Engineers' Forum November 2020

Engineers’ Forum NOVEMBER 2020

VOLUME 41 NUMBER 4

VIRGINIA TECH’S PREMIER STUDENT-RUN ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY MAGAZINE

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Photo / Formula SAE

On the Cover Virginia Tech Formula SAE Racecar

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Innovation within TECH Together Campaign

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Ware Lab Spotlight: Formula SAE

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Impact of COVID-19 on Graduate Student Research

Kashyap Bhatt

Isabella Bartolome

Fatemah Ebrahim

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Fostering Community Among Engineers

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How are Freshman Engineers Choosing a Major?

Christine Dinh

Adeline Ghosh

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Calhoun Discovery Program Sumaiya Haque

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Welcome to the November 2020 issue!

The Engineers’ Forum team hopes that your classes are going well. Most importantly, we hope that you are staying safe and healthy! Given the numerous challenges posed by virtual learning, we encourage you to reach out to peers, family, and VT resources if you are overwhelmed or need someone to talk to. We will cross the finish line together!

In this issue, we start off by highlighting the TECH Together Campaign at Virginia Tech, which aims to promote innovation and creation of real-world solutions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Kashyap Bhatt gives a closer look to one of the winners of the campaign.

In our Ware Lab spotlight series, Isabella Bartolome features Formula SAE, a team dedicating to conceptualizing, designing, building, and competing formula-style race cars.

Fatemah Ebrahim describes the impact of COVID-19 on Virginia Tech research, specifically pertaining to Sustainability, Technology, Infrastructure, and Learning Environments (STILE).

For our student spotlight, Christine Dinh shares the perspective of an active undergraduate double-major student who fosters community among engineers via his multiple leadership positions.

In her article, Adeline Ghosh tackles a hard-hitting question: How are freshmen engineering students choosing their specific major during COVID-19 era? If you are a freshman or are thinking about what major to pursue, this is a great read!

For those interested in learning more about the Calhoun Discovery Program, Sumaiya Haque showcases the many interdisciplinary engineering opportunities available to Honors College students that encourages Ut Prosim and networking with industry partners.

We appreciate your continued support of our mission: to capture the student engineering experience at Virginia Tech. Enjoy.

Sincerely,

Julia A. Pimentel Editor-in-Chief

**Photos shown throughout this issue may have been taken prior to COVID-19 and Virginia Tech’s recommended best practices, including wearing masks, and social distancing.**

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Engineers’ Forum Editor-in-Chief Creative Director Chief Copy Editor Managing Editor Business Manager Social Media Managers

Writers

Photography Team

Design Team

Faculty Advisors

Julia Pimentel - Materials Science and Engineering (‘22) RJ Weaver - Industrial Design (‘22) Dianna Kim - Public Relations, Professional and Technical Writing (‘22) Alexander Petsopoulos - Aerospace Engineering (‘22) Soumya Khanna - Computer Science (‘21) Jessica Barbish - Mechanical Engineering (‘22) Mehak Kamal - Computer Science (‘22) Jillie Alexander - Environmental Conservation and Society (‘24) Jessica Barbish - Mechanical Engineering (‘22) Isabella Bartolome - Electrical Engineering (‘21) Kashyap Bhatt - Mechanical Engineering (‘22) Christine Dinh - Professional and Technical Writing (‘23) Fatemah Ebrahim - M.S. Civil Engineering (‘20) Adeline Ghosh - General Engineering (‘24) Sumaiya Haque - Industrial Systems Engineering, Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (‘23) Maaz Hasan - Mechanical Engineering (‘23) Mehak Kamal - Computer Science (‘22) Soumya Khanna - Computer Science (‘21) Alexander Petsopoulos - Aerospace Engineering (‘22) Julia A. Pimentel - Materials Science and Engineering (‘22) Meredith DePuy - General Engineering (‘24) Maaz Hasan - Mechanical Engineering (‘23) Sean Stroud - WIldlife Conservation (‘22) RJ Weaver - Industrial Design (‘22) Hayley Stout - Industrial Design (‘22) Sumaiya Haque - Industrial Systems Engineering, Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (‘23) Linda Hazelwood Alex Parrish

@vtengineers_forum

(Background) Parts from Randolph Hall Photo / Kendal Price

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Virginia Tech - Engineers’ Forum

www.ef.org.vt.edu

(1.) VT therapy dog Derek visits a group of freshmen engineers during mental health week.

Photo / Meredith DePuy (2.) Ware Lab Formula SAE Team Photo with Racecar (2019) Photo / Formula SAE

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(3.) Welded Metal Beams Photo / Formula SAE (4.) VT therapy dog Derek offers loving support to sophomore Biomedical Engineering student Chris Snyder during mental health week.

Photo / Meredith DePuy

(Background) ABB Robot Arm at the Research + Demonstration Facility (RDF) Photo / RJ Weaver

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Assembling masks.

Photo / Kashyap Bhatt

Innovation within

TECH Together Campaign Article /

Kashyap Bhatt (‘22)

Ut Prosim. It is more than just a word. It is a feeling that every Hokie carries with them throughout their life’s journey. No matter which corner of the world we may be in, it binds us together as one. We are living our lives amidst a pandemic, and during these uncertain times, our community required assistance now more than ever. It is during times of crisis that innovation is born, and several Hokies lived up to the task and contributed tremendously through sheer hard work and dedication imbued in them by the spirit of Ut Prosim.

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The Coronavirus outbreak in March was nothing like we had ever experienced before. Classes were canceled, million dollars-worth research projects ceased, and everyone hurried back to their homes. We all know someone who was affected by the pandemic either emotionally, physically, or financially. Despite knowing about the problems faced by our closed ones, many of us were unable to help from the confined walls of our homes. Quarantine was the normalcy, and while the summer was almost over, the virus did not look to slow down.

Life had to go on. The onset of the fall semester meant that more students from around the globe would come on campus, posing a threat

to the Virginia Tech community and the town of Blacksburg. To contain the virus and bring forth the spirit of innovation, Virginia Tech started a university-wide competition called the TECH Together Campaign. This campaign aimed to promote students to think of real-world solutions that could successfully prevent the spread of COVID-19. Out of the 76 teams that participated, five teams were selected through a rigorous judging process and given a prize of $4,000 to help bring their idea to reality.

One of the winners of the campaign was Transparansee, a team that designed accessible face masks for the deaf and hard of hearing. Along with the word “quarantine,” COVID intro-

Ut Prosim. It is more than just a word. It is a feeling that every Hokie carries with them throughout their life’s journey.

Bhatt

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duced many new lifestyle changes to us like wearing masks and putting on hand sanitizer. While these necessities helped us keep ourselves safe, it unknowingly became a hindrance to many. The majority of face masks are opaque which hampers the deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) from being able to communicate efficiently because these individuals depend on lip-reading. One of the team members of Transparansee experienced the problem firsthand, which became a motivation for the team to solve this problem through technology. With the help of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Population Health Sciences, Transparansee was able to go forward with their idea.

transparent masks required twenty-five iterations in design to meet proper American Society of Tool and Manufacturing Engineers(ASTME) and medical standards while ensuring maximum efficiency. One of the major hindrances that arose while designing was that while the prototype seemed to work perfectly on the lead engineer, it was dysfunctional for other test-users. The team quickly realized that the prototype required a customization feature that could enable people with different head sizes to use their masks.

Innovation knows no size.

Connor Herron, a graduate student at Virginia Tech, was responsible for designing the face masks.

Herron shared the benefits of the transparent face-mask as well as the challenges the team faced while building it. The masks are made of single-sheet transparent polyester. It is not only customizable to suit every head shape and size but also can be washed and reused for future use, making it much better than its counterparts. While designing a mask may seem trivial to us, it consists of very intricate steps that are generally not known to the general public. The

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Bhatt

In collaboration with NanoSafe, a company located in Blacksburg, the team has cleared all the required testing criteria and have received a thumbs up from several regulatory boards to go forward with the project. The team has also applied for a provisional patent on its innovative masks. With the money grant received through winning the TECH Together Campaign, Transparansee hopes to start mass production of their mask as soon as possible to distribute it to the general public.

Innovation knows no size. The sole purpose of innovating is to make our lives easier. While people remember rockets and airplanes as history-changing inventions, the face masks created by Transparansee are no less important than the former.

Along with the sheer passion of the team members of Transparansee, the immeasurable support provided by Virginia Tech and the TECH Together Campaign helped in serving the community and fostering the spirit of Ut Prosim. At Virginia Tech, students are given various opportunities to explore the realms of design and innovation to push boundaries and surpass existing technical limits. Thus, the hands-on experience students gain from participating in various technology events allows them to gain a broader insight into how the cultural insights of innovation and design blends into assisting industry professionals to solve complex issues.

Assembling masks. Photo / Kashyap Bhatt

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Formula SAE driver ready for competition.

(2019) Photo / Formula SAE

Ware Lab Spotlight

Formula SAE Article /

Isabella Bartolome (‘21)

What is your name, major, and role?

I am Josh Kintz, I am in mechanical engineering, and I am the 2021 Team Lead. I oversee both the logistical and team side of things, like managing the people. I also am the technical overseer of the project, meaning that I help to make final technical decisions when needed and manage the technical scope of the project.

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How long have you been the Team Lead of Formula SAE and what drew you to the position?

We have single-year terms for team leadership. Because we’re on a two-year design cycle, it’s important that the junior class starts identifying leadership within their group. Last year, I led the juniors and then I stepped into the Team Lead position this year.

As for what drew me to the position, I think I was really eager to learn as much as I could as an underclassman. I kept trying to expose myself to learning, and where that left me as a junior and now as a senior is having a pretty broad understanding of the technical scope of the project and being able to understand the leadership side at the same time.

We have sub-team leaders in our leadership committee as well who oversee technical areas, like the Powertrain Team, Suspension Team, and Aerodynamics. That leadership group gets to go more in-depth in their technical fields, whereas I oversee everything. They are very much plugged into their specific fields and, because of that, I choose to have a leadership style which is a little more hands-off and enabling because I trust that my sub-team leads know their sub-teams the best, and they do.

What is Formula SAE?

Formula SAE is a collegiate design series sanctioned by SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) International. The overarching concept of the competition is to have students conceptualize, design, build, and compete with formula-style race cars. The underlying philosophy is that the teams who participate in this series are designing a race car that is intended for people who want to participate in weekend track days, autocross events, or club racing. What it actually looks like on the ground is international universities and technical colleges competing in this design series.

Why should students get involved with Formula SAE and what are some of the benefits of being on the team?

The short answer is to get involved because of the people. As a freshman or an underclassmen in general, when you come into the program, you’re immediately exposed to people who are eager to grab you by the hand and get you involved in the project. Because there is that culture on the team, it ends up being a huge learning experience for undergraduates.

Repairing racecar before competition. Photo / Formula SAE

In my opinion, we do so much learning that you don’t get in the classroom, even in the labs offered in the curriculum. There are just certain things that professors simply do not have the time or the capacity to teach both in the breadth and depth that we’re able to expose people to with this absolutely crazy design challenge.

There are internal benefits to being on the team, which include being with a great group of peers. Our team is large; we carry around 42 active members this year, and on any given year that could fluctuate between 35 and 65 depending on recruitment and projects. So, you’d surely be exposed to people who’d end up being your best friends. For me, the team has become my family. Some of my teammates and I wake up at 5:30 every morning to go to the gym because we like doing that together. There are people on the team who play music together, too.

Externally, because the competition is so large and because its scope is so extreme, there are a lot of corporate sponsors of both the competition itself and our program. The reason they sponsor our event is because they recognize the learning that goes on in this program and what happens to students when they’re exposed to it. Because of this, the job opportunities are fantastic. As a senior now and having been a four-year member of the program, I’m finding that instead of having only one story to tell at an interview, I can pick a different one every time because there’s so much you’re exposed to as you’re learning on the team.

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How can students get involved with Formula SAE? Because the project is technically involved and because we don’t have any prerequisite expectations for students, the process ends up being all about learning. Students who come in on day one don’t have to know anything, they just have to be willing to learn and try things out. For me and most of the folks on our leadership committee, it’s important that we do not have any prerequisites. For example, we don’t even look at students’ GPA or resume because, in my opinion, most of the stuff that makes someone a good teammate just doesn’t show up on paper all the time. That’s why we prefer to get people right in the lab and working with us.

Over the semester, you would be what we choose to call a “recruit”. You are then paired with an upperclassman who you work directly in parallel with and pick up periphery projects that pop up. I don’t intend to have recruits coming in to sort drill bits; that simply won’t let us be a good team in the long run. We want our recruits to dive right in and get involved with a project.

At the end of the semester, we have formal cuts.

We invite students to do interviews with teammates of their choosing, which are typically their mentors that they’ve had over the course of the semester.

During the interview, they would be asked questions about their vision for the team and their vision for themselves on the team. We also like to pose some thought experiments or fun technical questions to

Formula SAE Team. (2019) Photo / Formula SAE

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see how they can approach a problem and apply tools that they would’ve hopefully learned throughout the semester.

If you do make it to the end of the recruitment process and you are either a) not chosen for an interview or b) you interview but are not selected for membership, you are absolutely welcome and encouraged to return the next semester if you choose to continue the process. We provide interview and personal feedback to the students from their mentors about areas where they can focus or projects they should consider picking up the next semester to learn more.

I was actually one of these students; my first semester as a freshman, I recruited all the way through, interviewed, and was not accepted into the team. I did come back the next semester, and four years later, I’m the Team Lead, so it’s absolutely possible and it happens a lot.

As far as recruiting during the pandemic is concerned, it’s tough and it’s something I lose sleep over. Underclassmen are interested, but we don’t have the opportunity to invite them directly into the lab to work together. What we’ve been doing instead is trying to facilitate that learning virtually, and that’s been challenging. We do have a large group of students who are engaging directly with us in meetings and technical conversations. Right now, it’s our intention that we would be able to conduct interviews at the end of this first semester, but if it gets to the point where we feel that we haven’t been able to offer the level of learning that we would like to, then we may have to adjust.

Do you have to be a specific major or grade to join?

You do not have to be a specific major to join. It typically works out that most of the students are engineers and within that, the majority are mechanical engineers and electrical engineers. Our team right now represents business majors, ESM (Engineering Science and Mechanics), Materials Science Engineering, and Computer Science; we’re pretty much across the board.

One of our business students is a motorsports enthusiast and he’s actually a participant in Teen Mazda Spec Miata for NASA, so he likes to get his hands dirty on the car and there’s no reason he shouldn’t be allowed to do so. I tell people all the time that just because you’re an Electrical Engineer doesn’t mean you can’t work on a structures project. You don’t have to be stuck in a role because of your major.

We love to get students involved early because it gives them the most opportunities to learn, but we recruit through junior year. It depends on what the junior leadership group decides, but in the past, the cutoff to recruit is at the end of fall semester junior year, the spring semester of your junior year, or the year before you graduate. The reason we don’t wait until students are seniors is because we’re on a twoyear design cycle and they’d likely be too far behind in their learning to enjoy being on the team.

What is the design and competition process for Formula SAE?

Two years before you compete, you start conceptual design. Typically what that looks like is understanding our past and conceptualizing what trajectory we want to have in the future.

A lot of the design process is iterative, and we must understand what opportunities we have to create new concepts, solve new problems, and engineer solutions. Sometimes we’ve reached the limit on an idea, so we’ll start something new and create more potential for the vehicles.

After that conceptual process, we hold a design review. We invite alumni, seniors, technical experts, and faculty advisors to provide direct technical feedback on these concepts. This typically happens in the fall semester of junior year, and the spring semester of junior year is when we flesh out a concept selection and begin work on iterative CAD design and validation. By senior year you are either totally wrapped

Metal part milled on a 5-axis machine. Photo / Formula SAE

up with or are actively wrapping up your final design since senior year is all about building and testing.

The first event we’ve attended historically is typically in May, and we also attend another event in June.

The first event is in Michigan and that’s one of the larger competitions globally; it’s a combustion-only competition. The second event used to be in Lincoln, Nebraska, and they’ve recently moved it to California; this is a combustion and simultaneously electric competition.

I’ve been to the Michigan competition and the way I’d describe it is magical in the nerdiest way possible. The Michigan competition invites 120 teams and it’s the craziest sight in the world because you have all these undergraduate students from the United States or overseas there to show off and compete with this race car that they’ve built. The environment is buzzing all the time. When you’re trying to compete at that high of a level, problems come up almost all the time, and that creates a lot of stress.

The design part of the competition, where you are critiqued by industry experts, is also stressful, but when you peel back all of the problems and anxiety, it’s absolutely incredible. The stuff students come up with is technically and visually amazing.

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Formula SAE detail shot. Photo / Formula SAE

The rules mandate that before teams get their vehicles inspected for safety, they’re not allowed to turn them on. This is unique to the combustion competition, but there’s a certain point in the week of competition where the majority of people start getting their technical inspections completed and then the paddock areas start becoming live with the sound of people turning on their cars. For me, as a motorsports nerd, that’s absolutely magical and it’s such a cool feeling. Competition is amazing and a lot of fun.

There are both static events, which are the judging events, and then the dynamic events, which is the actual racing, so you can be a winner in an individual event and/or an overall winner. Traditionally, because we have 33 years of program history, we are a very strong team. The level of competition in the past ten years has really increased, especially due to the overseas teams, who have very good programs themselves, but Virginia Tech typically does achieve in the top ten of American teams. We’ve had top ten finishes in the past five years and we’ve also had some top three finishes. We bring home a trophy almost every year.

What is the best thing/favorite moment you have gotten out of Formula SAE?

Externally, my favorite memory was that first time at the Michigan competition when all the cars start firing up and everything comes alive. To me, that’s better than Disney World, so it’s a really cool feeling.

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Internally, I think the best memories happen with the people on the team. After late nights of work, I have really good memories of decompressing with a meal or going downtown to The Cellar to wind down with my teammates. When we’re not super busy, we go hiking, have cookouts, or have Super Bowl parties; those are some of the best memories. For me, after four years of being on the team, it really feels like a family.

Any last thoughts for potential team members?

Formula SAE at Virginia Tech represents a pretty unique opportunity for an undergraduate student to challenge yourself and grow as both an engineer and as a teammate. Formula SAE is as magical as it is because when you ask undergraduate students to go racing, it forces them to think very hard and very critically to come up with neat engineering solutions.

Because of that, it provides an opportunity for students to catapult themselves into a totally new category of engineering.

This is something that happens for most, if not all, the design teams in the Ware Lab, maybe more so for Formula SAE because of the nature of the competition being so extreme. Even if you don’t want to go work for an automotive OEM, engineering military contractor, or anything like that, by the time you leave a program like Formula SAE at Virginia Tech, you have such a large toolbox to carry with you as an engineer or even as a non-engineer, and that’s a direct result of trying to push yourself.

Driver in Formula SAE vehicle. Photo / Formula SAE

Welding the chassis. Photo / Formula SAE

WHY WORK FOR WARE LAB DESCRIPTION The Joseph Fulton Ware Jr. Advanced Engineering Laboratory (Ware Lab) is a laboratory space that houses multiple undergraduate design teams and fosters critical thinking, leadership, and teamwork skills among students across all disciplines.

Ware Lab: 320 Stanger St. Blacksburg, VA 24061, MC 297 Phone: (540) 231-5837

Ware Lab Manager: Dewey Spangler Ware Lab Teams: Astrobotics Baja SAE BOLT Concrete Canoe Team Design Build Fly Formula SAE Hybrid Electric Vehicle Human Powered Submarine SailBOT Steel Bridge Team

DELDOT • Invest in your community • Learn how things work • Make a difference in the lives of others • Advance your career • Grow professionally, both on the job and through our strategic mentoring program • See the results of your work

DelDOT offers a wide variety of entry-level jobs, but right now we are looking for Engineers!

To apply for open positions, please visit our website at:

For more information call 302.760.2011

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A sunset-lit Burruss Hall looks out over an autumn Virginia Tech Campus.

Sean Stroud stroud_shotz

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(1.) The Virginia Tech duck pond is a fall-time favorite on campus, with plenty of benches to stop at to enjoy the scenery. Photo / Sean Stroud (2.) Fall semester nature scenes.

Photo / Sumaiya Haque

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(3.) The Virginia Tech duck pond is a fall-time favorite on campus, with plenty of benches to stop at to enjoy the scenery.

Photo / Sean Stroud (4.) Fall semester nature scenes.

Photo / Sumaiya Haque (Background) ABB Robot Arm at the Research + Demonstration Facility (RDF) Photo / RJ Weaver

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Graduate Life Center.

Photo / Hunain Shamsi

Impact of COVID-19

on Graduate Student Research Article /

Fatemah Ebrahim

The Sustainability, Technology, Infrastructure, and Learning Environments (STILE) research group, led by Dr. Frederick Paige in the Civil and Environmental Engineering department, is one of the many research teams at Virginia Tech dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve). The STILE research group includes a cadre of undergraduate and graduate student researchers who work at the forefront of innovation to serve communities through human-centered infrastructure development.

The advent of COVID-19 has disrupted every aspect of normal life, particularly throughout the academic community, where educators and students alike have been adjusting to new teaching and learning methods while dealing with the plethora of emotional, physical, and economic challenges. And while the future is uncertain for all, the STILE researchers are doing their best to ensure that their research moves forward. This article focuses on the STILE research group, how COVID-19 is affecting their work, and explore positive outcomes and lessons learned during otherwise difficult times.

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Emma Coleman Todoroff Ph.D. Candidate, Via Fellow, and Myers-Lawson Fellow Blacksburg, VA Emma brings a fresh lens to transportation planning strategies with a background in civil engineering and certifications in personal training. Her research examines how the built environment impacts population health with a focus on heart disease prevention.

For Emma, the onset of COVID-19 has meant much more time spent behind a screen, limiting her daily activities and impacting her social interactions with fellow graduate students. Emma remains optimistic in the face of such difficulties stating, “although COVID-19 is an infectious disease, we have learned that the severity of this infectious disease is heavily influenced by the presence of chronic disease, like heart disease. I like to think that my work contributes to the fight against a chronic disease, which is now also very important in the fight against COVID-19.”

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When contemplating the impacts of the pandemic on his work, James states, “In light of the new and evolving threats that exist within our society today, the need to protect people, systems, and infrastructures will always critical element of the design process.” James’ research surrounds the protective design industry and their current state of practice, whereby he interviews stakeholders and analyzes governing documents. James points out that the protective industry is most heavily governed by best practices and standards instead of regulatory codes.

He hopes to address this gap within the literature by creating a database of all governing design documents, which can act as an educational tool for industry professionals and academics within the protective design industry.

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James Z. Boykin Ph.D. Candidate, Gates Millennium Scholar, and GEM Associate Blacksburg, VA

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Wendell Grinton Ph.D. Candidate, GEM Associate Fellow, and New Horizon Graduate Scholar Blacksburg, VA With Wendell, resilience is the name of the game.

He believes in the capabilities of neuroimaging to better enhance civil infrastructure messaging such as wireless emergency alerts (think Amber alerts) and energy feedback. The occurrence of natural disasters and pandemics is a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if,’ which emphasizes the importance of bouncing back after calamity strikes. To keep people safe and healthy, we need to align civil infrastructure messages with human responses better. And while the pandemic has hindered his ability to collect neuroimaging data, he plans to resume data collection as soon as it is safe to do so. Wendell contemplates the potentials of his work by stating, “my work can help people save energy and money on their energy bills, become safer drivers, and be better prepared with disasters or pandemics such as COVID-19 when they occur.”

Dwayne Jefferson Ph.D. Candidate, GEM Associate Fellow, and New Horizon Graduate Scholar Blacksburg, VA - Richmond, VA - Henderson, NC Although the pandemic and changes in class formats have Dwayne back and forth between different cities, he has still managed to move his research forward. Dwayne was well prepared to transition to data collection virtually, wherein he has begun to analyze user experiences of green building certification resources. Since the pandemic has us spending more time at home, one of the best ways to actively combat climate change is to encourage the adoption of green buildings. Through his research, Dwayne hopes to enhance the utility and user experience of building certification resources, which can ultimately increase the adoption of green buildings. His most recent studies have him working closely with EarthCraft Multifamily (ECMF), and he is interested in exploring other green building certifications for his upcoming studies.

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Joseph James Ph.D. Candidate, Blacksburg, VA

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Joseph James’ work is a testament to the age-old saying, “seeing is believing,” wherein he creates interactive visualization dashboards to increase energy data literacy in affordable housing. When contemplating the importance of energy literacy during the pandemic Joseph stated, “Energy data literacy is something that everyone can benefit from especially doing COVID since more people are staying home now they really need to see how energy is being consumed throughout their household to start to live a more energy-efficient life.” During the pandemic, Joseph had to make significant changes to his research design methods. But since his interests and skillset are vast, he was able to quickly navigate new waters and work on new research projects during the pandemic. Joseph was able to create a standalone outdoor solar-powered WiFi network and he hopes to continue to add valuable contributions to energy-efficiency and energy literacy through his ongoing research.

Paige West Master of Science, Charlotte, NC

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With academia at the forefront of concerns throughout the pandemic, research like Paige West’s is important. Paige hopes to improve online engineering courses by studying the utility of learning analytics, which includes student interactions with online course materials. One of Paige’s most recent findings is that contrary to the popular belief that students engage with online course content late into the night or in the early morning hours. Most of the interactions were, in fact, during working hours (2-4 P.M.). Paige contemplates the significance of her work throughout the pandemic saying, “Due to COVID-19, I believe more schools will realize the necessity for online courses. So, through my research, schools and instructors can learn how to better deliver online instruction to the same, if not better, level as traditional face-to-face instruction.”

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Members of the Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers. (2019) Photo / Brian Bogert

Fostering Community

Among Engineers Article /

Christine Dinh

Brian Bogert is a senior at Virginia Tech double majoring in industrial and systems engineering and political science. He has been a member of Virginia Tech’s chapters of the Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers (IISE), Tau Beta Pi, and Alpha Pi Mu since fall of 2018. Bogert now serves as President of Alpha Pi Mu, Vice President of Tau Beta Pi, and Vice President of Operations for IISE. In the following interview, Bogert discusses how he fosters community amongst engineers through his leadership.

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What are the respective missions for IISE, Tau Beta Pi, and Alpha Pi Mu?

IISE IISE is the professional society for the industrial systems engineering (ISE) major. We host companies for professional development events, along with hosting social events to promote networking between students in the ISE major.

Tau Beta Pi Tau Beta Pi is an honor society open to all engineering disciplines. Service and using our skills to serve the community are important at Tau Beta Pi. We also work to promote excellence in engineering, collecting the best and brightest engineers, and connecting them to opportunities that will aid them in their careers.

Alpha Pi Mu Alpha Pi Mu is the honor society for industrial systems engineering. Like Tau Beta Pi, we focus on using our skills to serve our community. Virginia Tech’s chapter of Alpha Pi Mu has been voted the No. 1 chapter in the country for 12 of the last 13 years, so it means a lot that I’m serving as the president now and get to do my part in upholding that reputation.

What have you observed about the varying degrees of communication across these three organizations throughout the course of your memberships?

It’s been interesting seeing the different levels of communication in these organizations as I’ve come into my current positions. In the past, I haven’t been in a position where I could inspire change, but I could still observe all the cultures of communication.

I chose to take on all these leadership roles because I’m passionate about all these organizations and I want to see them become better.

IISE The communication in IISE has always been solid.

We have our Slack server that people are active in, and we also have different GroupMe chats for various ISE classes. Furthermore, we have regular emails and meetings. In IISE, you’re immersed in a variety of ways as a member.

Alpha Pi Mu Alpha Pi Mu didn’t have the same level of communication as IISE, partially because it’s an honor society by invitation only, so you can’t reach out to members for recruitment. Within the organization, there was no

I say we’re a family. I emphasize how close we are because with that closeness comes mutual respect and understanding that improves the ability for people to cooperate.

Bogert

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specific place for members to interact besides regular email communication and our General Assembly Meeting.

Tau Beta Pi At the time I joined, Tau Beta Pi had very little communication both from officers to members and between officers. There were a lot of announcements that got left to the wayside. I knew I wanted a leadership role in Tau Beta Pi so I could improve our communication.

When you foster community, you can learn from each other and come up with better ideas.

How do you navigate through the varying standards of communication across these three organizations in your leadership?

I’m trying to start by getting the officer teams in these organizations closer together — making sure that we have officer socials and establishing an environment where people feel like they can talk to me.

In my leadership of the operations team in IISE, for example, I don’t say we’re a team — I say we’re a family. I emphasize how close we are because with

that closeness comes mutual respect and understanding that improves the ability for people to cooperate. At the end of the officer team meetings, I do something called “fist bumps” where I congratulate each member of my team for something they accomplished since the last meeting. In Tau Beta Pi, I inspired the initiative to start a Slack server. Currently, it’s just officers, but it will eventually be open to everyone. Through this, we’re having more regular communications such as officer meetings. We have officers that are passionate about seeing this organization become better and now that we’re all communicating with each other, we can figure out how to best implement the same thing for our members.

By developing camaraderie on an officer level, we’re more aligned when developing ways to get our members on board with the same sense of community.

In your experience, what strategies work best for fostering community amongst engineers?

I try to find people who communicate well and put them in touch with people whose strengths lie more within their technical skills so they can learn from

Members of Alpha Pi Mu. (2019) Photo / Brian Bogert

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each other. I’m a big proponent of interdisciplinary studies, as evidenced by my double major. In these organizations, I’m bringing the communication side of political science, where there is an emphasis on strong leadership and delegation, into the engineering realm. This strategy has worked well; the organizations are functioning better and people are getting stuff done. I have been able to launch initiatives I never would have dreamed of, like reaching out to other Alpha Pi Mu chapters to plan events — that’s something that hasn’t been done in years.

Why has fostering community amongst engineers been such a prominent part of your leadership?

In high school, I was the shyest person in the world.

All five of my CliftonStrengths at the beginning of college — learner, input, context, futuristic, intellection — were things about strategy, and nothing about connecting with other people. I feel that’s changed. I have experienced the joy of being around other people and learning from them. I want to help other students find that light. I hope to do my part and keep these initiatives going on for years to come.

I have experienced the joy of being around other people and learning from them. I want to help other students find that light.

Bogert

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Volume 41, No. 4

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Students social distancing on the Drill Field.

Photo / Meredith DePuy

How Are Freshman Engineers

Choosing a Major?

Article /

Adeline Ghosh

COVID-19 has changed many aspects of daily life. Businesses have shut down, everyone is social distancing, and travel has ceased in most parts of the world. This is all true, however, have you thought about what this means for college freshmen? They are expected to pick a major early into the spring semester‌ just a few months away. This article focuses on the Virginia Tech College of Engineering freshmen and how COVID-19 is affecting their big decision.

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Engineers’ Forum | www.ef.org.vt.edu

World, Biomedical Ethics, and Introduction to Industrial and Systems Engineering.

Many freshmen feel that they are missing out on different in-person experiences in their engineering classes. Professor Jenny Lo of Foundations of Engineering confirms that, “even during the pandemic, I am still able to do the same things to help students get acquainted with different majors.” During her classes, she talks about an engineering job of the day which shows students different careers they can pursue as well as any advice alum has for them. She also has an assignment that encourages students to explore a few engineering disciplines in more depth!

Extracurriculars also play a role in the decision-making process. Jules Jones, a senior in industrial and systems engineering, said “the ISE organizations (ISE Ambassadors, IISE, and SWE) allowed me to preview what it would be like to be an ISE student amongst the endless professional development and community building events I wanted to be a part of.” For Leah Thomas, the club, Quality of Life led her to biomedical engineering. She recalled, “I loved the fact that what we were designing was going to truly impact and help someone’s life.” This design team club works with medical devices, prosthetics, and other technologies. It just takes a little digging in GobblerConnect to find the club that’s right for you!

VT General Engineering Freshman hard at work. Photo / Meredith DePuy

What normally influences major selection?

Under normal circumstances, there may not be a step-by-step process into engineering major selection, but there are some common experiences that most students have. Many upperclassmen students recommend taking some engineering-related courses. Although Foundations of Engineering is required for all general engineering students, other classes include Engineering Research, Materials in Today’s

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Schiffert Health Center building. Photo / Meredith DePuy

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What is COVID-19 doing?

“COVID affects everything, and I don’t think choosing a major will be an exception,” says materials science and engineering sophomore, Shelby Platner.

Most classes and opportunities that students have to explore majors have turned to virtual settings to avoid the effects of the pandemic. Extracurriculars have also started having virtual meetings and events.

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE), for example, hosted a Major Mixer in mid-October. This opportunity allowed mostly freshmen engineering students to talk to juniors and seniors from all 13 engineering majors! Additionally, the Student Engineers’ Council (SEC) is hosting the Leadership, Engagement, and Career Virtual Event Series which has been sponsored

by Micron. This is a series of events that include talks, panels, and workshops that are ongoing throughout the fall semester!

There may be plenty of events available but Alice Noble, an academic and career advisor for the Department of Engineering Education, believes that “in-person [events] naturally create an environment where certain distractions are not present. When you’re sitting in your dorm watching a virtual event, it’s on the student to create a distraction-free environment, which is very difficult.” Students may be struggling with finding that kind of environment but on the flip side, virtual events can sometimes be more helpful than in-person events. Leah Thomas, a junior in biomedical engineering, stated that during an SEC Engineering Expo event, “students were more willing to submit their questions without the social pressure of having to speak up in a large room. This led to more discussions and helpful answers that I might not have thought of otherwise.” COVID-19 may be changing the modality of events but students continue to find ways to persevere!

How are freshmen handling it? What can they do?

Shelby Platner, a sophomore in Materials Science and Engineering at VT. Photo / Meredith DePuy

Without the normal classroom experience, students have mostly virtual experiences through student-led panels or career fairs. According to undecided engineering freshman, Kiran Marques, “engineering is hands-on, so every hands-on experience we’ve missed is one less opportunity to see if we actually like a field, aside from simply reading and hearing about it.” Some students worry that they may not

An empty classroom set up with distanced desks. Photo / Meredith DePuy

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Engineers’ Forum | www.ef.org.vt.edu

beautiful fall colors during your experience! These experiences may not be traditional but it may inspire people to ask more in-depth questions. As mechanical engineering senior Will Hom said, “design teams [and other clubs] are still recruiting freshmen, so that’s a great way to see if your first-pick major is the best fit for you!” Use your resources! Professors and advisors are ready to help. They can point you in the right direction or talk through your concerns. Lastly, get involved! Joining a design team or a club that is engineering related can help you discover majors that you may not have been interested in before!

Kiran Marques, a freshman in General Engineering at VT. (2019) Photo / Kiran Marques

know enough about a field before committing to it.

Others believe that it is common for people to have a job in a different area than their degree.

In terms of what students can do to make the process easier, Noble recommends taking advantage of oneon-one appointments with academic advisors, workshops on major exploration, creating their own plan of study, and joining student groups to help form new experiences in their future major. She also encourages students to reach out to their advisors as they can “guide you to whatever resources you need, be it tutoring, student groups, Career Resources, Cook Counseling...etc.” Keep in mind that freshman year is the time to learn and explore, so being undecided right now is okay!

The colorful leaves of fall time. Photo / Adeline Ghosh

Final tips for freshmen: Talking to upperclassmen may feel intimidating up first, but most of them are happy to help! Jones noted that “upperclassmen were the most helpful because they are the ones that actually experience the courses, experiential experiences like internships and co-ops, and more!” Take advantage of the events you can experience! You can also enjoy Blacksburg’s

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CEO of Boeing David Calhoun(‘79) and Calhoun Scholars presenting at Winter Showcase (December 2019) Photo / Sumaiya Haque

Calhoun

Discovery Program Article /

Sumaiya Haque

Established by a 20 million dollar donation from David Calhoun ’79, President and Chief Executive Officer of Boeing, the innovative Calhoun Discovery Program (CDP) at Virginia Tech engages electrical, computer, and industrial systems engineering students through reimagining education and providing a full tuition scholarship and $10,000 learning grant. From inspiring collaboration among students across various majors, to providing networking opportunities with faculty, industry, and non-profit partners, Calhoun scholars will graduate from Virginia Tech with the growth mindset and diverse tools needed to succeed in the real world while living out our motto Ut Prosim, “That I May Serve.”

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Despite the program being new at Virginia Tech, the impact it has had on students’ growth and development has proven the importance of rethinking how we approach engineering education. While the Transdisciplinary Studio provides the avenue for engineers to collaborate with Virginia Tech students spanning multiple majors and skill sets, the interdisciplinary general education courses, which serves as an alternative for the traditional pathway requirements, challenges students to work outside their comfort zone in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

A clear example of how the Calhoun Discovery Program opened the door for students to immerse themselves at Virginia Tech and beyond is William Poland, an Honors College sophomore from Blacksburg majoring in electrical engineering.

Poland’s journey began during the second project of his freshman year transdisciplinary story, where he worked with fellow

Poland working in the Calhoun Studio (2020) Photo / Sumaiya Haque

“I am not just confined to being around Engineers all the time. I also get insight from business, CMDA, communications, and many other academic fields. As Engineers, we are stuck most of the time only around each other and not given the broader perspective we need to tackle on the real world.”

Poland

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scholars on additive manufacturing. One of the best parts of the hands-on curriculum the Calhoun Discovery Program provides is the opportunity for students to work on technical projects and present to companies like Boeing and General Electric as soon as they step foot on campus. By only his second semester at Virginia Tech, Poland was able to convince industrial systems engineering and manufacturing professor, Dr. Kong, to let him participate in research on robotics and 3D printing.

“There is no way this opportunity would have been possible as a freshman without the exposure to teamwork, presentation, and transdisciplinary work that Calhoun provided for me.”

From there, the spiral of success and opportunities flooded Poland’s way. Due to the vast skills Poland acquired from Calhoun, he was able to secure an internship following his freshman summer with a Department of Defense grant, which focused on manufacturing. Now, Poland is currently researching with a graduate research assistant on a Digital Factory project.

In addition to training him to thrive, Poland believes that the best part of the Calhoun Discovery Program is the emphasis on combining various disciplines to solve world problems.

“I am not just confined to being around Engineers all the time. I also get insight from Business, CMDA, Communications, and many other academic fields. As Engineers, we are stuck most of the time only around each other and not given the broader perspective we need to tackle on the real world.”

The last two years of the Calhoun Discovery Studio involve Workcells, which according to the program’s website,“aims to integrate the advancement of Industry 4.0 with sustainable and equitable development through collaborative socio-technical innovation.” Through this opportunity, Poland and other Calhoun Scholars will work closely with partners like CAT, Capital Youth Empowerment, Boeing and many more.

Poland’s story, as well as many others, aim to re-evaluate how institutions currently approach Engineering Education. The Calhoun Discovery Program is only one example of how Virginia Tech is striving to be forward-thinking and deliver a multitude of chances to be prepared for success in the professional world.

“Poland concluded, “It’s given me a lot of opportunities I might have not learned about that have allowed me to become well rounded, and as a result, I believe it will make me an even better engineer.”

“There is no way this opportunity would have been possible as a freshman without the exposure to teamwork, presentation, and transdisciplinary work that Calhoun provided for me.”

Poland

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Calhoun Studio from the outside looking in. Photo / Sumaiya Haque

Burruss from the Drillfield. Photo / Sumaiya Haque

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Joshua Crocker, sophomore in Aerospace Engineering “I love cycling to campus to study in the academic buildings and learning tricks helps me destress when I need a break.” Photo / Julia A. Pimentel

Virginia Tech Resources Academic and Professional Development Support Student Success Center: https://studentsuccess.vt.edu/ Smith Career Center: https://career.vt.edu/

Mental Health, Physical Health, and Well-Being Cook Counseling Center: https://ucc.vt.edu/

Recreational Sports: https://recsports.vt.edu/visit/mccomas.html

Extracurricular Activities and Student Engagement Cultural and Community Centers: https://ccc.vt.edu/ Gobblerconnect: https://gobblerconnect.vt.edu/

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Engineers’ Forum | www.ef.org.vt.edu

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