Month: September 2014

Leave a comment Posted on by Danielle Academics

OU ROTC cadet selected for prestigious pilot training

By Katherine Parker, The Norman Transcript Staff Writer

Joshua PageJoshua Page appeared to be just another college student cruising through his senior year as he walked through the student union. But beyond the backpack and books, Page is a calm, cool and collected Air Force ROTC cadet.

Daily student life doesn’t ruffle his feathers. Major Brendan Devine described Page as always on point and ready to act under pressure. These characteristics — along with his personal drive, moral character and success with the University of Oklahoma’s Air Force ROTC — have led him to be part of an elite group of cadets.

Page was recently selected as one of 52 cadets across the nation to attend Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training upon graduation.

After an application process, he was chosen with 460 other ROTC cadets based on ranking, physical ability and aptitude scores. Later the board for Euro-Nato narrowed those cadets down to 52.

The program is located at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas, and trains cadets from NATO countries all over the world. Page said at the end of the 55-week training, he hopes to fly a fighter jet.

“Hopefully my cubicle gets to be in the sky,” Page said.

To view the full article, please visit The Norman Transcript.

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Jordan Thomas is a student-athlete, emphasis on the student

By Joe Mussatto, Sports Editor of The Oklahoma Daily

Cornerback Jordan Thomas reviews a chemistry assignment with his tutor Wednesday evening. Photo by Tony Ragle/The OU Daily

Cornerback Jordan Thomas reviews a chemistry assignment with his tutor Wednesday evening. Photo by Tony Ragle/The OU Daily

Some students choose OU because of its esteemed engineering school while others come to play for the school’s storied football program. Jordan Thomas is an exception that fits into both categories. The freshman cornerback and mechanical engineering major has chemistry and calculus books sitting alongside his defensive playbook. “Everyone’s dream is to go the NFL but we all know football is going to end eventually,” he said. “It’s a great degree to have and a great fall back.”

The “CB” next to his name on Oklahoma’s roster signifies his position but in high school it was all about AP — as in advanced placement courses. AP world history, U.S. history, calculus and physics comprised his curriculum. While Thomas couldn’t remember what he scored on the ACT, he knows it wasn’t half-bad. “I took it once and it was good enough to get me into Northwestern,” he said. Luckily for coach Bob Stoops, Thomas came to Norman despite originally committing to the prestigious Big Ten institution. In addition to a close proximity to home, the Klein, Texas, native wanted to pick a school that would best satisfy both of his passions.

Oklahoma was the answer. “OU gave him the opportunity to compete at a high level athletically and in the classroom,” Curley Thomas, Jordan’s father, said.

While the first several weeks have been busy, a heavy mixture of coursework and football activities, the cornerback hasn’t considered switching his line of study. “That’d be taking the easy way out and that’s something I never want to do,” he said. “If you’re going to be successful in life you’ve got to challenge yourself and that’s what I’m doing.” He’s enrolled in 13 hours this semester and his Wednesday schedule is packed with classes from 8:30 a.m. to 2:20 p.m.

Sophomore cornerback Zack Sanchez has mentored Thomas and said teammates understand when he shows up to practice a little late because of class or has to skip out on other activities in order to study. “I don’t know how he does it,” Sanchez said. “I know I was overwhelmed as a freshman when I had light classes. The other day he was talking about a chemistry test he had to go study for and I was like ‘go ahead, go study for it.’”

Despite the heavy academic load, Thomas has been an early surprise on the field for the Sooners. The three-star recruit recorded four tackles against Louisiana Tech and has played in every game. His academic prowess translates to the field. “I came in here with the mindset that I was going to learn the defense better than anyone else,” Thomas said. “Everyone’s ginormous and everyone’s fast so you just have to fit in and start from the bottom to get bigger, faster and stronger.” Where the 6-foot-1, 183-pound defender has lacked physically, he’s made up for it mentally. But sometimes his intelligence gets in the way. “He wants to overanalyze things,” his father said. “I always tell him, ‘stop thinking so much and just play football.’” His teammates and coaches like to give him a hard time about it. “When he messes up we’ll be like, ‘yeah he’s an engineering major.’ We’re always messing with him,” Sanchez said.

All jokes aside, Sanchez sees something special in Thomas. He spoke glowingly of the young corner’s ability to keep his life balanced despite his numerous responsibilities. Sanchez credited Thomas’ parents for Jordan’s success. His mother is an educator and although Curley said the importance of academics was always made clear, he gave all the credit to his son for having a plan. “He understands that he probably has to study more than the normal football player,” Curley said. “He has to get more tutoring. But at the end of the day, he understands that there’s life after football.”

Jordan Thomas is already preparing for that life. It might come in a few years or it might be after a long and successful NFL career. Until then, if he’s not on the football field, check an engineering classroom. “I try not to tell people that I’m a football player,” he said. “Not because I’m ashamed of it, but I just want to be known as a student first.”

Leave a comment Posted on by Danielle Inside AME

AME Student Spotlight

Lauren ReinersLauren 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.”

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Jeremy SmithJeremy 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.”

Leave a comment Posted on by Danielle Academics, Events

Everything You Need To Know About The Engineering Career Fair

Career Fair14OU Engineering Career Fair 2014

Thursday, September 11, 2014 12:30pm-4:30pm

Lloyd Noble Center

Whether you are looking for a full-time job or an internship, you will find the OU Engineering Career Fair a great place to start your search!  Sponsored by the College of Engineering and Engineers’ Club, the event connects some of the nation’s brightest engineering and technical students with innovative companies and government organizations. The Engineering Career Fair provides a great opportunity for you to network with employers from a wide range of industries and to develop contacts for future employment opportunities.

COMPANIES:
There are 161 companies coming to the Engineering Career Fair this year. The visiting companies can be viewed here or in the Engineering Career Fair Guidebook.

BEFORE THE CAREER FAIR:
Activate and update your HIREsooner Page for 2014 – 2015 – When you check in at the career fair, a name tag will be printed with the name, major and graduation date on your HIREsooner page; therefore, make sure your HIREsooner page has your correct major and graduation date listed. If you have questions, please call Career Services at 325-1974.

Get your resume critiqued at Career Services and uploaded to HIREsooner – Upload a resume to be included in the OU Online Resume Books for employers to view prior to the career fair.

Research the attending organizations.
Take a close look at the organizations attending that have indicated that they are looking for your major.

Pre-register in Career Services.
Come by our office to make your nametag ahead of time in order to avoid lines at the career fair. You’ll receive an OU embossed portfolio and t-shirt!

Helpful Resources

Career Fair Prep
Career Fair Tips
Professional Dress
Create a Winning Resume
Practice Your “Elevator Speech” with InterviewStream
2014-2015 Job Search Guide

THE DAY OF THE CAREER FAIR:
·         Dress professionally
·         Bring copies of your resume to distribute
·         Bring your student ID to check-in
·         Park on the south or east side of Lloyd Noble and enter in south tunnel
·         Parking is free!
·         Career Fair is free and open to all OU Students and Alumni
·         Freshmen and Sophomores encouraged to attend!

For the map of the Career Fair booth set up please Click HERE.

INTERVIEWS THE DAY AFTER THE CAREER FAIR – On the day following the Engineering Career Fair, employers may choose to interview candidates they meet at the career fair.  You will be notified by the company if you are chosen to interview.  Interviews will be held at Lloyd Noble.

INTERVIEWS LATER IN THE FALL SEMESTER:
Many of the employers will return to campus later in the semester to interview for full-time and internship positions in the Career Services office. They will let you know when they will be back to interview and will let you know the last day you can apply. These on-campus interviews will be listed in your HIREsooner account. To apply, activate your HIREsooner page with Career Services, upload a resume, and apply for the interviews you want. HIREsooner will notify you by email if you are selected for an interview. Once you know you have been selected, you will be prompted to go back into your HIREsooner account and sign up for an interview time. You may begin applying for on-campus interviews at the beginning of the Fall semester.

 

(Blog post content compliments of The University of Oklahoma Career Services https://www.ou.edu/career/students/find-a-job/career-fairs/engineering-cf.html)

Leave a comment Posted on by Danielle Academics, Faculty, Inside AME

AME Welcomes New Faculty

Jivtesh GargDr. Jivtesh Garg, AME Assistant Professor, attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in 2011. Dr. Garg will teach AME 5573 Advanced Engineering Analysis beginning Fall 2014.

Dr. Garg has a background and research interests in first-principles prediction of transport properties of materials, thermoelectrics, coupled conduction and radiation heat transfer across nanoscale gaps, and thermal properties and rheology of nanofluids.

He is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Materials Research Society.

The excellent research in the field of nanostructured composite materials for applications ranging from energy to mechanical properties is just one reason Dr. Garg joined the AME Team.

Click here to view Dr. Garg’s page on the AME website.

Yingtao LiuDr. Yingtao Liu, AME Assistant Professor, received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Arizona State University in 2012. Dr. Liu will teach AME 2113 Statics beginning Fall 2014.

Dr. Liu’s research will focus on developing novel multifunctional nanocomposites and smart sensor systems, which can be potentially integrated within the next generation structural health management systems to improve the structural safety and to reduce the life-cycle maintenance costs.

He is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Society of Photonics Engineers.

Dr. Liu looks forward to the collaborative work environment and outstanding faculty, staff, and students at AME and joining a team full of “A” players while having the opportunity to serve as a scholar.

Click here to view Dr. Liu’s page on the AME website.