MEMS Graduate Student Committee

Objective

To work with the MEMS Director of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Program Coordinator to recruit, educate and promote graduate students within the Duke Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science.

Examples of committee activities

Weekly MEMS graduate student newsletter
Social: Bowling, Rooftop Bar
Outreach: Durham Women’s Shelter, Habitat for Humanity, voter registration, Carolina Tiger Rescue
Graduate Seminar Series
Outings and activities: Baseball games, rock climbing, soccer, flag football

Calendar of Events »

Members

Concetta Morino

Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio
Undergrad: The Ohio State University
Research: Injury biomechanics
Lab: Dale Bass
Why I joined: This program is rapidly growing and I wanted to contribute to the growth through the recruitment of future members.
What I like most about Duke MEMS: The incredible people in this program have made Durham a home for me in such a short amount of time.

Karsten Poulsen

Hometown: Corcoran, Minn.
Undergrad: Twin Cities
Research: Nanoparticle-biomolecule interactions
Lab: Christine Payne
Why I joined: I wanted to join MEMS GSC to become a more active member of MEMS and work towards making MEMS a more inclusive and connected department.
What I like most about Duke MEMS: I really like the wide variety of research areas and interesting people within the MEMS department.

Ravi Prakash

Hometown: Patna, India
Undergrad: National Institute of Technology, Warangal
Research: Wearable technology
Lab: Xiaoyue Ni
Why I joined: When I joined the MEMS program, I was surprised by the amount of support and professional development offered and wanted to be a part of such an active group.
What I like most about Duke MEMS: MEMS at Duke shows a remarkable number of interdisciplinary initiatives and I enjoy having the opportunity to work with students and faculty with diverse backgrounds.

Ariana Quek

Hometown: Johor Bahur, Malaysia
Undergrad: University of Southampton, UK
Research: Computational mechanics
Lab: Johann Guilleminot
Why I joined: To meet and connect with new people outside my lab, and be a more active member in the department
What I like most about Duke MEMS: I like the interdisciplinary nature of research within MEMS, and most importantly, the people in this program are very supportive of each other.

Luisa Piccolo Serafim

Hometown: Criciúma, Brazil
Undergrad: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
Research: Aeroelastic model in super/hypersonic flow
Lab: Earl Dowell
Why I joined: The multidisciplinarity of research topics in the department and how we can easily interact with people from different fields of study within the same group
What I like most about Duke MEMS: MEMS at Duke shows a remarkable number of interdisciplinary initiatives and I enjoy having the opportunity to work with students and faculty with diverse backgrounds.

Amanda Heimbrook

Hometown: Clarksville, Md.
Undergrad: Virginia Tech
Research: 3D-printed metals for biomedical applications
Lab: Ken Gall
Why I joined: To continue to meet and connect with more people and stay involved in MEMS
What I like most about Duke MEMS: Before I even started, the MEMS GSC and faculty made me feel welcomed and supported. I also appreciate the broad range of available resources and equipment.

Anshu Agarwal

Hometown: Denver, Colo.
Undergrad: UC Berkeley
Research: Disease-modifying treatment of osteoarthritis
Lab: Shyni Varghese
Why I joined: MEMS has an awesome sense of community, and I want to contribute to that!
What I like most about Duke MEMS: The department is so interdisciplinary. From energy efficiency to advancements in healthcare, the research in MEMS is extremely diverse and exciting to be a part of!

Ryne Wang

Hometown: Zhejiang, China
Undergrad: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Research: Unsteady pressure on airfoil
Lab: Bob Kielb
Why I joined: To bring students in MEMS together and distribute available resources to those who need them
What I like most about Duke MEMS: People in Duke MEMS are all very welcoming, helpful and knowledgeable.

Gabi Koknat

Hometown: Loveland, Ohio
Undergrad: University of Cincinnati
Research: Computational energy materials
Lab: Volker Blum
Why I joined: I joined GSC to help build more community between students.
What I like most about Duke MEMS: The brilliant women in the department!