Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Semester End

The weather is finally nice again after it snowed last week. Yes, it snowed. Michigan weather is so unpredictable. I have seen a lot of people taking graduation pictures around campus, and it seems strange to me that some of my friends are graduating. It feels like I have not known them very long, but at the same time it also feels like I have known some of them forever. Even though it is the last week of class, I still have a lot of assignments to finish. Yesterday I had a presentation, and I have some final reports due on Friday. So, I still have a lot of work to do.

Friday is also Design Day, which occurs on the last day of class each semester. This semester is the largest Design Day yet with 198 teams, 882 students, and 55 Michigan-based companies and institutions. I have talked about Design Day in past blog posts, but if you want to read more about this Friday's event, click here.

So after I finish my final assignments and classes, I will be studying for finals, taking exams, and packing up all of my belongings. I am excited for the summer and the chance to get engineering industry experience. Have a nice summer!

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Scholarships

There are a variety of scholarship opportunities for MSU College of Engineering students of all class levels. Many students have been awarded major scholarships, including national scholarships and fellowships.

Recently a MSU College of Engineering student was awarded the Goldwater Scholarship, which is a prestigious national award for undergraduates studying STEM who are interested in pursuing graduate studies. Rebecca Carlson is a sophomore double-majoring in chemical engineering and Chinese, and is the third MSU College of Engineering student to be awarded the Goldwater Scholarship in two years. She is very involved in undergraduate research, presenting at UURAF (University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum) and doing research in Dr. S. Patrick Walton's lab. For more information about this year's Goldwater Scholars from MSU, click here.

Incoming freshmen do not have to fill out a separate application for scholarships awarded by the College of Engineering. Generally students find out if they get engineering scholarships by mid-April. Some of MSU's incoming freshmen are entering with scholarships they won from the Honors College's Alumni Distinguished Scholarship competition and the National Merit Scholarship Competition. To read more about the incoming freshman engineering class, read the original article here:



Current engineering students just have to submit a resume and one-page application online each year to be considered for engineering scholarships. It is seriously one of the easiest applications I have ever filled out and there are no essay questions, so there is no reason NOT to fill out the scholarship application.

There are other scholarships and financial aid offered throughout campus, but it would be best to contact them directly for information or questions. Here are some places to visit if you want more information on scholarships:

Office of Financial Aid: http://www.finaid.msu.edu/
NIFS (National and International Fellowship and Scholarship) Office: https://nifs.msu.edu/


Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Engineering Summer Programs

I can't believe that it is already April, the last full month of the semester. I felt like I was getting busier in general, but I didn't realize that it was because the end of the semester was so close. So, that means that summer is nearing, and it's time to think about what to do over the summer.

This summer, I am moving out west to Idaho to do an engineering internship in industry. A lot of companies with local opportunities come to MSU, but I wanted to live somewhere new and try new things. I heard about this position through MySpartanCareer (MSU's online resource for students and alumni to search for jobs), attended a company info session on campus, and interviewed at Spartan Stadium. No, I was not interviewed on the football field. The stadium actually has a branch of career services and a lot of interviews happen there. So, MSU and its career services were instrumental in my internship search.

Last summer I went on the International Corporate Tour of Europe, the summer before that I studied abroad, and the summer before I came to MSU I participated in a MSU Engineering Summer Program. I participated in BEACON, which is no longer offered, but if you would like to read more details about what I did there, you can read my blog post about it here. You can also read about how I spent my summers abroad by reading some of my other past blog posts for the International Corporate Tour and study abroad.

There are engineering summer programs for students of all ages, and they are a great way to have fun while learning about engineering. Many of the programs are for high school students and are residential, which means that student get to live in a dorm on campus and stay overnight. For more program details and information on eligibility and application visit our website.

One of the new residential programs for rising high schools juniors and seniors is the Introduction to Radar for Student Engineers. This programs was developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Lincoln Laboratory, and instructors from both MIT and MSU will teach students about radars and signal processing. Another residential program is (HSEI), High School Engineering Institute, where students learn about the different types of engineering through hands-on experience while also learning more about MSU. For high school students interested in robotics, there is the Introduction to Robotics Engineering - Residential program. Participants learn about biomimetic robotic fish, manufacturing automation, and nanorobotics.

MSU Engineering Robotics program
Introduction to Robotics Engineering - Residential (http://www.egr.msu.edu/future-engineer/programs/introduction-robotics-engineering-msu-residential)


Check out Flickr to look a more photos from past summer programs!

HSEI Session 1 2014:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/futurespartanengineers/sets/72157648157562739/

HSEI Session 2 2014:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/futurespartanengineers/sets/72157648514144466/

HSEI Session 3 2014:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/futurespartanengineers/sets/72157648580487905/

Introduction to Robotics Engineering 2014:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/futurespartanengineers/sets/72157648562101852/

Once again, here's the link to where you can explore and sign up for summer programs:
http://www.egr.msu.edu/future-engineer/programs