“Engineering like a Cyclone Engineer means being involved in the community around you. As a student of a smaller department, I’ve learned that this means helping other engineers on their projects and being willing to learn from them. Any problem that’s worth solving requires a team of different people.”
Hometown: Ames, Iowa
Clubs and activities: Material Advantage, Kappa Kappa Psi, Tau Beta Pi, Iowa State University Cyclone Football Varsity Marching Band, and Men’s Basketball Pep Band
Valuable hands-on learning experience: My most valuable learning opportunity was my international research experience for undergraduates in Tsukuba, Japan. I learned new materials science techniques, such as arc melting and spark plasma sintering, while working with scientists from around the world.
Most influential mentor: Shan Jiang, associate professor of materials science and engineering, was my most influential mentor by inviting me into his lab to perform research and encouraging me to pursue competitive doctorate programs in materials science.
Plans for after graduation: I will attend the University of Michigan for a Ph.D. to research nuclear materials.
Making my mark on the world: I want to make nuclear energy safer and more widespread by researching practical scientific questions about how and why structural materials break down in the environment of a reactor.
Engineering like a Cyclone Engineer means being involved in the community around you. As a student of a smaller department, I’ve learned that this means helping other engineers on their projects and being willing to learn from them. Any problem that’s worth solving requires a team of different people.