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Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering Department

Noteworthy News

Where are our MNEs?

We would like to hear from you. Email Mitzi Farmer at mwfarmer@k-state.edu with information about your career, family or other post-graduation updates. When you send news be sure to include your name, graduation year, a photo if available and your location.

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Employer’s matching gift helps grad’s giving go further
Emily Jones has built a racecar’s suspension, led research and development, coordinated public relations events and recruited corporate sponsors — all before completing her bachelor’s degree.
The mechanical engineering graduate is quick to point out that her involvement with Powercat Motorsports Formula SAE Team transformed her K-State education from textbook information to “a physical representation of what I’d learned.”
Now employed as a Facilities Engineer for ConocoPhillips, Jones has given back to the team that gave so much to her. Her employer matches her charitable giving, doubling the support for today’s team members.
“I want future students to take advantage of the opportunities presented by design teams at K-State,” Jones said. “It creates better engineers, and employers appreciate that.”
Jones is proud to work for ConocoPhillips, one of many companies that enhance employee generosity through a matching gift program.
“We are highly encouraged to give back to our communities, because where we work is also where we live,” she said. “This means a lot to me personally and many others in my company, because those are the type of people we like to do business with.”
Caption: 2012 mechanical engineering graduate Emily Jones, third from right, learned about everything from suspension systems to team sponsorships during her time on K-State’s Powercat Motorsports student team. Now she’s giving back, combined with a match from employer ConocoPhillips, to help others enjoy the same experience.

MNE faculty recognition

Melanie Derby received K-State’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs Spring 2014 Faculty Development and University Small Research Grant Award.

Douglas McGregor, Kenneth Shultis and Steven Bellinger received a $368,705 funding award from the U.S. Department of Defense for their project “Advanced Trenched Structure for Solid-State Neutron Detectors.”

Douglas McGregor received a $50,000 funding award from Schlumberger Technology Corporation for his project “SIC Materials for Neutron Detectors.”

Douglas McGregor and Kenneth Shultis received a $307,175 funding award from the U.S. Department of Defense for their project “Wearable Detection Device (WDD) — Low Visibility Gamma Neutron Detectors.”

Youqi Wang received a $43,000 funding award from NASA for her project “Stress Prediction for 3D Woven Preforms and Composites.”

Warren White received a $500 funding award from the FDA, KSU Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, for his presentation “A Nonlinear Control Scheme for Extremum Power Seeking in Wind Turbine Energy Conversion Systems” at the American Control Conference in Oregon.

Steven Eckels received an ASHRAE Distinguished Service Award at the ASHRAE Annual Conference in Seattle, Washington.

Dale Schinstock received a $163,096 funding award from NASA — with collaborators Thomas J. Barstow, Kinesiology, and Steven Warren, ECE — for the project “Standardized ‘Pre-Flight’ Exercise Tests to Predict Performance During Extravehicular Activities in a Lunar Environment.”

Bill Dunn, Hitesh Bindra and Jeremy Roberts received a $396,740 funding award from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for their “Kansas State University Nuclear Research Fellowship Program.”

Bill Dunn received a $287,125 funding award from the National Nuclear Security Administration for a project titled “Proposal for a Consortium for Nonproliferation-Enabling Capabilities.” This project is a sub-award from North Carolina State University on a project of the same name.

MNE student accomplishments

The Baja team placed in the top 20 in a recent competition in Pittsburg, Kansas. Faculty adviser is Greg Spaulding.

The unmanned aerial systems team finished fourth at the 12th annual Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International’s student competition. Faculty advisers are Dale Schinstock and Garth Thompson.

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