Can you briefly describe some of the projects you've led with QL+?
Some projects the teams I oversaw have worked on include:
Creating a wheelchair lift that would help a challenger swap her "outside" wheels for "inside" wheels by herself, thus gaining more independence (and keeping her house much cleaner—she lives in a very rural setting.) This Challenger is still using the device six years later and has requested to work with VT again multiple times due to the quality work we provide. This project was highlighted in the Roanoke Times.
We partnered with the USA Bobsled Federation on several projects related to making it easier for para-athletes to get in and out of monobob sleds during training and competition. Student teams were invited to visit the Lake Placid Olympic Training Center to test the device.
One wounded veteran lost her arm in an IED accident. She is an exercise lover and wanted a way to do pushups and planks with one arm without twisting and developing uneven muscle tone. The student team created an awesome device that she and her athletic trainer both approved of that helped support her during these exercises.
How has your involvement with QL+ influenced or shaped your perspective on teaching and mentoring?
I've definitely seen, through my experience with QL+ student projects, that engineering can't be all about numbers. Engineering decisions do need to be made objectively with data, but there is also a compassionate, empathetic side of humanity that is important for engineers to embrace that can easily be "taught out of us" in engineering school. I feel this has made an impact on how I see, teach, and mentor students.
Can you recall any specific moments or interactions that profoundly moved or inspired you during a project?
Last year, there was a team working for an amazing veteran, and the team was struggling technically. Their mid-year review was close to disastrous, and it seemed clear the students lacked any sort of practical knowledge that would help them design and build the device. I found an additional mentor for the team, and together, we worked with them through winter break to redesign the device.
Throughout the spring semester, the team stepped up and started to learn new skills quickly. One student became a pretty good welder, another learned a lot about electric motors and batteries. Many of them learned to use machines and tools in ways they had never imagined. The once-struggling team ended up creating one of the most successful QL+ project devices ever. Seeing the growth in those students intellectually, emotionally, and as a team was something I'll never forget. Watching them see the veteran use the device in Blacksburg close to graduation was truly incredible. The veteran was thrilled, and the students gained such confidence in themselves.
There may have been tears of joy at some point, but from whom, I'll never tell!
