Engineers' Forum November 2021

Engineers’ Forum NOVEMBER 2021 VOLUME 42 NUMBER 4

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

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Volume 42, No. 4

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Photo / Nidhi Chopdekar

On the Cover Burruss Hall on a bright sunny morning.

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Gobblerfest Showcase Bethany Hillmann

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SEC Hybrid Engineering Expo Jolene Ghosh

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Society of Women Engineers’ WE’21 Conference Adeline Ghosh

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Youth Drone Program Alex Parrish

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Volume 42, No. 4

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Welcome to the November 2021 issue!

Happy fall! Seeing the autumn colors settle in amongst the trees is one of the greatest parts of living in Blacksburg. This time of year is also well-known for midterms and mid-semester projects.

On behalf of the Engineers’ Forum team, we wish you the best of luck on your work. Hopefully reading this issue will give you a much deserved break from assignments!

In this issue, Bethany Hillmann highlights a handful of the many engineering clubs and organizations at Virginia Tech. If you’re interested in joining a new club and meeting new peers, this is a great read.

The 2020-2021 academic year also held the first hybrid Engineering Exposition hosted by the Student Engineers’ Council (SEC). This article is for those interested in what Engineering Expo is and how the SEC organized such a successful career fair.

Continuing to showcase the growth of in-person events, Adeline captures WE’ 21, the Society of Women Engineers’ Conference. In her article, she provides a unique perspective as an undergraduate attendee.

Featuring the work of our own faculty advisor, Alex Parrish, this issue includes the captivating story of an aerospace engineering student who is bringing drones to the Dominican Republic.

Lastly, our November issue encompasses the artistry of Nidhi Chopdekar and Sean Stroud through their colorful photographs of campus. Take a look!

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

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**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.**

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

Writers

Photography Team

Design Team

Faculty Advisors

@vtengineers_forum

Julia A. 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) Adeline Ghosh - Electrical Engineering (‘24) Jessica Barbish - Materials Science and Engineering (‘22) Hayley Stout - Industrial Design (‘22)

Aaiswarya Gopinadam - General Engineering (‘25) Adeline Ghosh - Electrical Engineering (‘24) Bethany Hillmann - Creative Writing (‘25) Cheickna Koura-Bodji - General Engineering (‘24) Jolene Ghosh - General Engineering (‘24) Kashyap Bhatt - Mechanical Engineering (‘22)

Nidhi Chopdekar - Computer Science (Graduate) Sean Stroud - WIldlife Conservation (‘22)

RJ Weaver - Industrial Design (‘22) Hayley Stout - Industrial Design (‘22)

Linda Hazelwood Alex Parrish

Virginia Tech - Engineers’ Forum

www.vtengineersforum.com

(Background) Parts from Randolph Hall Photo / Kendal Price

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EF members Alex Petsopoulos & Hayley Stout. Photo / Virginia Tech College of Engineering Facebook Page

Showcasing Different Engineering Organizations at Article /

Bethany Hillmann (‘24)

GobblerFest 5

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On September 4th, Virginia Tech’s annual Gobblerfest started up, showcasing over 700 booths for organizations and opportunities. For roughly three hours, students could walk around and explore different clubs, while also taking advantage of performances, rides, and attractions. Among the expansive sea of tents and poster boards, there were plenty of engineering-related organizations showing off their opportunities.

Engineers Without Borders is an organization that seeks to improve the quality of life through beneficial engineering projects. Their team meets every week to discuss, plan, travel, assess, and implement their projects for Uganda, Nicaragua, and Kenya. For their project in Uganda, they focus on building and

implementing solar panels to foster electricity. In 2019, their project helped to finish a 10-panel solar power system for St. Michael’s Primary school. They also fundraised $1,300 for water tests to test the school’s well. Recently, they’re working remotely to help place a solar-powered well for the community surrounding the school. This winter break, the organization is planning to travel to Nicaragua to help the community by creating a seed bank that stores seeds and keeps them safe in case of droughts. By using CAD, they are planning on designing a seed bank that is 8m x 10m for the community that has about 300 people. Although you don’t have to be an engineering major to join the team, for this project, they will be looking for any civil or structural engineers.

The newest project that the team will take on is a

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Gobblerfest ferris wheel. Photo / Virginia Tech

water and sanitation plan for communities in Kenya.

They will have to design, while taking into account the location and accessibility of possible resources, a system that can provide reliable, clean water all throughout the year. They’ll look at different kinds of wells and pumps to determine which design is best for the community. All of their projects focus on implementing equitable, environmentally friendly, and economically sustainable designs.

Engineering in the Arts is an interdisciplinary network of students who are both interested in engineering and the arts. Engineering students don’t have to be solely focused on STEM, and this organization provides a creative outlet for those students that want to explore more. Arts and Engineering students work together on yearly projects, and this club also provides great opportunities and connections that will help students improve their experience at Virginia Tech.

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The Society of American Military Engineers is open to anyone who is interested in engineering in the military. This semester, their team is working on creating a trebuchet. Global Engineering Ambassadors help the Global Engineering office reach out to engineering students through initiatives and marketing different activities and opportunities.They are a select group of students that spends at least 10 hours each semester volunteering and helping out the office.

They complete tasks, such as running information booths at the Global Education fair and the Global Education Resource fair. If you’re in Galileo or Hypatia, you might have seen them give presentations.

They also give presentations for engineering classes on the different global opportunities Virginia Tech offers.

The Graduate Engineering Mechanics Society is an organization that centers around students who aspire to have a degree or pursue research in the engineering mechanics graduate program. Throughout the year, they offer social and professional development events for its members. This also helps create a community of support and collaboration, specifically around engineering mechanics. Furthermore, the organization fosters communication between students and faculty and acts as an advocate for students if they have any issues or concerns. Also facilitating communication, the organization seeks to reach out and work with the Society of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, so the two graduate programs within the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics can collaborate.

A bright sunday morning at the drillfield. Photo / Nidhi Chopdekar

The Theme Park Engineering and Design organization is open to anyone who is interested in roller coasters and theme parks, even if someone has only been on a couple of rides. Throughout the year, the club has exciting events, such as visiting different parks like Kings Dominion or Disney World. They also have guest speakers, networking events, and professional development opportunities.

They also compete in design competitions and host model building contests. There are plenty of opportunities within the club to expand your network and meet new people, while also having a shared interest in the thrill and excitement of roller coasters.

Gobblerfest crowds. Photo / Virginia Tech

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Students interacting with companies at Engineering Expo. Photo / SEC

SEC HYBRID

Engineering Expo Article /

Jolene Ghosh (‘24)

What is Engineering Expo?

The Student Engineers’ Council (SEC)

Engineering Expo is a career fair that takes place each year and allows engineering students the opportunity to speak with numerous companies. Engineering Expo at Virginia Tech is the second-largest career fair run by students in the United States. This year’s 2021 Expo marked the 42nd time the event has been hosted. The large-scale event was hybrid and took place both in person at Squires Student Center as well as online using Brazen, a virtual resource for hosting career fairs. Having a hybrid event allowed for students and companies to have more opportunities to speak with each other regarding internship and co-op positions.

The Student Engineers’ Council, SEC, worked tirelessly to plan Engineering Expo and ensure that each year the event can expand and include more companies for students to speak with. They are always looking for ways to help fellow engineering students through Engineering Expo as well as other events and outreach activities that they have throughout the year. In addition to Expo, the organization awards scholarships, the Lynn Nystrom Organization Fund, the Design Team Endowment Fund, and the Big Contribution to help fund various engineering design teams and clubs at Virginia Tech. The SEC council also plans events for engineering students throughout the year to help them get involved on campus

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and explore their engineering-related interests along with possible career paths.

By participating in these events, students are able to build their networking skills and gain support to achieve their goals at Virginia Tech.

Preparing Students for Expo In addition to planning the event, the SEC hosted Expo prep sessions to give students tips on how to interact with company representatives. They planned two in-person sessions -- the first session consisted of a panel discussion with Virginia Tech engineering students and their experiences working with companies through internships and coops. Some of the companies that the students had worked with included Amazon, SpaceX, Northrop Grumman, Leidos, and Kimley-Horn. In the second session, students were given an exclusive opportunity to hear about what companies are looking for in possible candidates through a panel with company representatives from Collins Aerospace, Volvo, Shared Spectrum Company, and G2 Ops. In order to guarantee that all engineering students were able to attend Expo prep events, the SEC also provided Zoom company information sessions so that students could learn more about specific companies and ask

A student speaking with companies at Engineering Expo.

Photo / SEC

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General Electric Power booth at Engineering Expo. Photo / SEC

company representatives questions about their corporate values and work environment. They had individual sessions with TTI Floor Care, Cummins, General Dynamics Electric Boat, BAE Systems, and General Dynamics Mission System.

In order to make sure Engineering Expo was a success for students, other organizations such as the Society of Women Engineers, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, the Association for Women in Computing, the National Society of Black Engineers, and the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers at Virginia Tech worked together to plan Expo prep events as well such as workshops for resume reviews, elevator pitches, and mock interviews. The Engineering Department at Virginia Tech works to ensure the success of all engineering students and prepare them for the workforce. Through the various engineering organizations at Virginia Tech and the events that they host, students are able to discover more ways to excel in their chosen engineering disciplines.

Students speaking with companies. Photo / SEC

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A Company’s Perspective This year, the SEC’s Engineering Expo consisted of more than 270 companies. One of the companies that chose to attend this year was WestRock, the second-largest packaging company in North America. A Research and Development Manager from WestRock, Ashok Ghosh, said that “Westrock views Virginia Tech as a premier institute for full time hiring and we look to build relationships via co-op/internship programs, among others.”. Students at Virginia Tech are given many opportunities to network with companies at the Engineering Expo event.

Expo is open to students beginning from their freshman year of college. The SEC provides students with a list of companies and their specific employment requirements.

Ashok Ghosh R&D Manager at WestRock.

When asked why WestRock chose to attend Engineering Expo, a company representative, Trishul Patel said “the diversity of students at Virginia Tech is outstanding, and the ability for them to be flexible between internship and co-op opportunities has also been a plus.”.

Virginia Tech is always looking to increase diversity in the engineering department and companies truly appreciate Hokie engineers’ dedication to constantly improve and discover new ways to innovate. Companies recognize that the Engineering Department at Virginia Tech is highly ranked and consists of students who best exemplify the traits of exceptional engineers. Virginia Tech’s Engineering Expo is able to be successful year after year due to the hard work put in by engineering organizations, students, and the sessions available to prepare for the event.

Trishul Patel at the WestRock company booth. Photo / Ashok Ghosh

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WE’21

Society of Women Engineers Conference Article /

Adeline Ghosh (‘24)

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is a club which advocates for and empowers women who are in STEM fields. Additionally, they host an annual global conference with the purpose of empowering women through professional development, networking, and an exclusive career fair! Each year, this conference is held at a different location. For WE’21, the conference was in Indianapolis, Indiana. The SWE chapter at Virginia Tech (VT) was able to sponsor 23 ladies to attend this year.

Career Fair & Opportunities: The SWE conference opens up a number of opportunities including a career fair and many professional development sessions! The career fair has a huge selection of companies that participate in the fair in a combination of virtual and in person modalities.

While talking to companies, many members were given an opportunity to interview onsite! These time slots took place on the first and second day of the conference.

In addition to the career fair, the SWE conference also had many opportunities to learn about self growth and network. Members could use the SWE conference app or website to choose between a number of

Five of SWE at VT’s Officers (Kathryn, Katelyn, Mackenzie, Adeline and Megan).

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sessions. After the daily keynote speaker, sessions included topics like “Around the World in 40 Hours - Working Globally,” “Building an Accommodating, Diverse, and Inclusive Work Culture,” “Building Momentum in Industry: Skills for your First 5 Years,” and many more.

Attendees also had access to resources like the SWE Member Center which gave members a place to unwind, network, and explore the displays of SWE member benefits.

The professional headshots resource gave attendees an opportunity to get headshots taken which could be used for things like LinkedIn or included on resumes.

Past Success: In case you are wondering about the success of the career fair, there are many ladies who were able to get opportunities in the past! Erin Cox, a junior in electrical engineering talked about how “it was a good experience. There were a ton of great companies to talk to. I got an internship with GE Renewable Energy from it. I went to the GE lounge and talked to the people there and they gave me an interview (this was for the virtual conference in 2020).” Additionally, the career fair also cuts out on some of the time it takes to go through the internship search because of the format.

For example, many attendees are given an opportunity to Day 1 keynote speaker, Stephanie Hill Executive Vice President, Rotary and Mission Systems for Lockheed Martin. Photo / Adeline Ghosh

give an interview within just a few hours of speaking to company representatives. Some are given immediate decisions while others receive decisions between one to two weeks after the interview day.

Another member, Vitha Anumolu, a junior in Industrial and Systems Engineering, mentioned that she “was able to get multiple company contacts, which helped build my network. I haven’t gotten an internship directly from a WE conference, as I had accepted one before the conference.” Anumolu used her time at the career fair to focus on expanding her network, so the conference is a great opportunity to build relationships for future experiences.

Sarah Loomis, a senior in biological systems engineering, stated that the “career fair was awesome - much more relaxed than Engineering Expo.” Overall, the members who attend the SWE conference are all satisfied with their experience at the career fair. Many also use it as an opportunity to network with other women attending the fair since it can help build more female engineering contacts.

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Bonding: The annual conference has continually strengthened the bond between SWE members! Loomis mentioned that “the conference, especially my freshman year, was an incredible opportunity to meet upperclassmen and other freshmen. I met one of my best friends who is now on my senior design team through SWE conference my freshman year!” Another SWE member, Cox, stated that, “I met a lot of fellow SWE members from VT and got to know them a lot better.

I really appreciated the opportunity to get to know them better!” The conference gave SWE members the opportunity to travel, eat, and explore a new location with each other. This experience encourages members to grow closer to one another as they navigate the conference together.

Top: More of SWE at VT members at the Gold Over America Tour.

Bottom: The SWE at VT’s chapter president, Sarah Loomis, pictured at the Gold over America Tour.

Some of the SWE at VT chapter by a local Indianapolis monument!

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Sightseeing:

Conclusion:

Another part of the conference is being able to explore different cities in between sessions at the SWE conference. At WE’21 many of the ladies who attended went to the Gold Over America Tour in Indianapolis. This tour starred Simone Biles, an American Olympic gymnast. The message behind the tour was fitting for the SWE conference since it was about inspiring and celebrating female athletes. The other gymnasts in the show included Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, Grace McCallum, MyKayla Skinner, Laurie Hernandez, Morgan Hurd, Katelyn Ohashi, Chellsie Memmel, Shilese Jones, Melanie Johanna De Jesus Dos Santos, Ellie Black and Nia Dennis.

Another experience was being able to eat at local restaurants! On the second day of the SWE conference, all the ladies from SWE at VT who attended went to Mimi Blue, a restaurant known for their meatballs and banana mousse!

In between sessions, some of the SWE members explored the city of Indiannapolis, visited the Canal Walk, or took pictures around local buildings and monuments.

Generally, the SWE chapter at VT felt that WE’21 was an absolute success! Adeline Ghosh, a sophomore in Electrical Engineering said that “I had an amazing time at the conference! Networking was made so much easier thanks to the sessions and career fair.

I also got to meet so many more members of our chapter that I previously had never talked to. I definitely made some lifelong friends in Indianapolis!”

Next year’s conference will be held in Houston, Texas. If you are interested in attending, the first step is to become an official member of SWE and reach out to any of the officers at VT’s SWE chapter!

Members at the WE’21 conference day 2 group dinner.

A photospread of downtown Indianapolis. Pictures taken by SWE at VT members.

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Engineering student brings youth drone academy program to the

Dominican Republic Article /

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Alex Parrish (VT)

Engineers’ Forum | www.ef.org.vt.edu

Aerospace engineering major Garrett Asper has been making trips to the Dominican Republic with his church since 2014. These mission trips have also included educational elements, giving Asper the opportunity to lead STEM classes for the villages he’s visited.

“In 2019, I did a STEM program with a school that we work with,” Asper said. “This school is very rural. They bus in students from 20 different villages within a 20-mile radius to give them education. We brought them a STEM program to do some activities that were hands-on, like mini model bridges testing their strength and building bottle rockets.”

With that foundation in teaching, Asper wanted to offer a new opportunity for the 2020 trip. His plan, before being cancelled with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, would have covered circuits and renewable energy. Unable to make the trip, Asper used the time to plan what he might want to offer if a trip was possible in 2021.

Asper had spent time during his freshman year working in the Unmanned Systems Laboratory under the direction of Associate Professor Kevin Kochersberger. He was familiar with the lab’s involvement in bringing drone education to Malawi.

“This year I wanted to do a similar program, so I talked to Dr. Kochersberger about my history in the Dominican Republic and what I wanted to do,” said Asper. “He was like, all right, let’s do it. I’ll fund the materials.”

The program was modeled on part of the Malawi class co-founded by Kochersberger, putting materials in the hands of students to build motorized foam gliders to test the laws of aerodynamics, electricity, and surfaces. This

included integration with electricity and circuits, something Asper had already planned to teach. Adding Kochersberger’s ready-made curriculum and materials made expanding the program much easier.

Garrett Asper works with a teacher at a STEM class in the Dominican Republic. Photo courtesy of Garrett Asper.

“We had students from middle-school age up to 18, and we identified students interested in learning more about STEM. The school had lost a lot of students who had to go to work in the sugar cane fields during Covid, but we ended up with 42 students. Most of the students at the school got to do the program.”

Members of Asper’s team were “flight instructors” who worked in smaller groups to teach principles of electricity. While the program had been a more broad-based electrical class at its inception, the inclusion of the drone curriculum caused the group to apply those principles more directly to the circuits powering that technology.

Students also started branching out on their own during lessons, creating their own inventions.

“By the end of the day, they were coming up with their own projects, building things that weren’t part of the lesson plan,” said Asper. “That was my goal, to expose them to different areas of STEM as a means of inspiring them to continue with their education.”

“The Unmanned Systems Lab is committed to outreach education worldwide, and Garrett represents one of several USL students on the move in the developing world, teaching 21st century skills where they are needed the most,” Kochersberger said. “I’m confident some of his students will find additional opportunities after these early STEM introductions.”

Some of the SWE at VT chapter by a local Indianapolis monument!

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1) Burruss Hall stands out behind the colors of campus.

2) The colors at the duck pond shine under the afternoon sun.

3) Mabry mill is located on the Blue Ridge Parkway, about 1 hour from campus. This old water mill has been standing since 1910.

4) The fall colors of Grayson Highlands light up southern Virginia.

5) Fireworks ring out over the Drillfield at Virginia Tech’s Ring Premier.

6) The scenes from the Blue Ridge Parkway are like a scene from a John Denver song.

7) The colors of the drillfield stand out behind Virginia

Tech’s

Memorial

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/ Sean Stroud

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War

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