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Austin Wilson has always dreamed of becoming an astronaut, a goal inspired by Ohio's rich space history. Growing up near NASA’s headquarters, his fascination with space evolved into a creative and technical driver in his life.

Since 1998, Tau Beta Pi Honor Society has granted over 4,000 scholarships to engineering students across the country. This year, two Case School of Engineering students received the honor. From a pool of over 1,300 applications, only 253 students were chosen—among them were biomedical engineering students Michael Kong and Dhruv Shah. 

Chirag Kharangate, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, was awarded the 2024 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Electronic & Photonic Packaging Division (EPPD) Early Career Engineer Award at this year’s ASME InterPACK Conference.

With a new $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, researchers at Case Western Reserve University will lead a project to improve the lifecycle of photovoltaic solar energy systems—from fabrication and electricity production through their end of service. The Case Western Reserve-led project is headed by Roger French, the Kyocera Professor in Materials Science at Case School of Engineering and director of the university’s Solar Durability and Lifetime Extension Research Center.

Daniel Clare, a third-year student majoring in mechanical and aerospace engineering, has worked late into the night many times at Case Western Reserve University. But it’s not just his studies that keep him up. 

Meet Joseph Ahmed, aerospace and mechanical engineering student, who worked as the Defense Manufacturing Engineering Intern at Rolls-Royce.

Xiaotian Han is passionate about leveraging cutting-edge AI techniques to solve complex problems, pushing the boundaries of what technology can achieve. “I chose to study computer science due to my fascination with machine learning and its impact on our world,” Han shared.

Hamid Charkhkar’s journey into engineering began with a fascination for electrical motors and circuits, leading him to pursue an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering. During his studies, he was intrigued by how electrical principles could be applied to the human body, especially the nervous system. This curiosity led him to discover neural engineering—a field that 'perfectly bridged' his interests in electrical systems and biology. 

As the Case School of Engineering’s Diversity Liaison, Lauren Biddlecombe has a key piece of advice for fostering an inclusive environment on campus: “listen, listen, and then listen some more.” “In addition to advancing one’s personal growth,” the assistant dean of strategic initiatives, said. “A listening mindset builds a culture of trust and connection to one another and provides the foundation for actions and initiatives which advance our shared goals of a diverse and inclusive campus environment. It all starts with listening.”

Growing up, Ana. G. Hernandez Reynoso wanted to be a medical doctor, but after spending some time with one of her cousins, who is an engineer, she realized that it was the convergence between medicine and engineering that she really enjoyed.

Andrew Watkins’s path to a career in computer and data sciences was nontraditional, studying English at Mississippi State University for his bachelor’s and master’s degree and spending his first few professional years teaching English in the United States and China.

Chengyu Li’s journey into engineering began with curiosity about the natural world and a desire to apply mathematical and physical principles to solve real-world problems. Now, as an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Li’s doing just that.

From a young age, M. Hassan Najafi wanted to know how things worked, especially when it came to technology. That curiosity naturally led him to explore the inner workings of computers—a fascination that only grew stronger as the concepts grew more complex.

His love for computers started when his family purchased their very first computer. “I just really loved tinkering with it,” Brian Krupp, assistant professor of computer and data sciences, said. He was in middle school when he created his own web page in HTML and published it on Geocities so that people around the world could see it. This early interest inspired his career path.