Top cohort of graduate students begin their journey in MechSE

The diverse group of graduate students who have arrived at MechSE this fall is one of impressive talent. More than 80 new MS and PhD students have accepted their offer and have joined MechSE to study mechanical engineering and theoretical and applied mechanics. This is a 71 percent increase from graduate enrollment last year – with 25 percent of them women or underrepresented minorities.

Associate Head for Graduate Programs and Research Petros Sofronis credits this successful round of applications and enrollments to Professor Arne Pearlstein, chair of the Graduate Programs Committee, and Joann Pyon, Graduate Admissions Coordinator.

“Our staff and admissions committee did an excellent job selecting an outstanding group of students who are competitive young researchers in their fields. They are all really strong students who received some of the most prestigious fellowships available,” he said.

A few of this year’s fellowship recipients include:

Fatemeh Cheraghi Pouria
Illinois Distinguished Fellowship
Research interest in robotics and controls

Derrick Sanders
Graduate College Fellowship (PhD), SURGE Fellowship, Sloan Scholarship
Research interest in manufacturing, nanomechanics and nanomanufacturing

Marcos Figueroa
Graduate College Fellowship (PhD), Sloan Scholarship
Research interest in dynamics and fluid mechanics and thermal sciences

Katherine O’Reilly
Graduate College Fellowship (MS), GEM Fellowship
Research interest in robotics and manufacturing

John Golden
Graduate College Fellowship (MS)
Research interest in robotics and biomechanics

“MechSE will continue to support the growth of our amazing candidates, especially those from underrepresented populations, in all areas of mechanical engineering and theoretical and applied mechanics. This will continue through scholarships from a variety of areas, including but not limited to our generous emeriti, alumni, industry partners, and by working with The Grainger College of Engineering to secure such excellent fellowships as the SURGE Fellowship,” said Kathy Smith, Assistant Director of MechSE Graduate Programs.