Alumni-Magazine

Jill Lewis’ experience on the Global Formula Racing team led her to SpaceX

Jill Lewis (’11 B.S., Mechanical Engineering) didn’t set out to work at SpaceX, or even work in aerospace, but her experiences at Oregon State led her there.

Like many engineers, Lewis had an early interest in technology. As a child, she got her parents to take her to garage sales, where she found items like tripods and radios to play with. So, science and engineering were on her mind when she was planning for college.

OREGON STATE’S ‘ENGINEERING TRIANGLE’

In 2008, 180 acres of Oregon State University’s Corvallis campus was designated a National Historic District. At the time, it included 83 structures, 59 of which are historically significant. One wedge-shaped area in the district’s northeast corner encompasses buildings predominantly related to engineering, physics, and chemistry. Landscape architect Albert Davis Taylor, who updated the campus master plan in 1926 and 1945, dubbed this area the Engineering Triangle.

Crystal structure stretches wearable electronics’ possibilities

If you’ve ever changed clothes to feel warmer or cooler — and, of course, who hasn’t? — rest assured that researchers in the College of Engineering are working on solving that small problem for you, and in the process many other, much larger ones too.

For much of her childhood, Bryony DuPont thought she would grow up to be a performer. She acted in her first musical at age 5. By 13, she was taking professional voice lessons and singing in multiple choirs.

However, in high school, she developed another passion.

“I was always good at math, and I was really drawn toward engineering, especially aerospace,” DuPont said.

Engineering won out, at least professionally. DuPont earned her doctorate from Carnegie Mellon in 2013 and joined the faculty of the Oregon State University College of Engineering.

CATALYST Scholars Program

The Catalyst Scholars Program was launched in 2020 by the College of Engineering at Oregon State University in partnership with the OSU Foundation and donors who are passionate about student success. The program aims to bridge the gap between traditional funding sources — loans, grants, scholarships, personal income — and the cost of attendance for students who are the first generation of their family to attend college, who demonstrate high achievement, and who have unmet financial need.

Student Clubs Go Remote

Nothing tests a budding engineer’s problem-solving abilities like a real-life challenge, and the COVID-19 pandemic has offered just that for student clubs. Many have risen to the occasion. Some have flourished. But none would deny that it’s been difficult.  

Prototype lab drives trucking industry toward greater safety 

When Daimler Trucks North America wanted to get a handle on a dangerous and expensive problem in the trucking business — drivers slipping and falling while exiting or entering their cab — the company reached out to Oregon State University engineering students, who gave the entire industry something to hold onto. 

Small, efficient radiation detector could find its way into mammogram machines 

In 2015, a team of Oregon State University researchers devised a new solid-state, scintillator-type radiation detector that offers several key advantages over existing designs: It’s more compact, less expensive to produce, and, critically, does not require lots of high-voltage current to operate.  

Friends, colleagues, and former students mourn the loss of Shoichi “Sho” Kimura, professor emeritus of chemical engineering, who died in June at age 75. His life and legacy are inextricably intertwined with the School of Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering at Oregon State University, where he served on the faculty for more than two decades.

Nancy Squires, senior instructor of mechanical engineering, died June 19, leaving an incredible legacy in the lives and careers of the hundreds of engineering students she influenced.

During her 15 years at Oregon State University, Squires was a devoted instructor, advisor, and mentor. She spearheaded the formation of the aerospace engineering program and was involved in a variety of student clubs, including OSU’s branch of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.