Ava Gallagher #1669

Phalanx Honor Society Member

Degree(s)

B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, December 2022

M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, December 2023

About Me

In December of 2022, I received my B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, with a concentration in Design and Manufacturing and a minor in Law and Policy. I was certified in Lean Design for Six Sigma – Innovation and Product Design and Development, and became a member of the Order of Engineer. I began as a year-round intern with Sandia National Laboratories in June of 2021 as a part of their Enterprise Business Intelligence department, then joined their Supply Chain Systems department. I completed four semesters of undergraduate research in an effort to evaluate the fidelity of burned porcine tissue as a surrogate of human skin tissues in incision and cutting experiments, with the intent to aid the U.S. Army in developing training simulations for escharotomies. I was a part of various organizations, as a voting representative of the RPI Union Executive Board, which oversees the RPI Student Union as its financial body, a member of the Society of Women Engineers, which works towards inclusivity and advocacy for women in STEM, and a mentee then mentor for the Women’s Mentor Program, which pairs freshmen girls with an upperclassmen to aid in their transition to RPI.

I returned to RPI in January of 2023 to pursue my M.S. in Mechanical Engineering as part of the co-terminal master’s program, determined to become more involved on campus and leave my mark on RPI when I leave. Since starting, I have continued my internship with Sandia, my research towards my M.S. thesis, and my involvement in the RPI Union Executive Board and SWE. I became very involved with and dedicated to my work with the RPI Union Executive Board in the past year and was appointed Vice President of Club Relations, which entails overseeing club representative duties assigned to Executive Board representatives and coordinating events to introduce current and prospective RPI students to clubs and organizations on campus. I joined the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity, a group which aims to create a better world by developing leaders, uniting members, and rendering service to the community. In February, I was invited by the RPI administration to act as a student voice in discussions regarding the Rensselaer Forward strategic plan, a plan which will guide the future of RPI for the next 10 years, particularly in regard to translating intellectual property developed at RPI to the marketplace. In addition, I was selected to gain membership into Phalanx. As for March, I am currently running in the campus-wide elections to be the next President of the Union, the presiding officer of the Union Executive Board. If elected by the student body, I hope to build up our union to best serve students in the coming months.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/avasgallagher