| Los
Alamos National Lab-ChemE Co-Op Program Starts with Success
| Photo:
Alex Marchi (center), LANL-New Mexico Tech ChemE Co-Op student,
with her LANL Group Leaders, Jay Carnes (R) and Chris Catlett
(L) |
Alexandria
Marchi has completed her first year as part of a new Los Alamos National
Laboratory (LANL) - New Mexico Tech Chemical Engineering Coop Program.
Alexandria also highlighted her year at LANL by receiving the Student
Engineering Award for her technical poster describing her work at
the 2005 LANL Student Symposium. Alex is the first student to enter
the pilot Co-Op program for Chemical Engineering undergraduate students
which couples the traditional academic ChE curriculum with significant
work experience at LANL.
The
5 year cooperative program with LANL affords a Tech student with the
unique opportunity of hands-on experience in a truly engaging Chemical
Engineering Research and Development (R&D) environment. The select
student must meet high academic standards and go through an interview
and selection process with representatives from LANL.
According to Alexandria Marchi, "the application of the knowledge
gained at Tech in a working laboratory environment is a life-changing
experience." This cooperative program with LANL pairs the Tech
student with a mentor. The mentor transitions the student into the
working environment and lends both academic and emotional support
and encouragement. Dr. Kevin Honnell, LANL's driving force behind
the cooperative program, kept in close contact with Ms. Marchi. "He
kept me busy and challenged with both work and academic problem solving."
Ms. Marchi entered her work into the 2005 Student Symposium: Championing
Scientific Careers, sponsored by LANL. She noted that "this Symposium
is much like a "Science Fair." Undergraduates, graduates
and post-docs working at LANL create posters or presentations of the
work they have been involved in and present their working scientific
experiments and findings to a panel of judges." The 2005 Symposium
had in excess of 150 student presentations. Giving a presentation
to judges and co-workers was a "growing experience" according
to Ms. Marchi. She said that "Being in the real world of your
peers, competing for engineering awards, has a tendency to make a
person very focused."
Having the opportunity to work in one's chosen field prior to gaining
a degree is only one of the many ways New Mexico Tech strives to prepare
their students for the world after graduation.
If you'd like
more information about this COOP opportunity, contact Dr. Weinkauf
(weinkauf@nmt.edu).
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