Fall / Winter 2022 NC State Engineering Magazine
Ask an Engineer Series:
“What is Artemis?
Engineering North Carolina’s Future
Fitts-Woolard Hall
This week, we’re highlighting @ncstatenuclear! Learn about Associate Professor Lingfeng He’s experience in NE.
Lingfeng He moved from Idaho National Laboratory to NC State in August. He is building a lab of Materials In eXtremes (MIX) at State to probe materials behavior in radiation, corrosion, stress and/or ultrahigh-temperature extremes, with a focus on environmental degradation of materials in nuclear power systems. He aims to understand how the processing and radiation/corrosion environments affects the microstructure, mechanical/thermal properties, and structural integrity/durability of materials and components. As a materials scientist, he has been working on the relationship of processing-structure-property for almost 20 years. There are a lot of grand challenges and science questions that the nuclear materials community is interested in but unable to address or answer. He is trying to push the basic research frontier of nuclear materials forward by leveraging advanced characterization techniques. He is preparing a new course "NE 591-013: Advanced Characterization of Nuclear Materials" for 2023 Spring and he will work with students to tackle scientific questions on nuclear materials by linking fundamental concepts to real problems and by coupling multimodal characterization with advanced modeling. As a new faculty in one of the best nuclear engineering departments in the country, he aims to increase the major area of nuclear fuels & materials and brighten the future of nuclear energy.
TOMORROW, @jointbme student Amber Miles will take over our Instagram stories. Get to know her before she takes us through a day in her life!
Campus as a Classroom intern and @ncstatemae student Kelsey Hudson shared her passion for sustainability and her community with us! @ncstatesustain
We’re feeling extra thankful for all of you! Enjoy your Thanksgiving break!
This week, we’re highlighting @ncstatefb! See what student Kaya Kusmierczuk has to say about her experience in paper science engineering.
“I came to NC State because it’s a great engineering school, and I was really drawn in by the possibilities within the PSE program. I’ve always been interested in developing sustainable bio-based alternatives to plastics, and the PSE and ChemE majors allow me to explore that interest. My goal for the future is to work on the sustainable development of bioplastics to reduce plastic pollution in the world.
Small class sizes and enthusiastic professors are great aspects of the PSE program as well. Another benefit of the program is the accessibility of information sessions and interviews with companies looking for interns and co-ops. The PSE program really prepares students for industry experiences through professional development exercises and the process overview class required for freshmen. This past summer, I worked for a paper and packaging company. Even though I had just completed my first year, I felt prepared to work in a mill environment and be a beneficial part of my department. Overall, I have had a great experience in the PSE program and would encourage prospective engineering students to learn more.
One piece of advice I would offer to freshmen going through the CODA process is to talk to people—your advisor, your classmates, and your teachers. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about different engineering majors. yYou might find one that really interests you even if it was not your intended major. The engineering first year program is all about finding the right fit, so talking to people and asking questions is really the best way to see what’s best for you. In regards to keeping your GPA up for the CODA application, take advantage of tutoring sessions and office hours. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. Most importantly, don’t forget to have fun! Time flies, so try to find a good balance between school and your social life.”
Did you know that @ncstatecsc offers a concentration in artificial intelligence? Learn more at the 🔗 in our bio.
This week, we’re highlighting @ncstatefb! Get to know FB faculty member Joel Pawlak.
Associate Professor Pawlak is a faculty member in the Forest Biomaterials Department, which houses the Paper Science and Engineering Program. They focus on converting biomass into energy, fuels, chemicals and materials. Every day faculty work closely with students in the classroom and laboratories, sharing their knowledge gained through years of research and experience working with industry. He has mentored dozens of students during his time at NC State and enjoys helping people achieve their personal goals. He is more than an engineer, recently having released a novel entitled ‘Salter’s Path.’ He also has put his degree into practice. In 2018, he used his engineering skills to create a technology-based start-up company in Raleigh, showing how our faculty embodies the “Think and Do” mentality of NC State. He also serves the university in the role of Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR). As the FAR, he has many responsibilities, from certifying student-athletes for competition to acting in a representative capacity to the ACC and NCAA.
This week, we’re highlighting @ncstatemae! See how alumnus Gil West was set up for success by his experience in MAE.
Gil is currently the Chief Operating Officer for @cruise, an autonomous vehicle company owned by General Motors, Honda, SoftBank, T-Rowe Price, Microsoft and Walmart. In his role he
☑️ Oversees the overall commercialization and operation of autonomous vehicle business
☑️ Deployed fully driverless public rideshare operations in San Francisco and was the first company to acquire the necessary permitting to accomplish this
☑️ Deployed driverless delivery pilot with Walmart in Phoenix
☑️ Developed, manufactured and is currently certifying the first purpose built Level 4 autonomous vehicle ever certified by the NHTSA
Congratulations to Minh-Thu Dinh on winning the Leader of the Pack award! She’s left her mark on the Pack by
▪️ Founding and coordinating the CRANE Collective
▪️ Serving as a Goodnight Scholars outreach ambassador and mentor
▪️ Volunteering with University Theatre
▪️ Mentoring with the Vietnamese Student Association
@ncstateece @ncsucrane @goodnightncsu @ncstateuniversitytheatre @ncstatevsa
This week, we’re highlighting @ncstatemae! See what student Derek Geiger has to say about his experience in MAE.
“My name is Derek Geiger, and I am a junior in Aerospace Engineering. When I first got to NC State as an engineer with undecided intent, I researched all the various programs that I could CODA into and found a strong interest in the aerospace field due to its endless applications around the world and in space. My plan after graduation is to continue my education and get my master’s in aerospace engineering through NC State MAE’s accelerated master’s program.
Currently, I am in my first rotation of a co-op at Parker Lord in Cary, North Carolina working in their Aerospace Electromechanical Systems group. The department focuses on projects including vibrational control systems, torque measurement systems, as well as engine blade tip clearance sensors. Since I have been here, I have been able to gain valuable hands-on experience with building test stand setups as well as technical experience with various software including MATLAB, Autodesk Inventor and Ansys.
During my time as a student, I also participated as an undergraduate research assistant in the NC State Active Structures Lab under Dr. Andrew Lee. One of the main focuses of the research is to optimize elastic deployment trajectories of composite beams that are utilized in small spacecraft in order to allow for reduced weight and compact storage in the payload of a rocket.
One piece of advice to freshmen entering the CODA process is to talk to older students who are in the majors you are strongly considering. Focusing on excelling in core first-year classes is obviously important but making sure that you have more context as to what each major entails is the most crucial in making sure that you are making the right decision that will ultimately affect your future career path.”
This week, we’re highlighting @ncstateise! Department Head Julie Swann shared with us her advice for freshmen students.
“I am a professor in Industrial and Systems Engineering at NC State. I am also the department head of ISE, so I get to think about how to support the success of students, faculty, staff, the department and the university. In teaching, I especially enjoy working with teams in their capstone senior design projects. In research, I solve problems that improve health, supply chains, or even society. I am particularly excited about leadership, and showing how ISE can improve equity, resilience and sustainability. In ISE, we solve problems to make industry, and society, ‘better.’ The problems we solve can be in any area, from health to manufacturing to human trafficking to Disney operations. We design and improve the system, use data and analytics to inform decision-making, and we often form the glue that helps pull together the human, technological and engineering solutions. Our graduates go on to be leaders in many fields, including finance, consulting, manufacturing, health and more. We are the ‘people-engineers.’
As you think about CODA and your career, be open to the many possibilities. If you are passionate about a specific area (e.g., sustainability), keep in mind you can address it from many technical frameworks. We want you in ISE! We want leaders who want to be general engineering problem-solvers as well as those who want our hands-on, high-impact experiences in health, manufacturing or global arenas. Come see us and determine whether ISE can be a match for you.”
This week, we’re highlighting @ncstateise! See what Ashley Williams, assistant coach of @packwomensbball, has to say about her experience in ISE.
Ashley Williams graduated in 2017 from the ISE department. During her time at @ncstate, she played for the women’s basketball team and eventually worked her way up to a starter by her third year while still maintaining her 3.92 GPA. From there, she decided to continue both her academic and athletic career at Indiana University in pursuit of a career in coaching. After finishing her master's degree at Indiana University, she began coaching full time at Furman University and eventually went back to Indiana where she was an assistant coach. Now, we welcome her back to the Wolfpack as the assistant basketball coach for the women’s team. She enjoyed her time as an undergrad. She loved ISE because you got “to take classes in disciplines that weren’t your own,” allowing her to get a really good feel for the major as a whole. The Wolfpack is glad to have you back, Ashley!