Zachary Voelkel
I am currently pursuing a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland Baltimore County and currently working on post-baccalaureate certificates in Systems Engineering and Integrated Product Development and Manufacturing (IPDM). I am a member of the Grand Challenges Scholars Program as well as Tau Beta Pi, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the UMBC SAE Clean Snowmobile Club. I will be graduating in Spring 2020 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. After graduation, I will be attending Johns Hopkins University for a Masters in Mechanical Engineering, with a focus in materials engineering, while working at Naval Surface Warfare Center in Carderock, Maryland.
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My Grand Challenge: Engineering the Tools of Scientific Discovery
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Global Experience
I am currently finishing up taking Political Science 270 at UMBC for my global experience. This class focuses on political climates around the world, and how that can effect economics, culture, and individual behavior.
Honda Civic AC Controller
For my controls laboratory class, I am working on an aftermarket AC controller for a 1999 Honda Civic. The controller incorporates a touch screen user interface to monitor the cabin temperature.
Ongoing Experiences and Projects
Previous Projects
My previous projects include a Arctic Cat ZR3000 fuel system conversion to flex fuel, a monitoring system for rotating gear couplings, a miniature crane design competition, and many others.
The Grand Challenges
The Grand Challenges for Engineering were created in 2008 and encompass fourteen broad categories that humanity is looking to overcome in the upcoming century. The Grand Challenge Scholars Program is a way to introduce these problems to the next generation of engineers, designers, entrepreneurs, and thinkers. The program focuses on five core areas:
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Talent Competency
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Multidisciplinary Competency
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Viable Business/Entrepreneurship Competency
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Multicultural Competency
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Social Consciousness Competency
I chose to become a part of this program because it provides an opportunity to solve open-ended problems with people from a variety of backgrounds, majors, and ways of thinking.
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I chose Engineering the Tools of Scientific Discovery because it will allow me to touch upon several different areas within the program. This challenge encourages experimentation, research, and is not limited to one specific area. I am most interested with space exploration and I hope to be able to incorporate that into my experiences.
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