At the Statler College, the professional paths of our alumni—from their academic journey to professional growth their career trajectories— inspire our future engineers but what inspired those alumni to pursue engineering. Below are multiple generations of alumni sharing their perspectives.
Robb Lenhart
B.S., M.S. Mechanical Engineering
B.S. Business Administration
"I was inspired to be an engineer when I saw how concepts in both math and science could be applied together to find solutions to real-world problems."
Junaid Karim
Propulsion Engineer - Axiom Space
B.S. Aerospace Engineering
"My biggest inspiration to be an engineer was how mysterious and vast space is outside of our own planet. Whenever I think about what could be out there, it excites me and pushes me to put myself in an environment where I could use my skills to help answer some of those questions."
Kirsten Roys
Associate Highway Design Engineer - Parsons
B.S. Civil Engineering
"My father and brother inspired me to be an engineer. They're both civil engineers, so I followed in their footsteps. I also always liked math and science as applied subjects. I love being able to understand what is happening around me"
Michael J Carroll
Advanced Manufacturing Technology Specialist - 3M Company
B.S. Mechanical Engineering
"The first time I felt like an engineer was when I finished one of my first projects. I was to qualify an emissions reducing manufacturing process that saved millions of dollars in the purchase of new raw materials and reduced tons of solvent emissions in 1990."
Ralph Nelson
Retired from Dupont Company as a Senior Research Associate
M.S. Engineering
"I first felt like an engineer when I was exploring why lab, pilot, and side-stream studies on the adsorption of sulfur dioxide in stack gas did not seem to agree. I found the chemical reason, corrected the adsorption calculations, and showed that the results did agree"
Gabrielle Hendrick
Sr. Aerospace Engineer - The Mitre Corporation
PhD Aerospace Engineering
"The Mars rover Opportunity inspired me to be an engineer. I initially pursued a PhD in planetary science working on planning for the Mars rover with NASA. But tactical planning with the engineers pushed me to pursue a PhD in Aerospace Engineering and Robotics."
