Defense Associated Graduate Student Innovators

Working my way through college was an interesting process. It took multiple jobs waiting tables to pay the bills while trying to stay caught up with tuition costs. I thought things would get easier when I graduated, but they didn’t. Even with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and an internship to show I had experience most companies weren’t interested once I mentioned I planned on getting a master’s degree. But, without an engineering job, I couldn’t pay for a graduate degree anyway.

I asked many of the professors at a few colleges about Graduate Research Assistantships but none had funding that wasn’t already allocated. After searching for over a year I was recommended to a professor at Wright State University with a research topic funded through DAGSI. That program enabled me to do research with The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) for two years on fundamental fluid mechanics in turbines for turbomachinery applications. That research has now been used in more than 10 publications. The success of that research effort led to an opportunity to do compressor research and testing for AFRL as a career immediately following my graduate work.

I am now a Mechanical Engineer with some Aerospace Engineering responsibilities for AFRL at the Compressor Research Facility (CRF). I’ve been working in that capacity for almost two years now and am loving it.

“The DAGSI program has been a great value to me during my time as a Ph.D. student. The opportunity to work at AFRL on a sustained basis complemented my experience at school (in classrooms and working closely with my advisor) by allowing me to observe how groups of researchers collaborate on scientific/engineering projects in a laboratory setting. The sponsor of this project, Christopher Woodward, has been an excellent mentor, and the opportunities to author papers with him and meet people in his network have been invaluable; several of the future opportunities I've applied to, have been through those connections. I was able to travel to and present my work at four conferences as a result of DAGSI funding, all of which were great learning experiences. Overall, I can say that my skills as a researcher have unquestionably improved since I began in the program, as a direct result of participation in it."

“DAGSI will forever be a program that makes dreams come true. I had longed for a fellowship to pursue my research and DAGSI granted my wish. DAGSI has created a network of scientists, researchers, academics, and students that are all bonded together by this opportunity. I very much appreciate the opportunity to focus solely on my research and studies without the distraction of worrying about how I will pay my bills or student loans. DAGSI facilitated my work in a national lab with the leading experts in my field. This DAGSI experience will make my resume stand-out among my peers.”

“Funding these students has been a key factor in my recent promotion to Ohio Research Scholars Endowed Chair Professor. The projects have provided ‘seed funding for big ideas and projects relating to bigger money, including a $300k Army grant for 3 years, and numerous collaborations with Penn State, The Pennsylvania University, Northwestern, and other institutions, journal articles, invited talks at international conferences, and lasting connections with graduating students in diverse areas. The DAGSI program has connected with a number of lasting collaborators at AFRL as well and had enabled me and my students to access the equipment and expertise there."