Lauren Reiners is a senior in Mechanical Engineering at AME. Lauren has exemplified herself as a dedicated engineering student throughout the course of her academic career. She has displayed academic excellence with honors including the College of Engineering Dean’s Honor Roll, President’s Honor Roll, Chesapeake Scholar, multiple scholarships, and Outstanding Junior in Mechanical Engineering. Lauren is also an active member of several organizations including President of the Dean’s Leadership Council, Secretary of Pi Tau Sigma Mechanical Engineering Honor Society, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society, and Chi Omega Sorority. She currently works as an undergraduate teaching assistant for the freshman engineering orientation class for Associate Dean Dr. Antonio. Lauren knew AME would offer a great education, but she was unsure of what to expect in the beginning, “After just a short time at AME, my expectations were to gain the necessary skills to become a well-rounded Mechanical Engineering major. I think the professors in AME have done a great job in fostering my creativity and providing me the skills to succeed,” said Lauren.
Furthermore, engineering experience is not scarce with Lauren. She has completed multiple summer internships with companies such as Cronus Technology, Inc., Shell Oil Company, and Chevron. This past summer, Lauren interned for Chevron as a Subsea Facilities Engineering Intern in Houston, Texas, where she performed fluid dynamics analyses, gas breakout analyses and conducted an analysis for bearing capacity of a subsea mudmat.
After graduation in May 2015, Lauren will move to Houston, Texas, and join Chevron as a full-time Facilities Engineer in the Subsea Unit. In the next five years, Lauren hopes to work on major capital projects within Chevron in the Gulf of Mexico or internationally. She also hopes to attend graduate school for a Master of Business Administration degree to assist in her ultimate goal of a project manager. Regarding her time at AME, Lauren said, “I have really enjoyed the relationships between the faculty and the students at AME. The professors take the time to get to know the students and help them grow as engineers.”
__________________________________________________________
Jeremy Smith is a first year graduate student pursuing his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in May 2014 with Cum Laude honors at OU AME. Attending graduate school at AME was an obvious next step for Jeremy, “I decided to attend graduate school because I love the environment. The free exchange of ideas is liberating compared to what we’re fed from television all the time. The AME faculty are very passionate about their concentrations, as it’s their life’s work; just ask them!”
Jeremy was on the College of Engineering Dean’s Honor Roll every semester during his undergraduate degree and was also the recipient of many scholarships. His academic excellence did not stop there. Jeremy presented at two separate conferences last spring with a presentation titled Design and Modeling of a Martian Rover Leg to Assist Sandy Slope Traverse. His interest and knowledge of the design and modeling of a Martian rover leg led to his master’s thesis topic, a passive actuation system to assist sandy slope traversal, which he is now developing.
Furthermore, Jeremy’s list of extracurricular activities is endless. He was the Chair of the AME Student Advisory Council, President of Pi Tau Sigma Mechanical Engineering Honor Society, President of Oklahoma Energy Club, and Mechanical Lead of the OU Solar Racing Team. During Jeremy’s time at OU, he held several positions on the Sooner Off-Road Team including Chief Engineer and Powertrain Lead. As Powertrain Lead, he successfully designed a powertrain which earned a first place finish in the Acceleration Dynamic Event in Auburn, Alabama. Jeremy also mastered advanced machining techniques such as CNC machining utilizing G-Code and MasterCam. As Chief Engineer, Jeremy oversaw design changes of the whole team. He also led an effort to test the vehicle by implementing Data Acquisition systems and instrumentation.
Jeremy has a long-term goal of earning his Ph.D., “I plan to earn my Ph.D. I really am enamored with learning. I would like to become a professor someday, and I think I would be good at it.”