Making a Difference Archives

by Dr. Cynthia Leonard, Benton Day Camp Director

Eight engineering graduate students volunteered time this summer to work with 160 Girl Scouts ranging from grades 1-12 at Benton Day Camp.

The students did an incredible job conducting a water siphoning activity, and were engaging, funny, patient, and very prepared, adapting the concepts and teaching strategies to the appropriate age level. They blended theory with hands-on activity, and took an excellent problem-solving approach with the girls.

Thank you to Aaron Fillo (student lead), Valerie Byxbe, Anthony Harteloo, Matthew Hoeper, Tara Larson, Taylor Rawlings, Tassilo Selover-Stephan, and Kyle Zada for impacting these girls and their families, and investing in the next generation. The presence of these engineering students at our camp gets the girls excited and interested in engineering and related areas.

While engineers are naturally talented problem solvers, students across the nation can sometimes lose sight of what it truly means to be an engineer: to create solutions for difficult problems, and to be aware of the societal context within which these problems arise. Kendra Sharp, an associate professor of mechanical engineering, shares how Oregon State is helping to create holistic learning experiences through the Humanitarian Engineering program (HE@OSU), which encourages engineering students to cultivate a deep understanding of culture and social relationships. Engineering students are being taught, through programs such as Engineers Without Borders, what it means to serve a community. Read more.

RAM Memory — Micron Technology donated 8 Terabytes of server RAM to the OSU College of Engineering to improve its application streaming services.

When the College of Engineering launched its virtual application platform last year —Citrix XenApp— thousands of engineering students gained access to specialized software (e.g., MATLAB) from the comfort of their own device. The only requirement? An Internet connection.

Continue reading →

Talia Helman (right) conducts research in Assistant Professor Joe Baio's lab (photo by Mitch Lea). — Talia Helman (right) conducts research in Assistant Professor Joe Baio’s lab (photo by Mitch Lea).

Oregon State University sophomore Talia Helman received a Johnson Scholarship Fund that enabled her to work on cutting-edge research with bioengineering faculty member Joe Baio. Her experience was made possible by Peter Johnson, ’55 ChE, and his wife Rosalie, who donated $2.4 million to the School of Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering (CBEE) to endow the Peter and Rosalie Johnson Scholarship Fund. Thanks to their generosity, more than 200 CBEE students have benefited from this unique scholarship–internship program, including Talia. Read more about her time as a Johnson Intern and how the experience shaped her career goals in medicine. Continue reading →

By Tony Platt’s family

Tony Platt and Midnight — Tony with Midnight, showing off his patented piggy-back-ride trick. Midnight came to Tony as a frightened pup that was evidence in a criminal case and was adopted out 15 months later as a happy, well-adjusted dog with several tricks in his repertoire.

Tony Platt (Electrical Eng. ’07) passed away unexpectedly on May 21, 2012, at age 28. Tony was one of seven children raised by Mark and Kathy Platt in Lake Oswego, Oregon. He had four brothers—Mark, Danny, Nathan, and his twin, Chris—and two sisters, Emily and Betsy. We will always remember Tony for his intelligence, compassion, witty sense of humor, and contagious smile.

After earning a degree in electrical engineering from Oregon State, Tony was working toward an MBA at Portland State University while working full-time as a sales engineer at Analog Devices. Despite a full schedule, he successfully balanced work, school, sports, and volunteer work. For example, he regularly fostered dogs that needed a home prior to being adopted, and in 2011 the Oregon Humane Society awarded him the Diamond Collar Hero Award. He was also an amazing athlete who played soccer, basketball, and golf. Continue reading →

Ingenium

College of Engineering Blog

Category Archives: Making a Difference

Inspiring the next generation of engineering students

Engineers with soul

Donation improves student computing

Johnson Intern thankful for undergraduate research experience

Keeping Tony Platt Alive

Contact Info