STRIKE A POSE

Members of the Auburn Alumni Engineering Council, including past chairs Maury Gaston, Kenneth Kelly, Nicole Faulk, Walt Woltosz and current chair Brad Christopher, recently presented President Chris Roberts with a portrait in honor of his time served as dean of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. The portrait will hang in the Shelby Center alongside the other portraits of past deans.

Celebrating 100 years of women in Auburn Engineering

Maria Whitson became the first female AU Engineering grad in 1923

Auburn University launches Applied Research Institute

The endeavor is located in the new Huntsville research campus

Renowned distiller seeks out the Taylor family “treedition”

Former interim dean’s family farm proves big for Irish whiskey maker

Rocketry Association brings smiles to kids with rocket art

Aerospace engineering students partner with Children’s of Alabama

CDCR Office connects students with co-ops, internships and jobs

Nearly 100% of students with co-ops or internships are employed at graduation

ON THE COVER /// “A VERY FINE SPORT”

Maria Whitson broke down barriers when she became the first female Auburn Engineering graduate 100 years ago. Now, Auburn alumnae are shattering glass ceilings across the world. See story on page 22

It’s My Job: Allyson McKinney ’16

SoloPulse CEO named as one of Forbes Magazine’s 30 Under 30

SPRING 2023 /// Volume 33, Issue 1

INTERIM DEAN

Steven E. Taylor

EDITOR AND DIRECTOR, COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING

Austin Phillips

CONTRIBUTORS

Gracie Barranco

Bethany Deuel

Jeremy Henderson

Kyle Lubinsky

Joe McAdory

Cassie Montgomery

Carla Nelson

ART DIRECTOR/GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Danny Doyle

Greg Key

WEB MANAGER/CONTRIBUTOR

Tyler Patterson

Wilson Reeves

VIDEOGRAPHY/PHOTOGRAPHY

Marcus Kluttz

John Sluis

Visit Auburn Engineer online at eng.auburn.edu/magazine for videos, photos, podcasts and more. You may also submit news items, suggestions or comments by clicking the Contact Us tab.

Auburn Engineer is published twice yearly by the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.

Engineering Communications and Marketing c/o Editor

1210D Shelby Center Auburn, AL 36849 334-844-2444

© 2023 Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, Auburn University

Auburn University is an equal opportunity educational institution/employer.

It’s hard to believe it’s been a year, and my time serving as interim dean of Auburn University’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering has come to an end. Dr. Mario Eden has been named as the college’s 14th dean, and we are all thrilled to have him lead the college into the future. I would like to thank President Chris Roberts and Provost Vini Nathan for their confidence in me to lead the college through this transition, and I am forever grateful to the students, faculty, staff and alumni who pushed forward to keep our momentum on the upward trajectory.

As Dr. Roberts announced in May, I have accepted the position as Auburn University’s senior vice president for research and economic development and will begin that appointment June 1. I am beyond excited to serve Auburn in this new capacity, and cannot wait to work with Dr. Eden as we move to double our research efforts into the future.

This past year — the college’s 150th anniversary at Auburn — as interim dean of the college has been one of the most rewarding, and challenging, of my tenure here. When I took on this role, I knew it was only for a limited time, but I knew I could affect change. Drs. Larry Benefield and Roberts built a phenomenal foundation on which we still stand, and I am proud of the efforts undertaken this year to continue to propel us forward. Just this year, we opened the doors to the Auburn University Research and Innovation Campus in Huntsville that will foster meaningful relationships for decades to come, while collaborating with our some of our most critical partners to find solutions to keep our nation safe for the next 150 years. We received approval from the Board of Trustees to build a Gulf Coast Engineering Research Station in Orange Beach, and recently installed a new 7T clinical MRI scanner — the first of its kind in this part of the country — that will allow us to conduct groundbreaking research and partner with local hospitals and clinics in ways we never have before.

Our undergraduate program continues to be ranked among the best public engineering institutions in the nation, while our graduate program ranks third in the SEC and has climbed 10 spots in the U.S. News and World Report rankings in the past four years. For those off campus, our Online and Continuing Education program ranks No. 16 among all colleges. All three programs remain the top ranked engineering programs in the state.

Auburn is an amazing place. This institution and community that my wife, Martha, and I have called home for more than 34 years is much more than a place where our careers flourished — it’s where we raised our children, it’s where we laid our roots and it’s where we poured our hearts and souls into making this state, this nation and this world a better place for generations to come. While the end of this chapter of my life may be bittersweet, I am so thankful for the rewarding experiences and lasting friendships forged over this past year. I remain dedicated to serving Auburn and the Ginn College of Engineering that we all love.

War Eagle!

Steven E. Taylor