mechanical-engineering

Madalyn Gragg, an undergraduate in mechanical engineering and general physics, is one of three students at Oregon State University chosen to receive the 2024 Barry Goldwater Scholarship, a national award established in 1986 in memory of Sen. Barry Goldwater.

In her scholarship application essay, Gragg reflected on the challenges she faced in getting into college coming from a school designated under Title I-A as a school that serves children from families experiencing poverty.

Richard Wirz sometimes jokes that the word “aerospace” makes no sense.

“Aero means air, and space means the absence of air,” said Wirz, executive director for aerospace research programs and Boeing Professor of Mechanical Engineering Design at Oregon State University’s College of Engineering. “It’s like I study air and no air. Why are they even in the same category?”

If John Lienhard could eradicate one word from the English language, it would be “innovation.”

“It’s a waffle word. How about that?” he said, offering a more temperate formulation in place of one deemed too salty for print.

Lienhard prefers “invention,” a word that industry leaders conspicuously avoid, he says, because of its world-changing implications.

When Sneha Sinha accepted an operations management internship at the Target Fulfillment Center in Albany, she expected to shadow her boss for ten weeks. After her first few weeks on the job, however, he was promoted.

“I was in a really unique position,” she said. “I got to step into that role and really own it. It was overwhelming at first, leading a team of people of different ages and backgrounds. But I love to get outside of my comfort zone.”

Geoff Hollinger envisions a future where autonomous robotic systems navigate any environment, no matter how dynamic or unpredictable, with limited help from humans, gathering and sharing real-time information for the benefit of scientists, first responders, and the general public.

[An audio version of this story is available on the Engineering Out Loud podcast.]