the Michigan community stronger.  My work has opened new paths that I never would have imagined and at Michigan I am always given the opportunity to explore our passions.  The ME department has shaped my life by giving me the tools, expertise, and freedom to shape my own life.

From my early-childhood obsession with Legos and building Hot Wheels tracks, I knew that I had the most fun when I was building, fixing, tinkering, and playing with things. As I got older, I realized that these characteristics of problem solver, innovator, and creator that I possessed were synonymous with “engineer,” and I immediately discovered what I wanted to do with my life. I looked at many engineering programs but connected most with the Mechanical Engineering program at Michigan because of its focus on building teamwork and collaboration skills, solving problems with a global mindset, and providing hands-on experience from freshman year through senior year. A defining moment for me came during a session in the machine shop during my ME 250 class, the introductory design and machining course. All semester I helped my team design and fabricate a small robot, and it was finally the day to power it up for the first time. The little robot lit up, drove forward and backward, and could extend its hook-arm to grab things! I felt so much joy and, with resolute certainty, knew that I had discovered the major that would make me happy for the rest of my life. 

For me, engineering is all about discovering and actively pursuing my passions and enabling others to do the same. I have worked very hard to get to the point that I’m at today, and while I definitely didn’t enjoy the long nights camped out in the library or the intentionally vague instructions that accompany most lab projects, I was always able to find the inner strength to power through because of my deep desire to become an engineer. Looking back, I now recognize that overcoming these difficult challenges has made me a stronger and more capable problem solver and engineer. 

As I advanced through my degree, I devoted myself to helping others succeed because I think it is important to give back and provide the experiences to others that I was able to learn from myself. I became an Instructional Assistant for ENGR 100 as well as a freshman mentor through the Center for Engineering Diversity and Outreach. I think it is extremely important that every student feels welcomed and empowered by the College of Engineering from the start, and I am passionate about doing my part in providing all students with the resources, lessons, and encouragement to achieve their goals of becoming an engineer. As a society, we will all be better off if we work together to learn from each other and empower each other to reach our best potential.

Thanks to the many opportunities in the Mechanical Engineering program, I found that my interest was centered in mechanical design and manufacturing. I was happy to be able to continue my education by pursuing a Masters of Engineering in Manufacturing, and look forward to entering the workforce next year as a proud Michigan Engineer! Go Blue! 

Being part of the ME department here is one of the most challenging and exciting things that’s happened in my life. There are so many opportunities here for us. I love having actual hands-on experience in our X50 courses. I was able to work as a co-op for a company and I worked with a few other classmates to design and build a dust detector that could potentially increase the company’s profit, and a lot that I learned in X50 classes helped me throughout this project. I was also able to work at two very different research areas this past summer, and I learned a ton from my advisors who are professors in ME. Faculty here are nice and welcoming and they really do care about the development of their students. I’m really glad that I joined ME and I look forward to what more it has to offer in my future career path! 

I didn’t always know that I wanted to be an engineer. Throughout middle and high school, my peers knew what they wanted to major in at college, and what career they wanted to have when they graduated. I, on the other hand, was unsure. However, one thing I was sure of was that I enjoyed math and science classes, and I liked to solve problems. 

During my junior year, I realized that mechanical engineering would allow me to pursue my passions. Michigan was my top choice for colleges, and I was excited to be accepted into my dream school and to start my college career here. I enjoyed many of the classes I took, but the classes I have enjoyed the most here have been my hands on design courses. These classes have been the most rewarding to me, as I was able to see the result of my efforts. I was also able to use my knowledge from the classroom on M-HEAL’s Solar Fridge team, a project team which aims to build a low cost, solar powered refrigeration system for vaccines and implement in low resource areas. My mechanical engineering classes have taught me how to think critically, work effectively in a team, and manage time efficiently.

Following my graduation in April 2018, I will be working for Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis, Indiana. I will be working as a process engineer helping to bring in a new line for delivery device systems. At Lilly, I will be able to combine my passions for biotech and engineering. 

I have always had a passion for cars. Ever since I was little, I would help my dad restore and wrench on cars at home. When I came to the university on a tour at the Wilson Center, I was blown away as to how many different vehicle teams there were, and I realized my passion for cars could be combined with a mechanical engineering degree to make a career. Since being in the mechanical engineering program, I have begun to apply my knowledge as a mechanical engineer to the Baja Team, where I have won 3 national championships with my team, and have obtained many internships. This has set up my initial career for success. And it is all because of the Mechanical Engineering department!

I was always the curious one of my family. I would be the one to answer questions in unexpected ways (e.g. “The capital of Florida is F!”), annoy my parents in asking why the sky is blue, and sometimes get myself into trouble. Like, plugging and unplugging the water fountain decor in the house to see where the water was coming from and getting electrocuted, kind of trouble. My family always loved to show off their hot cars and talk about their dream sports cars. And, as Filipino immigrants, their hot cars meant 1992 Chevy Camaros and Nitrous-equipped Toyota Celicas, not quite the supercar but a definite symbol of pride and the American dream to them. Growing up, I gained a love for automobiles, the art of designing a beautiful car, and the science behind a powerful one. Through my family, I learned how to earn the American dream, the meaning behind “hard work pays off”, and to be proud of my work in whatever I do. And that’s how I ended up here at the University of Michigan.

Compared to what my parents had when they were my age, U of M was what dreams are made of. They offered many opportunities to expand my curriculum outside of the classroom, as I learned about and celebrated my heritage through the Filipino American Student Association as well as serve the College of Engineering with my fellow peers through Tau Beta Pi. Specifically, in the ME Department, I found a place that embraces curious people like me and develops my skills to apply my curiosity effectively, while not getting into too much trouble. Mechanical Engineering has only deepened my love for cars and given me many avenues in entering the Automotive industry. However, I would be stereotyping ME to say it’s only for those going into the Auto industry. 

Mechanical Engineering is the study of interactions between man and nature. It is the study of movement in all states of matter between man-made and natural forces. It is both the study of what is seen and unseen. Through courses like Design & Manufacturing, we can turn imagination into a feasible reality and are given the necessary and proper tools to execute well. These tools include training for Mills and Lathes, waterjet and 3D Printer use for prototyping, and the room and software to make the magic happen. But it does not stop there, the ME faculty and staff dissect the world into concepts like Thermodynamics, Fluid Mechanics, and Statics to help us understand how the world works and predict how our creations interact with it, which is essentially predicting the future. Mechanical Engineering pushes its students to new heights past former limitations so that the things we create in the future do not surpass their limitations too. 

Car geek or not, Mechanical Engineering has provided me with a breadth of knowledge to apply into any industry I desire. It just so happens that my dream is to work at an automotive company creating cars. Thanks to ME, I’ll be doing just that this Summer as I start my engineering career with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

At the end of my freshman year, I was trying to decide between Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering as my major. I ended up choosing MechE, because I want to be an Imagineer and Disney doesn’t have much need for Aerospace majors. However, I now regret my reason for choosing MechE. I should have chosen MechE for the vast opportunities the program provides, from building RMPs to collect blocks to running around my dorm room balancing a stick on my hand in the name of science. I should have chosen MechE for the engaged and dynamic professors, who take the time to go over a difficult exam time step by step during office visits and even cook the entire MechE department pancakes. I should have chosen MechE for the welcoming atmosphere and involved students. I thought I had one reason for choosing MechE, but in reality, I had many. I’m proud to be a MechE major and encourage engineering freshmen to come join our department; you won’t regret it!

I remember an Alternative Spring Break (ASB-C) group from the University of Michigan came to my Chemistry class my sophomore year in high school. I knew I wanted to do something with STEM but I had no idea about Michigan Engineering. The ASB activity in class got me curious to look into Michigan more, especially their engineering program. Later on, I went on a trip with some high school students for Tech Day, and I was fascinated by the types of engineering and I loved the atmosphere at the event, including how amazing and helpful the faculty and professors were. From there, I was inspired to apply to Mechanical Engineering in Michigan.

I participated in a transition program over the summer called M-STEM where I was able to meet the most incredible people I get to call friends today. This program was just one of the many opportunities that Michigan offered and I wanted to make the most of everything. Furthermore, I was able to join the Alternative Spring Break in Chicago team where I went back to my old high school and presented the same projects I was exposed to, so that I could inspire someone to look into Michigan, engineering, or college in general just as the ASB-C program inspired me back then.

I personally feel like ME and Michigan Engineering overall has plenty of opportunities and resources for its students to take advantage of. So far, I was able to study abroad in Hong Kong, receive an internship offer abroad, and accept a co-op offer for the fall. As a first-generation college student, I feel like I would never have gotten these opportunities without the help of the ME department.The future looks exciting and I cannot wait to see what other opportunities I am able to get before I graduate. I know that whatever I do, my M-STEM community and my ME curriculum are shaping me to be the best and most well-rounded person I can be before I graduate from the University of Michigan.

ME has given me access to team projects, industry experience, and endless professional networking opportunities. As a third-year student, I’ve participated with Formula SAE, a project team not only supported by the Mechanical Engineering department but heavily dependent on faculty relationships to succeed in applying mechanical theories to building a race car every year. Deciding to pursue a degree in ME has led me to earn 2 engineering internships with General Motors, scholarships, and overall helped me become a well-rounded engineer. A dream of mine has always been to work on the Corvette Engineering team, and the ME department has helped me take a step in the right direction to achieve that.

Upon arrival to the ME department at the University of Michigan, I was nervous about the fact that my undergraduate degree was in environmental resources engineering, not mechanical engineering. I quickly realized that my research lab mates spanned 5 different engineering disciplines. The thread that held us together was the study of dynamic systems and controls. It was in the ME department where I realized what “interdisciplinary research” really meant. Not only did I learn how to conduct research, as all PhD students do, but my experiences in the ME department taught me how to do translational research with broad impacts to humanity. I gained the confidence to think big and be bold in my work and action.

Throughout graduate school, I worked in the Walter E. Lay Automotive laboratory developing fuel cell diagnostic and control strategies. At the start, I was ashamed to admit that I was not particularly invested in automotive technologies. I saw my work in automotive applications as a means to an end, a systemic shift to renewable energy conversion devices to reduce climate impact. The exposure I had to advanced engine technologies won me over, and I have come to deeply appreciate the complexities of vehicle operation. I currently work on miniature fuel cell engines for lightweight autonomous systems, an area I never would have considered if it were not for the ME department.

I have the great fortune to now send my undergraduate engineering students to UM for REUs and graduate school. It is with great pride that I pass them along to fabulous mentors, colleagues, and students! I could not have asked for a better foundation to launch from.

Denise is currently an Associate Professor of Engineering at Smith College.

I have wanted to attend Michigan since the 4th grade. I always knew that I wanted to study engineering but had no clue what type. My freshmen year I took the class Engineering 110. The class overviewed all possible engineering majors and during the ME presentation, I realized that ME was the place for me. Focusing on all the aspects of design and manufacturing has been a great experience for me and all of the X50 classes have been the highlights of my ME career. I encourage any incoming engineering freshman who is undecided on their major to consider ME.

After twenty-six years I recently retired from the University of Michigan. I was able to spend time in Student Affairs, Administrative Services and Academic Affairs, before spending the last twelve years in the academic area, Mechanical Engineering. A major influence and mentor in my early career was working in ME at the time; I jumped at the opportunity to work with her again on the financial team within the department. I had no idea how many long-lasting relationships I would make. Yet the talent and the dedication within the department is what awed me the most. I’m always excited to see and read about the research ME’s faculty are doing, and the students’ ideas and projects are beyond amazing. There’s something bigger and better each year. In support for the faculty and students, I’ve been able to be a part of a team that always wants to go the next step and help push the vision and current strategy of the department. All of the different staff areas ME personnel are assigned to have consistently found a way to work together to deliver our service. Of that I’m proud! I hope every staff that works at UM has to opportunity to be part of an incredible team and strong department like Mechanical Engineering. I can’t wait to read about what ME is doing next. Go Blue!

I started working for the university in 1989 and it has been a wonderful experience. I spent my first 10 years on central campus working for the department of Biology. The next ten years I spent working in the medical school. Throughout the twenty years I worked on developing prototype devices used in research and patient treatment. I felt so humbled to work with so many outstanding people throughout the university.

In 2009 an opportunity came available to work in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. I actually had longed to be on the engineering campus for years. I accepted the offer to work directly with students who are undoubtedly the best the world has to offer. When I first arrived to mechanical engineering, my role was to provide support as a mechatronics systems engineer for the undergraduate design and manufacturing program. Most recently, I have been given the opportunity to lead a highly talented and dedicated group of engineering technicians within the department.   

It is hard to believe nine years have passed so quickly. During the years, I have met and interacted with so many outstanding individuals who have left an impact on my life. I feel fortunate to have an opportunity to exchange knowledge and play a small part in developing a better engineer. Working directly with young engineers has been a gratifying and humbling experience. I am appreciative to the Department of Mechanical Engineering for their continued support throughout the years.

My Master’s degree is in Higher Education and Student Affairs.  As I began looking for jobs, I gravitated toward those in academic advising despite applying for numerous jobs from events to housing.  I started at U-M in 2015 and joined the ME Department as the Graduate Coordinator in Fall 2016.  Though not an engineer myself, I have always had an appreciation for those in STEM fields.  Engineers are among those who are going to change the world for the better and I admire the effort that it takes to do so.  

When I got the position here, it was a no-brainer.  Graduate students are the absolute best (though I might be a bit biased since my fiance is currently finishing his PhD next door in Civil).  From Master’s students to PhDs, they are all driven to pursue their passion.  They choose to be here and they work hard.  Being a small part of these students’ careers and successes means the world to me.

In addition to working with the students, working with my fellow staff in the ME Department has been nothing but a joy.  We get a lot of work done, but we also have fun doing it.  I am so glad I get to spend 40 hours a week with the faculty, staff, and students who make it all worthwhile.

When I first arrived at the university, I was originally an undeclared freshman in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts. I had applied to colleges across the country, but ended up at the University of Michigan because of the amazing programs and departments all across campus. During the Fall semester of my sophomore year, I had finally decided that I wanted to transfer to the College of Engineering and into the Mechanical Engineering department here at UofM. I really enjoy understanding how things work and wanted to make a difference in the world while doing work in sustainability or in the biomedical field. I expected that it would be pretty difficult and that I would have to put in a lot of work to succeed, but I did not expect to make so many friends, have so many design and hands-on project experiences, and be granted so many amazing real-world work opportunities.

In the classroom, I’ve really enjoyed the design and manufacturing courses offered in the curriculum, and I have also found that these classes have been the most educational for me. Although the courses are very intensive, they give you a hands-on experience in a group setting. They bring you through the design, prototype, manufacturing, and test phases of creating and developing an end product. Not only have the courses developed my technical skills, but they also force you to develop your interpersonal skills. For my senior design project, we are in the process of creating a mechanism to attach to the wheelchair of a child who suffers from cerebral palsy to allow him to play soccer with his friends. All the design projects presented in these courses are very educational and personally fulfilling, which is something I truly enjoy and are experiences I will never forget. 

Outside of class, I am the president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers chapter at the University of Michigan. I really enjoy this role as it gives me the opportunity to network, mentor younger students, get more involved with the department, and have fun with my friends. I have also been very fortunate to have gained real work experience through summer internships. I had the amazing opportunities to work at NASA Glenn Research Center and Daimler at Detroit Diesel. I am currently looking forward to road tripping to Reno, Nevada in May where I will be working for Tesla at the Gigafactory 1 on the production engineering team. Overall, I have loved the time I’ve had with Michigan Engineering and I am very thankful for the experiences I have had, the things I have learned, and the opportunities that this education has presented and will present to me in the future. Go Blue!

Ever since I was little, I’ve loved the concept of design. My younger brother often had to cooperate with me playing with his Legos and other building-oriented toys. During middle school, I took a design technology course that exposed me to engineering for the first time. I attended two events held by the Society of Women Engineers here at the University of Michigan and realized that Mechanical Engineering was the field that best encompassed my passions. I’ve always wanted to be a Wolverine, and the Mechanical Engineering department here is one of the best in the world. I set my mind on becoming the first Mechanical Engineer in my family. 

My Mechanical Engineering courses have allowed me to enhance my intuition for design with skills including critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration. The group-focused classes have provided a real-world experience within my collegiate curriculum. I am also a member of Supermileage, an engineering design team that strives to build the most efficient vehicle possible. As the sole female technical lead, I especially focus on creating an environment that fosters collaboration and innovation for all our members. This design team has allowed me to take skills and topics I’ve learned in the classroom and utilize them on an exciting project with fellow Michigan engineers. 

Following graduation in April 2018, I will be joining Robert Bosch LLC as a Mechanical Engineering Professional Development Trainee. This two-year rotational program will allow me to apply the skills I’ve learned here in the University of Michigan Department of Mechanical Engineering to business units across the globe. 

Ever since I was young, I have always tinkered – duct tape was a commodity always in demand, and I constantly took things to apart to understand how they functioned. Throughout high school, I was involved with robotics as well, so naturally, it was never a question of whether I would go into engineering, but rather, which discipline. For me, mechanical engineering was the obvious choice.

What drew me to UM ME was its emphasis on extracurricular learning, namely through student-run project teams. In my tours of campus I was always in awe that a space like the Wilson Center existed. Upon matriculating to Michigan, I quickly joined the Solar Car Team, where I quickly took up the reins in a mechanical engineering capacity for the team, designing suspensions, steering mechanisms, and more. I have been hooked ever since, being fortunate enough to be able to drive Aurum (our car constructed in 2015) in the 2016 American Solar Challenge and to serve as the interim engineering director in Fall 2017. Along the way, I was pushed beyond what I thought I was capable of, learned industry-specific skill sets, and forged long-lasting friendships.

In combination with my work with the Solar Car team, the knowledge base I have acquired through ME coursework such as ME 250 and 350 has prepared me well for my product design co-ops and internships at SpaceX, Tesla, and Apple. Though I don’t quite know where I will end up a little more than a year from now upon graduating in April 2019, I’ll know that UM’s mechanical engineering program helped get me there wherever I go.

Both my parents and some of my family went to the University of Michigan, but they managed to be non-partisan during my college decision-making process.  What I thought set Michigan apart was the well-rounded education it offered, from excellent academics to student project teams and of course football games in The Big House.

As most engineers I loved Legos as a kid, and also helped start my high school robotics team, deciding early on that I wanted to be a Mechanical Engineer.  After arriving at Michigan, I became involved with the Hybrid Racing team and the Entrepreneurs Leadership Program, becoming passionate about both electric vehicles and startups. In my classwork, I became interested in electromechanical systems and expanded my undergraduate curriculum to include a minor in electrical engineering.  After taking ME 360, I developed an interest in controls and will hopefully continue to pursue the subject through my undergraduate and potentially graduate degrees. These experiences and the relationships that were built opened up more doors for me and have given me the incredible opportunity to intern at the most awesome electric vehicle startup in the world: Tesla.  Mechanical Engineering at Michigan has enabled me to do things I once only dreamed about, and I am very grateful for that.  My focus for the next year is to make the most out of my fleeting time at the University.

The picture is from the one time I got to drive the car I helped build, I’m not actually a talented race car driver (yet)!

Little did I think when I moved from Wisconsin to Michigan in 1978 that I would pursue a PhD.  I had just completed a BS in Engineering Mechanics from the University of Wisconsin, and was excited to dive into being an engineer at Chrysler, in combination with masters work at University of Michigan’s Dearborn campus. 

While I enjoyed engineering challenges at Chrysler (and subsequently a consulting firm), I often wanted to explore the solutions we came up with in greater depth. After completing my masters I had also started teaching at night at Lawrence Institute of Technology, and was totally jazzed by the challenges of helping others understand and own knowledge.  I was starting to realize that doing engineering research might be a good fit for me, and that I really liked teaching. 

So off to get a PhD I went. I was fortunate that there was a world-class university in my backyard—University of Michigan (UM) in Ann Arbor.  It was an excellent match.  The coursework had just the right balance of theory and application for my interests.  The faculty were superb mentors, teachers and role models, from Professor Al Wineman and Professor Panos Papalambros, to my inspiring PhD advisors Professor Jim Barber and Professor Maria Comninou. And the research was intellectually interesting and well supported.  Yes, University of Michigan was a good fit for me, and that education has served as a solid foundation for my academic career of 32 years as a faculty member in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University.

I continue to follow happenings in Ann Arbor.  For example, innovative educational practices at UM were highlighted in a study I lead for the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (“Educating Engineers: Designing for the Future of the Field”). More recently, as part of the NSF Project EPICENTER, I collaborated with UM on programming for engineering students to learn about entrepreneurship.  And I am impressed with UM hiring several tenure-line faculty whose research focus is on engineering education; this is advanced thinking.

I am proud to say my PhD was earned at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor! Go Blue! And Happy 150^th Birthday!

Sheri is the Richard Weiland Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University.

Applying for colleges, I knew I had a love of math and art. To pursue both, the University of Michigan was the only university in the running, and I applied to both the College of Engineering and School of Art & Design. Whenever I tell someone about my dual degree, they are surprised, thinking that nothing could be more opposite, but it is at the intersection of art, design and engineering where my passion lies. 

It was the hands-on aspect of Mechanical Engineering that drew me in. Courses like 250 and 350 helped me develop my designing and teamworking skills. Courses like Artist and Designer as Citizen, Discursive Design, and Sci Fi Prototype inspired me to think about my own motivations for designing, the ethics involved in the products I create, and the way users will interact with the product. In ME 455, also known as Analytical Product Design, I designed a device to aid hard of hearing and deaf students in the classroom using mechanical engineering, design science, and design skills. What I’ve learned in my mechanical engineering courses has altered my way of thinking in art and design; statics, circuits, heat transfer, and many others influence my art and design practice in ways I wouldn’t have imagined. Through Mechanical Engineering, I am able to understand my work at a different lens adding another layer of function and problem-solving.

After graduating in April 2017, I accepted a position as a User Experience FCG with Ford Motor Company.

As a young kid from Detroit, MI, I was exposed to mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan through summer experiences in DAPCEP (Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program). Over several years I was exposed to the greatness of U of M and I knew it was where I wanted to pursue my engineering degree. As I matriculated throughout the school, I found two key things that made my experiences in mechanical engineering so amazing: the rigorous curriculum and mentorship. 

The curriculum taught me skills that have been beneficial to my career even to this day. Strong analytics, root cause analysis, structured problem solving, and systems integration are just a few competencies that helped me to accomplish things like launching new model products at Ford Motor Company or optimizing operations at Tech startups.

Ultimately, I wouldn’t have progressed through my undergraduate years at U of M without the help from many students and staff. For example, during my freshman year I had a senior mentor, Jason Forton (BSE ’00), who gave me the “blueprint” to navigating engineering life and the intricacies of mechanical engineering. Additionally, Dr. Noel Perkins provided me with guidance and personalized leadership which helped me to grow and gain a passion for engineering.

Today my leadership and experience are rooted in how the ME department pushed my intellectual limits and drove me to approach areas of my career with the same precision and rigor I developed at U of M. Therefore, I am thankful for the academic accomplishments and personal growth that U of M afforded me.

Michael is currently an eCommerce Operations Manager for Newell Brands.

I graduated from Michigan nearly ten years ago. Despite having never worked professionally as an engineer, I use my engineering skills every day.

As a patent attorney, I help secure patents for my clients’ inventions. I also litigate patent disputes in courts around the country. My job requires me to use a combination of legal and technical skills. A good patent attorney must be capable of communicating persuasively to different audiences—from a specialist patent examiner to a judge or juror with no technical background. 

I originally chose to major in engineering because of my aptitude for math—I did not love writing! During my time at Michigan, however, I realized I had a knack for presenting highly technical concepts in a way that could be easily understood. My senior year, I took ME 450 with Steve Skerlos. Professor Skerlos pushed my class to analyze a set of data, make a conclusion, and present that conclusion confidently. This is not unlike the practice of law. As a patent attorney, I analyze a set of facts, take a position, and work to convince a judge or patent examiner to take my client’s side.

Needless to say, the technical and analytical skills I acquired at Michigan served as a great kickstart to my career in patent law.

Tim is currently a Patent Attorney and Partner at Carlson, Gaskey & Olds, P.C.

After growing up in Ann Arbor, I spent many years away for school and to perform volunteer service in Taiwan. When I came back to attend graduate school at Michigan in the Mechanical Engineering Department I gained a new perspective about my hometown and “home university”.

I found that expectations were high but the support was just as high within the ME department. I recall speaking to a professor about a particularly difficult mathematical problem for a project. I’ll never forget his response when I expressed doubt about whether the problem was tractable. He said, “This is Michigan!” and pointed me toward the symbolic math software packages that were just coming into vogue.

After I accepted a full-time position at BalaDyne, a local industrial technology start-up, and switched to part-time student status, Professor Jun Ni graciously brought me into affiliation with the S.M. Wu Manufacturing Research Center, which he led. Professor Ni embodied the type of encouragement and support provided by the faculty and staff in the ME department when he suggested that I pursue a grant for my research through the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Advanced Technology Program (ATP). To my great, and pleasant, surprise, our proposal won a grant for $2 million, which funded BalaDyne’s development of advanced vibration control technology, my own Ph.D. research, and that of several other students. Thus began my long and enjoyable collaboration with Professor Ni and his team.

While conducting research and development at BalaDyne I began getting involved in more of the company’s strategic deliberations and felt that I needed to know more about business. After finishing my MBA at Michigan’s Ross Business School, I embarked on a new career chapter in management consulting, eventually serving as a Partner at A.T. Kearney and then at Bain & Company, before recently coming back to “industry” as Asia Pacific Vice President for Business Strategy at Ford Motor Company.

After many years in consulting and business leadership positions, which don’t necessarily require deep engineering expertise, people sometimes ask me, “Do you regret the time you invested to get a Ph.D.?” My consistent answer is, “Not one bit.” My time at Michigan with the world-class faculty and classmates of the ME program trained me in the problem-solving skills I still use every day – how to identify the key fundamental questions and break the larger issues down into smaller ones that can be attacked systematically through a deep understanding of the underlying “physics”. I wouldn’t trade my experience at Michigan for the world.

Choosing to attend Michigan’s Mechanical Engineering program was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I entered the program as a freshman who was infatuated with cars, and exited an engineer ready to achieve my dreams since I was 13 – help design sports cars. My work in the automotive field actually started while I was still a student. Our ME450 Senior Design team worked with Professor Diann Brei and a sponsor from General Motors to research how Shape Memory Alloys could fit in the automotive world. This project prepared me for my career in so many ways. Today I lead a team of engineers who designs automotive components and the pattern fits exactly what I did in ME450 – designing to customer requirements, hosting regular meetings, working with a cross-functional team – I still use these skills that I developed as a student.

I’m a third generation Wolverine, the child of two Michigan Alumni, and someone who married a fellow Michigan Alum on campus. I owe so much to Michigan’s Mechanical Engineering Department. As a 13-year-old, I wanted to design sports cars. As a 30-year-old, I design parts for everything from sports cars to heavy-duty trucks to aircraft. And that project I worked on in ME450? Shape Memory Alloys made their automotive debut in the 2014 Corvette. Go Blue!

Ben is currently employed as a Product Engineering Supervisor at BorgWarner Automotive.

It was always my dream to attend the University of Michigan but I never could have imagined the profound impact that it would have on my life. I began my studies as a student interested in learning about the engineering field and left as a problem solver who is more curious than ever. The Mechanical Engineering Department and College of Engineering as a whole became my learning lab with new ideas and theories bouncing around every day. I loved walking through GG Brown and seeing all the student and professor projects come to life from ideas to prototypes. I found my passion in product design and was given more opportunities than I could have ever imagined to better my skills.

What I think is most unique about this community of professors and students is that they didn’t just encourage me to pursue my passions but also pushed me to expand my horizons. While at Michigan, I was fortunate enough to compete on the swim team. While most outsiders discouraged me from trying to do both engineering and swimming, the ME department and CoE said I should go for more. I was pushed to new heights and the Michigan Difference was obvious. At the end of four years, I not only had more than a degree worth of knowledge that I was excited to use, but I also learned the values of teamwork and leadership with the swim team winning four Big Ten Championships and the NCAA Championship. The Engineering Global Leadership Honors Program supplemented my curriculum with business and global perspectives, and my master’s program gave me the time to dive a bit deeper into design as well as teach my favorite class (ME250) and inspire future design engineers.

But Michigan kept pushing me. I was still curious to learn more so I applied for the Rhodes Scholarship and was honored to receive it and study for two years at Oxford University in the UK. This experience wouldn’t have been possible without the opportunities, experiences, and support I received from the University of Michigan. I was able to explore new topics in environmental science and business while focussing on energy and technology applications from a social perspective. This experience supplements my engineering background and I am loving applying these skills in my current job as a product design engineer at Google.

Michigan has taught me that if no one doubts your goals, they aren’t set high enough. Luckily, in Ann Arbor, you have to set your goals pretty high to follow this and that is what makes us the Leaders and Best.

The first step to success in your future career is to join an institution you will be proud of forever. As a student who liked to continue his graduate study, I searched for the best mechanical engineering department in the world, one that had the most to offer. I found the Mechanical Engineering Department at The University of Michigan to be the best candidate as it’s known for its distinguished faculty, excellent world-class facilities and strong scientific programs.

After graduating, I became a faculty member at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at King Saud University, Saudi Arabia and over the years I’ve taught a variety of different courses, served on multiple committees and as chairman of the department for the past four years. I am currently a full professor at the Mechanical Engineering Department as well as a part-time consultant for Saudi Standards Metrology and Quality Organization.

Whether it is in the past, present day or in the future, I am proud to be a graduate of the Mechanical Engineering Department at The University of Michigan.

While I was at U of M, I became a Cooperative Education (Co-op) Student at NASA. For my last years at Michigan, I alternated semesters between school and working at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The space discipline in which I worked was Extravehicular Actives (spacewalking) operations. I was involved in the planning of missions, training of astronauts in zero-g aircraft or underwater in the water tank, and supporting missions in Mission Control. On Space Shuttle Mission STS-37, during the spacewalks astronauts tested future concepts of translation trollies that could be used for assembly and maintenance of the space station. The technical name of the trollies are Crew and Equipment Translation Aids (CETA) Carts. In preparation for this mission, I remember relying on excellent instruction from Michigan Mechanical Engineering Professor Barber in mechanics of materials and from Professor Scott in loads and fasteners in order to work out devices and mechanisms the crew would actuate for successful evaluation of the space trollies. The mission was a success and CETA Carts are used on all of the International Space Station spacewalks today for successful maintenance of the station.

Mike is currently the Associate Director of Engineering at NASA/Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

In 1676, Sir Isaac Newton penned a letter to Robert Hooke, writing, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on [the] shoulders of giants.” Newton humbly reminds us to think about the contributions of others to our own success, and to not forget the cumulative nature of knowledge.

Today, I lead a team of engineers in developing hybrid vehicle components for Ford Motor Company. My career began at Ford, took me to Toyota and Infineon, and I am now back where I began. Coming full circle like this brings my thoughts to where I began my mechanical engineering studies, at the University of Michigan.

As the Mechanical Engineering Department celebrates 150 years, I reflect on these experiences as a student and am left with a feeling of gratitude. My professors, especially David Dowling, my Ph.D. advisor, not only taught me the foundation upon which I built my knowledge, they truly invested in my learning. If I struggled with a concept, they were available to guide me. If I succeeded, they celebrated with me. They contributed to my growth by regularly challenging my intellectual ability and teaching me how to learn fearlessly.

I joined the mechanical engineering family at The University of Michigan as Deanna Winton and left it as Deanna Hoffman having transformed in profound ways that have shaped my very being. I selected this university because it provided me the opportunity to sample two different career passions: music and engineering. I brought a love of oboe performance, physics, and calculus with me. Walking the halls, classrooms, libraries, and practice rooms underscored my comfort in digging into all things technical and realization that I can enjoy music performance with a little less digging. A career in mechanical engineering ultimately prevailed, and I leaned headlong into my engineering studies. The best engineering education, of course, has many facets, and one I needed to solidify quickly was hands-on experience. Strengthening that facet required getting out of my comfort zone and stepping into designing and building with confidence. I devoted many long hours into the 1993 solar car team and drove Maize & Blue across the finish line in both the U.S. and Australian races. The technical and personal lessons I learned with my teammates founded the engineering feats I have achieved since.

Ultimately, my passion for music, and more specifically sound and vibration, thrived in my studies. The pleasure of learning these subjects, although hard earned, were forged in the fire of Dr. David Dowling’s formidable acoustics class. I managed with what I thought to be an average performance but was thoroughly content with my earned knowledge. However, when Dr. Dowling offered a research assistant position, my first instinct was to look over my shoulder to see if he was speaking to another student. I was delighted to learn that he was indeed offering me the position and spent a fortunate four and a half years researching engine vibration under his watchful and compassionate eye. After securing both an MSME and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering during those four and a half years, I was well poised to join the ranks of engineering research and development at Ford Motor Company where I continue to contribute to the evolution of product development. I help shape and am proud of the noise and vibration our customers experience.

Reflecting back on these early years of my life highlights the genuine influence of The University of Michigan on the marvelous journey I continue to travel, pushing Ford Motor Company with me every step of the way.
 

The Mechanical Engineering department is one of the more unique departments at the University of Michigan, where students and faculty work in extremely broad disciplines – anywhere from injury prevention in biomechanics to thermal efficiency and emissions in combustion to systems optimization and operation in controls and many more. The interfacing between researchers in various groups brought a systems level approach to individual efforts where each group contributed their strengths but the entire collaboration learned as a whole. This is best exemplified by the Internet Distributed Hardware in the Loop experiments that connected over the internet a driver in a six-axis ride motion simulator located 50 miles away to a real internal combustion engine consuming fuel and producing emissions in the Michigan Auto Lab – that was the first time somebody actually “drove” that engine! This project utilized the efforts from the controls, optimization, biomechanics, dynamics, computation, combustion, and emissions groups in order to reduce vehicle fuel consumption and emissions while preserving human health.

The comradery between researchers in various groups and my desire to expand education beyond the laboratory defined my experience at Michigan, and motivated me and a couple of other Mechanical Engineers to found the Michigan Energy Club – where we discussed topics ranging from electricity markets to nuclear power. The research, education, and freedom offered in the ME department instilled confidence in my ability to understand technologies outside of my research area and ultimately led me to an interdisciplinary and multifunctional career path in energy. I went on to be a Fellow at the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) at the U.S. Department of Energy, where I worked on high risk, high reward energy technologies, and am now currently Director of Application Engineering at an advanced energy technology startup company, Achates Power.

The faculty, staff and resources in the mechanical engineering (ME) department enabled me to find my voice and pursue my passion. In my junior year, I applied to participate in a new multidisciplinary design program that would focus my senior ME capstone on maternal and infant health challenges in Africa. I was lucky enough to be chosen by Prof Sienko to join the first cohort of students in Ghana and during that summer, we interviewed and observed medical staff and patients at a large hospital seeing challenges from lack of equipment to witnessing a hemorrhaging patient with no transfusions available. The projects we chose included a labor and delivery bed, an infant respiration monitor and a manual autotransfusion (recycling one’s own blood) device.

Through the program within the ME dept., our cohort designed medical devices to meet these needs while also being encouraged to explore the commercial viability of these products. By the end of the program, a group of us decided to launch a startup company to further develop these devices with the help of UM connections and resources. This included a startup grant through the ME dept that funded our early stage prototypes, testing and travel for user feedback. The company has evolved over the years to become Sisu Global Health. Our first product Hemafuse, the manual autotransfusion device, has been successfully trialed in Ethiopia, has regulatory clearances in Ghana and Kenya, and is set to launch on the market in 2018. With the professors and staff in the ME dept., I was propelled forward to develop these much-needed medical devices and co-found a medical device company for emerging markets.

I joined the ME department when I was 21 years old. G.G. Brown when I first saw it was a massive and confusing collection of fancy classrooms and research labs. Little did I know that this building would become another home for me over the next 10 years. It became a home for me to experience the American culture. I still remember Professor Ellen Arruda, in her ME382 exam, asked a bonus question on how the Red Socks can win the next game. Being a new international student that time, I could only scratch my head and wonder: what is Red Socks? G.G. Brown became a home for me to mature into a seasoned engineer and researcher. When my PhD research get stuck and refuse to progress, I always have a group of world-class professors and lab mates to rely on.

I left the ME department when I was 33 years old, and became a young professor at Clemson University. I feel proud every time when I give my students the homework assignments and exam questions from my own class notes from Michigan… even though they keep complaining about how difficult they are.

I was raised in a family of University of Michigan graduates. When I enrolled in the Mechanical Engineering department in the fall of 2012, I joined my sister as a 5th generation Wolverine and the 4th consecutive generation in the College of Engineering. I grew up with the full appreciation of the significant challenges that I would face as a Michigan student and that it would be through these challenges, both those in which I succeeded or failed, that would prepare me for life.

In addition to the academic challenges, Coach Brady Hoke offered me a position on the Michigan’s football team….a top 20 program. It was definitely a challenge being a student athlete at a top academic university and playing on a top 20 football program. As extremely difficult as this was for 5 years, there was no place else I’d rather have been

In both the classroom and football field, I was blessed to be taught by some of the top educators in the world and surrounded by the top students – both pushing me to realize and develop my potential and to ready me for life after college.

The University of Michigan Mechanical Engineering Department allowed me to combine my passions for engineering and athletics by contributing to research on a football helmet design for concussion prevention. Working as a Research Assistant under Professors Ellen Arruda and Michael Thouless, I fabricated mechanical testing equipment capable of applying an array of impact accelerations for various helmet design configurations, and tested impact absorbing properties of different helmet foams affording me the unique opportunity to give back to the game that has been a huge part of my life and make the sport safer. I have seen the harmful effects of concussions through the experiences of my friends and teammates and hopefully this research will help future generations of players.

After graduating in May 2017, I accepted an engineering position at Rivian Automotive, an electric vehicle startup company in Livonia, MI. The prestigious education that I received at Michigan went far beyond the classroom or football field – it was an education in how to solve engineering and life problems under the most challenging environment.

Go Blue!

My time as a Mechanical Engineering student at UM has helped me discover my professional interests and passions and driven me to a better understanding of myself. When I first came to UM, fresh out of my bachelor’s degree, I was full of energy and excited to start my graduate career, but I really didn’t have a lot of direction. I knew I really enjoyed math and human mechanics, and I wanted to combine these interests to help people, but I still wasn’t sure how. When I arrived at Michigan, I seized an opportunity to work with Professor Eric Johnsen, studying the fluid mechanics that described how bubbles could lead to unwanted biological effects during certain medical ultrasound procedures. The idea was that a better understanding of the physics could lead to useful surgeries and evidenced-based regulations. Moreover, the project united my interests perfectly and was both personally motivating and technically challenging. But as research goes, the months passed and buried in day-to-day technical issues, I lost sight of the purpose of my the work and my motivation dwindled.

In the hopes of making a difference I could see, I joined the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Council (MEGC), which at that point was just starting. Through MEGC I began creating and organizing STEM outreach events for ME graduate students to work with local schools and students. As part of these events, myself and others volunteers would talk about what we do and why it was so exciting. In organizing these events, I felt like I was making a positive difference in my community. And in sharing the story of my work, I met lots of intrigued and inspired young students who helped me remember why I was doing the work in the first place — because better medical ultrasound really has the potential to make a difference in peoples lives. This passion for work and outreach has continued and soon I will start a postdoctoral position at the University of Michigan Medical School, where I intend to continue my ultrasound research and outreach.

The ME department gave me the opportunities to do impactful and meaningful work both in my technical field and in my local community and ultimately I learned that I am a happier more productive person only balancing the two.

The Mechanical Engineering Department has played an incredible role in shaping my passion and career as an engineer. Of the countless impactful experiences in my 5 years at Michigan, the most formative was my mechanical engineering senior capstone design project. As I headed into my senior year, I joined a group of 3 other students on a mission to build a giant, fully functional, human-solvable Rubik’s cube art piece to be installed on North Campus. The project drew inspiration from the Endover Cube on Central Campus, while adding an engineering twist.

This huge undertaking, spanning 6 semesters, served as an invaluable vessel for spurring my mechanical design interests, sharpening my engineering fundamentals, and perhaps most importantly, building long lasting relationships. One of the most humbling aspects of the project was the incredible resources that the department has available to help students realize their ambitions. From tireless mentorship from Professor Perkins and hundreds of hours spent in the machine shop with Kent Pruss, to generous funding from Dean Munson and the valuable guidance from numerous other faculty, for every road block we hit, the department helped find resources to overcome it.

The Rubik’s cube now lives on as a mechanical art piece housed in GG Brown. I hope it inspires upcoming Michigan engineers to dream big and utilize all the resources the department has to offer. My Michigan experience instilled in me a passion for engineering design and opened the door to my employment as a product design engineer at Apple. For that I am grateful, and I will proudly represent the University of Michigan wherever my career path takes me. Go Blue!

When I first came on campus, spirit full of optimism, I expected great things from the University of Michigan. By my first week as a Michigan engineering student, I had heard about the time-consuming, challenging, and stressful senior design project, and I was intimidated to say the least. Fast forward three years, and I was standing in the brand new BorgWarner Galleria, scanning through the list of projects, one of which would soon consume my life for the semester. One project title immediately grabbed my attention. It read, “Giant Rubik’s Cube.” Several months earlier, two of my classmates had imagined this engineering twist on the Cube by the Union on central campus—a giant, human solvable, fully functional Rubik’s cube sculpture for north campus. That day in G. G. Brown, I decided to join the project to create the giant Rubik’s cube. None of us had any clue how challenging this project would be.

Senior design was over after one semester, but the Rubik’s cube project was not finished yet, so the four of us continued our work, overhauling the design twice over the next year and a half. We faced long hours of computer modeling, manufacturing components, and assembling cubelets (our word for the 26 small cubes that comprise a Rubik’s cube), and at times we weren’t sure our mechanical art piece would ever become reality. Those moments of doubt might have halted our project permanently without the support of the department, the Dean, and our encouraging and incredible mentor, Professor Noel Perkins, who never stopped believing in us. We were lucky to have him, as we were lucky in so many other ways. Chance brought the four of us together when we selected our senior design group, but hard work and outstanding mentorship transformed us into a great team that could accomplish what I had thought might not be possible. My teammates are all talented, bright, and innovative, and together we were greater than the sum of our parts. We had everything: a safe and inspiring space to share and create, an ongoing stream-of-consciousness line of communication, and humor to keep us sane when our endless hours of work threatened to drain our motivation.

One year after the four of us had graduated and three more students had joined the team, we unveiled the finally finished giant Rubik’s cube, a permanent fixture in the mechanical engineering building. Showing our project to the world was surreal, as we remembered how far we had come since we started. We solved the cube for the first time, then watched as the Dean, fellow students, and some of our favorite professors scrambled it again. As we had hoped from the beginning, this Rubik’s cube brought people together, its scale requiring cooperation as opposed to the original puzzle, which is usually meant for one person to solve alone. Our cube is meant to inspire teamwork, to show that some problems are better solved together. For me, the giant Rubik’s cube represents great teamwork and indispensable leadership, the paragon to which I will compare all future teams. I am forever grateful that I had the opportunity to participate in this project, with these incredible people.

I loved my time in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan, everything from playing on ME-student softball teams in the summer to meeting with friends for coffee-fueled late nights of homework at Mujo’s in Duderstadt. However, with regard to shaping my future career, the single biggest influence was undoubtedly the mentorship I received from my PhD advisor, Dr. Kon-Well Wang. So much of what I do now as a junior faculty member is based on what I learned from Dr. Wang. This includes everything from always making time for weekly one-on- one meetings with my graduate students to even little nuances in how I deliver lectures. The value of good mentorship cannot be understated. I have a lot of personal friends who pursued doctorates in science and engineering at other institutions and had much worse experiences largely due to neglect from their advisors. Fortunately, I never had to experience a lack of direction. I could always count on Dr. Wang to patiently guide and teach me. I’m very grateful to have had my graduate experience at an institution that values and cultivates such a developmentally-salubrious environment, an institution like the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan.

Tyler is currently an Assistant Professor of Aeronautics & Astronautics at Purdue University.

When I look back at how my graduate years at Michigan shaped the person I am today, two things stand out. I discovered a new way of approaching problems where math and theory are only tools to an end, and I remember a great sense of academic freedom. Even today, whenever I come to a block in the road, I still recall one of the favorite questions of my thesis advisor, Professor Perkins: “What do *you* want to try?” As for my most memorable experience, it has to be finding the drag coefficient of flyfishing flies for my numerical code. Instead of giving me the drag coefficient value, Professor Perkins simply handed me a box of flyfishing flies. So, I went to the EECS building with a friend and a stopwatch on a late Sunday night and dropped the flies from the top of the atrium to measure the data I needed. Not the data in the table I was expecting… From Michigan, I took with me many more data acquisition stories all involving flyfishing, memories of endless bike rides and the beauty of nature, the smell of apple cider in the fall, and a hand-y map of Michigan.

I’m grateful in many ways for my experience in Michigan’s Mechanical Engineering Department, but two opportunities stand out amongst the rest for me. Firstly, I found incredible mentorship, specifically through Professor Allen Liu. In working in Professor Liu’s lab, I had the opportunity to explore fields that I’d never before had the chance to even experience, learn about subjects that had for long piqued my interest, and work on challenges that I’d always imagined shaping the course of my career. My experience as an undergraduate research assistant opened my eyes to the impact that a great team of incredible minds could have on the world, and I instantly knew what a fantastic opportunity I had before me in joining such a team. A few short years later, I had earned a summer fellowship in bottom-up synthetic biology, co-authored a publication on microfluidics, and – most importantly – found a new family.

The second opportunity that quickly comes to mind is the series of project-based Design & Manufacturing courses, ME 250 through ME 450. Not only did these classes strengthen my practical understanding of applied engineering, but their underpinning of innovation strategies, problem-solving techniques, and team-based success changed the way that I tackle real-world challenges in my job every single day. No matter where my career may take me or what life has in store, I’m grateful for the confidence that I’m privileged to carry knowing that I’m a Michigan engineer.

Less than 48 hours before a one-way flight to begin my new career in Seattle, there was a lone light on in a GG Brown lab. Many late nights have been spent in that building — exam cramming, robot trouble-shooting, presentation rehearsing. This night was different. Four friends were huddled around a mechanical contraption, etching our names into a thick aluminum slab that would later become part of a giant Rubik’s Cube to be installed just down the hall.

As a freshman, I would not have believed that four years later I’d be etching my name in something so big to leave behind in my hometown, on my hoMe campus. I would not have believed I’d have the opportunity to take an idea and run with it alongside three friends, being cheered on by family, friends, the College of Engineering, and an unbelievable mentor. Sometimes it’s still hard for me to believe, but what I do believe is that the project would not have been the same rewarding, challenging, or successful learning experience at any other university. The people and resources in the Mechanical Engineering Department fueled the creativity of a project that ultimately shaped my undergrad experience and gave me the space to explore a growing passion — the intersection of engineering and artistic design.