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Happy summer everyone! ☀️ This #MechSEMonday

Happy summer everyone! ☀️
This #MechSEMonday shoutout goes to recent MEng.ME graduate Avant Mehta!
At UIUC, Avant brought his confluence of cultures - His Indian heritage, upbringing in Dubai, many travels and previous experience in Michigan and New Hampshire. To top it off, his name in French means 'before'. Talk about diversity!
Avant chose to pursue a professionally oriented master’s degree to gain skills that are crucial to the industry. He attained this degree through a rigorous and disciplined 2 semesters at UIUC.
His favorite quote is "The most important attitude that can be found is the desire to go on learning". This will be his core philosophy as an early professional.
When Avant is away from MEB and ISR, he can be found on the volleyball courts or with the Illini Chess Club, enjoying his favorite hobbies and getting to know people along the way.
#AllAboutTheHustle #MechSEMonday #MondayMotivation

Happy #MechSEMonday everyone!☃️ Today we want

Happy #MechSEMonday everyone!☃️ Today we want to thank Amy Lucy Williams (Cates) for all the amazing things she does for our MechSE community!🙌

Amy is the Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions at our department, and she is known for being one of the nicest and most helpful people in our community!🌟

Amy comes from the state of Tennessee. After working at Vanderbilt University, she joined our department and has become essential in the recruiting of grad students. She is a former roller derby athlete🛼 and loves to show us her Tennessean accent! She loves art and is very knowledgeable about music, paintings, photography and movies🎬🎨🎼📸. We appreciate her help a lot and would like to highlight the amazing job she does!✨ #GoGraMS #StaySafe #StayPositive #appreciationpost❤️

Hello friends and welcome to Spring semester 2021!

Hello friends and welcome to Spring semester 2021! 🥳 This #MechSEMonday we’re highlighting Ophélia Bolmin, a 4th year PhD student in the BAM lab under Dr. Aimy Wissa in MechSE and Marianne Alleyne in Entomology 🙌🏼

Ophélia studies the biomechanics & dynamics of arthropods, specifically click beetles, that accelerate as fast as rockets! 🚀

She has a myriad of interests and hobbies outside of research such as dancing, playing bass guitar, baking, riding her bike, being outdoors, reading a book, discovering new places and meeting new people 😎

Something you might not know about her? She used to be a bartender 🍻, rides horses almost everyday 🐎, and since she’s partly from the Caribbean’s she listens to zouk music all the time! 🏝🎶
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#staysafe #staypositive #GoGraMS
💙🧡

Hey everybody, long time no MechSE Monday!! This w

Hey everybody, long time no MechSE Monday!! This week, we’re showing some GraMS love to Kevin Murphy 🥳🙌🏼
Kevin is from Springfield, Virginia and is in his 2nd year of his PhD in MechSE, under PI Joao Ramos. Kevin studies how robots can be designed and controlled to cooperatively manipulated the same rigid objects; he plans to implement his findings on the humanoid robot he designed, called SATYRR! In addition to being a grad student, Kevin also works for the Army Corps of Engineers. (Not surprisingly) Kevin has once gone without sleep for 70 hours, and has been lit on fire—twice. 😳🔥
In Kevin’s ‘copious’ free time, he enjoys cooking, games with friends, exercising, and being in the outdoors! 🏔

#GoGraMS 💙🧡

GraMS’ October 2020 (colorized) 👻🎃 Thank

GraMS’ October 2020 (colorized) 👻🎃

Thank you to everyone who participated in our in-person and virtual events this past spooky szn!
We hope you had fun wandering through the corn maze, playing Among Us, and exercising together for MechSE-lympics 🤩

We loved seeing you guys come together to make the best of an unfortunate situation. Go GraMS! 💙🧡

Happy MechSE Monday folks! 🎉Today, we’re givi

Happy MechSE Monday folks! 🎉Today, we’re giving a shout to Yağız! 🙌🏼

Yağız (pronounced yaez) is from Izmir, “the prettiest town in Turkey”. As an undergraduate in Bilkent University, he tested his interests on various subjects related to mechanical engineering and chose Controls as his primary interest due to its interdisciplinary nature. Having a good number of researchers in Controls and related fields, UIUC was the right destination for him to attend grad school. He currently works with Professor Prashant Mehta on epidemic modeling and control. In his private life, Yağız likes to play cards and table tennis. He also likes to hold deep conversations about economics, politics, history, culinary, culture and art.

#GoGrams💙💛

This MechSE Monday shoutout goes to Akhilesh Soman

This MechSE Monday shoutout goes to Akhilesh Somani! 🙌🏼
Akhilesh is a second-year masters’ student in the MechSE Department at UIUC. He hails from the city of Aurangabad in India. He pursued his undergrad from IIT Bombay in Mumbai. True to its name, it was indeed a 'city of dreams' for him, where his ambition of pursuing mechanical engineering came true! He is currently working with Professor Sanjiv Sinha on the design and manufacturing of a novel hybrid heat exchanger. Besides being one of the most prestigious university, the cutting edge research at UIUC is what attracted him towards this place. In his free time, he loves going out for an evening jog (while the weather is still nice 😅). He also loves watching TV shows and playing board games!

#GoGrams 💙🧡

Happy Labor Day and Happy MechSEMonday everyone! 🥳 We’re highlighting Ali 🙌🏼

Ali is from Tehran, Persia. He chose to come to UIUC because of its high ranking and he also thinks it’s in a nice college town. Now as a 2nd year grad student in MechSE, he studies reinforcement learning under his advisor, Professor Matthew West. He is a math whiz, a lover of Spanish guitar, and sweet corn!🌽 and if you’re wondering where you can find Ali, he’s probably at Olive Garden 😎.

#GoGraMS #MondayMotivation 💪

Hey there GraMS & friends! This week’s MechSE Mo

Hey there GraMS & friends! This week’s MechSE Monday shoutout goes to Mindy 🎉🙌🏼:

“ My full name is Minda "Mindy" Wagenmaker. I'm from Chicago/Michigan but grew up from ages 4-18 in Istanbul, Turkey. So I suppose I'm from Turkey but my parents are from the Midwest. My research topic is working on controller and plant co-design for power optimization of electro-thermal systems (POETS). I work with Dr. Andrew Alleyne in the Alleyne Research Group 🙂 My path to grad school was pretty linear, I got involved in research on campus at the University of Alabama my freshman year and jumped around different labs on campus and at other institutions over the summers to try and find out what I was most interested in. After working on gain scheduling to improve control of a heavy duty diesel engine and a internship where I did path planning for robotic layup procedures of flexible materials, I decided I wanted to study controls for grad school. I chose UIUC because of my advisor and lab group. Some hobbies include just being outside: for walking, hiking, running, frisbee/soccer/tennis, or just sitting around and talking. I love road trips and flights and seeing new cities. This quarantine I've gotten into gardening some vegetables and flowers on the balcony and I have become a mother to two neon tetras 🙂 “

Go GraMS! 💙🧡

Hello GraMS & welcome to the first #MechSEMonday o

Hello GraMS & welcome to the first #MechSEMonday of the new academic year! Today’s shoutout goes to Nick Wright 🎉 Reigning from Seattle, Nick does not know what he wants to be when he grows up. After attaining his BSME from the University of Washington he spent a year delivering pizza, volunteering as a bicycle mechanic, and cycling from Seattle to New Orleans. Along the way, he decided to practice being an engineer and learn something new. After spending 3 exhilarating years designing and building airplane assembly robots, he chose to become a graduate student and study control theory at UIUC, because the topic excited and confused him as an undergrad. Since finishing his master’s coursework, he has added an MBA into the mix and started pursuing actualization of ideas into commercial products as an entrepreneur. Nick’s research revolves around robot localization in GPS-denied environments and he currently works for the US Army Corps of Engineers and Sandia National Laboratories. If not studying or working, he is most likely somewhere on a mountain or bicycle, preferably simultaneously. He was once the President of GraMS and would love you to use the forum that he setup last week to Enrich your Graduate Life: https://grams.mechse.illinois.edu/phpbb/

Go GraMS!! 💙🧡

Hello GraMS and friends! It’s your favorite day

Hello GraMS and friends! It’s your favorite day of the week— MechSE Monday! 😄Today we’re highlighting Chengfang. Chengfang grew up in Harbin in northeastern China. He is currently a 4th year PhD student working with Prof. Aimy Wissa in the Bio-inspired Adaptive Morphology Lab (BAMLAb). His research focuses on the covert-inspired deployable structures for separation control and gust alleviation. Before he started his PhD study, he came to UIUC in 2014 through the ZJU-UIUC 3+2 program and got his MS degree in 2016. In his leisure time, he likes to play basketball! 🏀

#MechSEMonday #MondayMotivation #StaySafe #Ballislife

Hey everyone, it’s another MechsSE Monday! 🤩

Hey everyone, it’s another MechsSE Monday! 🤩 Today we’re highlighting a previous GraMS President, Oyuna Angatkina! 🥳 Oyuna was born and raised in Russia. Before coming to the states, she also got her Masters in Mechanical Engineering from Tomsk Polytechnic University, then started working for 2 years. But after an amazing experience as a Fulbright Scholar here at UIUC, she fell in love with the community and research, and decided to pursue her ME PhD. Not too long after arriving, Oyuna became very involved with GraMS and took on two years as President! Oyuna works on the autonomous navigation and design of an origami crawling robot, co-advised by Dr. Andrew-Alleyne and Dr. Aimy Wissa. Besides working on her origami robots 🤖 Oyuna loves to travel, draw, and Latin Dance! 💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻 you go, girl!

#MondayMotivation #MechSEMonday #WomeninSTEM

James Carpenter is this week’s MechSE Monday sho

James Carpenter is this week’s MechSE Monday shoutout! 🥳 James is a MechSE PhD candidate from St Louis, Missouri, and his path to graduate school—and future professorship—is unique and inspiring. After earning his GED at 16, he went on to pursue a BS in Mechanical Engineering through a joint program at the University of Missouri - St. Louis and Washington University in St. Louis. However, a setback in his personal life led to a pause in his undergraduate studies. During this two-year hiatus, James worked at two hotels in St. Louis, but a desire to return to school was always on his mind. When James did return, he discovered his passion for research and decided to continue his education and pursue graduate studies. Now, James is not only passionate about his education but the education of others. He is an instructor in the Principal’s Scholars Program (PSP), where he empowers disadvantaged students by teaching them about standardized test-taking strategies as well as designing and building electrical circuits and mechanical devices. James has also held leadership positions in ENVISION, a graduate organization that organizes and leads STEM outreach activities in the Champaign-Urbana community. When James is not in the lab studying how fluids and solids interact with functionalized surfaces or inspiring the next generation of STEM scholars through PSP and ENVISION, he’s probably playing Super Smash Bros with his friends. He also loves to read self-improvement books and watch basketball and football. James’ determination and leadership never fails to astound us! Go James! 🙌

#GoGraMS #MechSEMonday #MondayMotivation

Happy #MechSEMonday everybody! This week, we’re

Happy #MechSEMonday everybody! This week, we’re highlighting...well, me 😅 GraMS’s social media chair, Victoria Arias! Some quick facts about me: I’m from California, I got my bachelors in Applied Mathematics from UC Merced, and now at UIUC I’m studying the oxidation-induced micromechanical damage of carbon materials for applications to space vehicle heat shields! Fun facts about me: I play cello, ukulele, piano and sing. I spent an entire year interning at NASA Langley (where I met Katherine Johnson!), and therefore, I’m a walking NASA ad 😂. I have two—yes TWO—cats who are of course named Cosmo and Hubble. And finally, I would be nothing without the support of my friends and family!
I’m so happy to be a part of the GraMS family, and especially honored to have been highlighting some of our amazing MechSE grad students over the last couple months!

#goGraMS #MondayMotivation #HaveaGreatSummer #StaySafe

This #MechSEMonday shoutout goes to Arghyadeep Pau

This #MechSEMonday shoutout goes to Arghyadeep Paul! 🥳 Paul is from Calcutta, India now studying nanofluidics, nano-rheology, and electrohydrodynamics under the supervision of Professor Aluru. If you can’t find Paul at UIUC’s Beckman Institute, you can probably find him playing sports like lawn-tennis, soccer (“the real football”, he says 😜), or more recently—rock-climbing “courtesy of our President Valeria”. Paul also loves to travel, sleep (e.g., figure 5), and read detective novels! 🧐📚
#MondayMotivation #StaySafe #GoGraMS 💙🧡

In this week’s edition of #MechSEMonday we’re

In this week’s edition of #MechSEMonday we’re showcasing GraMS’ own game master, Shuvankar Goswami! 🎉 Shuvankar is a second year Ph.D. student under Prof. Sanjiv Sinha researching on techniques of intracellular thermometry. He’s originally from Guwahati, India, but grew up in Muscat, Oman in the Middle East. Shuvankar actually came to UIUC for his Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, and decided to stay for his PhD. Shuvankar felt, as he did when he first arrived, that “this would be a place that would allow me to use my talents to the best of my capabilities, and also encourage me to partake in exciting new avenues of research”. In his free time, you can probably catch him playing a board game, or a game of tennis or basketball. Another hobby of his is music; when he’s not playing guitar, he’s listening to music—pretty much all day! 🎶🎸
#MondayMotivation #workhardplayharder💯 #goGraMS #staysafeandhealthy 💙🧡

This #MechSEMonday, we’d like you to meet Robert

This #MechSEMonday, we’d like you to meet Roberto Pineda! 🎉Originally from Santa Cruz de Yojoa, a small town in northern Honduras, Roberto graduated with his Mechanical Engineering degree from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras. Now at U of I, he studies knee ligament biomechanics in the Tissue Biomechanics Lab with Professor Mariana Kersh. Roberto chose to come to UIUC because he thought it was an amazing place to do new and exciting interdisciplinary research in the field of biomechanics. In his spare time, Roberto loves listening to music, reading articles, enjoying art, and running. Roberto also loves spending time at home with his family in Honduras. Once Roberto graduates, he’ll be applying his biomechanics knowledge to new technologies that will aid in the treatment of orthopedic diseases as well as design components that will aid the development of biomechanical replication of orthopedic tissues. Wow! Put your virtual hands together for Roberto 👏🏼👏🏼 🤓. #MechSEMondays #GoGraMS 💙🧡 #spreadkindnessnotgerms #staysafeandhealthyeveryone🌍🙏❤️

Happy #MechSEMonday! 🥳 This week we are celebra

Happy #MechSEMonday! 🥳 This week we are celebrating Sohaila Aboutaleb. Sohaila is wrapping up her first year in the ME PhD program here in Champaign, IL but she’s originally from Egypt (and no, she doesn’t go to school by camel 🐪). Sohaila studies hydroxyapatite bone scaffolds for bone regeneration with Professor Amy Wagoner Johnson. If you can’t find Sohaila in her office or at the gym, she’s probably playing with dogs. 💙🐾
#staysafe #GoGraMS

This week we will be highlighting one of our socia

This week we will be highlighting one of our social co-chairs, Gyu Sub Lee! This interloper from the department of Aerospace Engineering is a 3rd year PhD student researching hypersonic aerodynamics and propulsion under Prof.’s Tonghun Lee and Greg Elliott. When he’s not social distancing himself in his lab (not exclusive to the current state of affairs), his passions include singing and playing music, flying, hiking, crushing his fellow council members in pokemon showdown, and crying himself to sleep whilst bemoaning his unrequited love (science). Another hobby of his is writing nigh incomprehensible so called ‘blobs’ on topics of his interests, such as hosting fun, virtual social events during these quaran-times. Gyu Sub’s ultimate goal is to pursue an academic and/or research track working to develop transformative hypersonic vehicles and technologies. Follow his blobs and stay informed on fun and engaging GraMS hangouts by reading the weekly newsletters (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd2R3kjpw8y2TQyvzh3iJLoY9HKXOG-ffVFygcJOko4-LJH2g/viewform) #MechSEMondays #stayclassy #goGraMS 💙🧡

The first #MechSEMondays shoutout goes to our new

The first #MechSEMondays shoutout goes to our new GraMS president, Valeria Saro-Cortes! 🎉Valeria is a 1st year ME PhD in the BAM Lab with Professor Wissa. Her research takes a biologically-inspired approach to hybrid aerial-aquatic vehicle design. When she’s not in lab, you’ll probably find her at the climbing gym. In her spare time, she also likes to listen to music, read fantasy or non-fiction books, and play RPG & puzzle video games. Her biggest dream is to develop a career in environmental sustainability after graduating with her PhD. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 #MechSEMondays #GetInspired #goGraMS #staysafe 💙🧡

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