What is your next adventure?

I’ve accepted a full-time position at GE Aerospace in Cincinnati, Ohio working on
designing and testing combustor components for aircraft engines.

What about your next adventure are you most looking forward to?

Specifically, the fact that I'll get to apply everything that I've learned in graduate school to a practical aerospace engineering problem. So, no longer working on the academic side where we're mostly worried about the science, but focusing on actual engineering systems, like an aircraft engine and how all the different components interact with each other. And not just the combustor stuff that I've been researching through my work here at Georgia Tech but understanding how everything goes together.

Did you have any previous co-op, internship, or research experience in this area?

Before coming to Tech, I gained experience in combustion research at Purdue University. I worked in the Zucrow Combustion Lab during the fall semester of 2019, right before graduating. That early work shaped both my thesis and dissertation and gave me the foundation I needed to transition into my current role as a combustion engineer at an aircraft engine company.

The facilities and people at the Ben T. Zinn Combustion Laboratory at Georgia Tech Combustion Lab have been instrumental in helping me grow as an engineer—especially as I moved from my undergraduate background in mechanical engineering to aerospace engineering. Through both coursework and research, I’ve gained a deep understanding of aerospace-specific concepts.

Most of the experience directly relevant to my current position comes from my research at Georgia Tech with Dr. Adam Steinberg. At the Ben T. Zinn Combustion Lab, I conducted experimental high-pressure aviation gas turbine combustor research, which has been invaluable to my professional development.

How did your educational experience at Georgia Tech help you to achieve your goals?

Coming in from a mechanical engineering background, I hadn’t really studied much about propulsion or aircraft—none of my coursework had been geared toward aerospace topics. So, starting in aerospace engineering felt a little daunting because I didn’t think I had the background I needed.

But the way the courses are structured at Georgia Tech, and the way the professors teach, made it much easier for someone like me who didn’t have that specific aerospace foundation. As long as you understand physics and mechanics, they do a great job tailoring the material so you can learn effectively.

I have to commend the professors at Georgia Tech—especially Professors Jerry Seitzman, Tim Lieuwen, and P.K. Yeung. They were incredibly helpful during my first couple of semesters, getting me into the aerospace groove and teaching the fundamentals that set me up for success as a Ph.D. student.

What advice would you give to an underclassman who would like to follow the same path?

If you’re interested in pursuing a Ph.D., I highly recommend getting involved in academic research as an undergraduate. It’s also helpful to interact more with your professors—those connections can open doors and guide you toward opportunities in the research side of academia.

I would suggest getting involved in research as early as possible. I started doing research in my sophomore year as an undergrad. It wasn’t combustion research at first, but it was an introduction to research—and that experience helped me realize this was what I wanted to do.

From there, I kept looking for opportunities throughout the rest of my bachelor’s degree and later during my Ph.D. Sometimes that meant doing research for credit during the semester, and other times it was through fellowships or summer programs that paid like an internship.

I also served as a mentor in the Summer at Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Program as a graduate student. I was able to mentor a couple of SURE students.  This type of service is always very beneficial, for both the graduate student and the undergraduate student, because as a graduate student you get a chance to mentor.