{"id":11573,"date":"2024-08-01T15:39:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-01T19:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/?p=11573"},"modified":"2024-08-05T12:19:12","modified_gmt":"2024-08-05T16:19:12","slug":"engineering-hits-it-out-of-the-park-with-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/2024\/08\/01\/engineering-hits-it-out-of-the-park-with-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"Engineering Hits it Out of the Park with Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Tim Sutton works in the engine lab at Georgia Southern. Photo by Jonathan Chick.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Many of our engineering students have won numerous awards the past two years that we rarely hear about. But if it were the Olympics of engineering, Georgia Southern would have stood on every podium with a gold or silver medal around their neck. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When some of them opened the mail and got a letter that said, \u201cOn behalf of the Council on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) and the Engineering Division, I am pleased to announce that you have been selected as a winner \u2026,\u201d several students got the shock of their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tim Sutton, Luke Kroeger, Mitchell Strickland and Nick Dillon ran away with first place awards at the NCUR 2024 and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Internal Combustion Engine Forward (ICEF) Conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These four students are mentored under the direction of Valentin Soloiu, Ph.D., the Allen E. Paulson Distinguished Chair of Renewable Energy and a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering<\/a> of the Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing (AEPCEC<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe win so many awards against larger, better known engineering schools because we offer more hands-on undergraduate research,\u201d said Soloiu. \u201cAnd our students start internships and co-ops at a much earlier stage in their education at Georgia Southern.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kroeger\u2019s winning effort was on \u201cDetermining Aircraft Final Approach Altitude Using a Machine Learning-Based Sensor Fusion System.\u201d He is majoring in mechanical engineering and electrical engineering and planning on graduating in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sutton\u2019s project was \u201cAnalyzing the Performance of 3D LiDAR and Camera-based Object Detection Systems and their Fusion using AI for Autonomous Systems.\u201d Sutton is a 2024 graduate and is now working in Germany on an internship with plans to begin graduate school at Georgia Southern when his internship concludes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strickland went over the top with \u201cA Tribological Characterization of a 50-50 Blend of JET-A and Hydro Processed Hydrocarbons, Ethers, and Fatty Acids (HEFA) Sustainable Aviation Fuel\u201d. He is interning at a major aerospace company in Savannah and plans on graduating in 2027 in mechanical engineering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Luke Kroeger works on his project in the engineering lab. Photo by Jonathan Chick.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Nick Dillon (center) receives an award with mentor, professor and Endowed Chair of Renewable Energy Valentin Soloiu, Ph.D.<\/em> (right)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When asked what advice made them successful in these competitions they all had their own suggestions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust apply for more things such as this, because I really wasn’t expecting much out of it,\u201d said Stricklend. \u201cI wasn’t really expecting to win anything. So I would say just reach out to more things like this and put yourself out there.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sutton is going farther than the moon. \u201cMy advice is to shoot for the stars and reach for your dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust take advantage of the opportunities Georgia Southern has with its research labs and its clubs and stuff,\u201d said Kroeger. \u201cGet involved and be sure and open your mail.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nick Dillon is a Warner Robins, Georgia, native who is anything but average. He was on vacation when he opened his letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was blown away by that letter,\u201d said Dillon. \u201cI wasn\u2019t expecting it at all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dillon graduated magna cum laude from Georgia Southern University\u2019s Honors College in May as a Goel Scholar with a degree in mechanical engineering. He won one of two prestigious ASME ICEF undergraduate research awards out of entries nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dillon\u2019s research paper, \u201cInvestigations of Low-Reactivity X-98 Ethanol inReactivity Controlled Compression Ignition with High-Reactivity Jet-A for Performance and Emissions Improvement,\u201d was presented at the conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGeorgia Southern is a very special place because you get to do undergraduate research that shows commitment and actual results\u201d said Dillon. \u201cI think that is a tangible way to prove that I am actually in research and doing things and producing things instead of just being in the lab. \u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If those awards aren\u2019t enough for you, there are more potential winners working on projects for next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKeep on the lookout for more awards from our students at Georgia Southern,\u201d said Soloiu. Our students are working hard and they are all going for the gold.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many of our engineering students have won numerous awards the past two years that we rarely hear about. But if it were the Olympics of engineering, Georgia Southern would have stood on every podium with a gold or silver medal around their neck.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":11633,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[87],"class_list":["post-11573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-summer-2024"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11573\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}