Engineering student earns award

Long Beach (CSULB), has received the Outstanding Engineering Student Award from the Orange County Engineering Council (OCEC). Candidates were engineering majors from all universities in Southern California."This is a great honor for her, the Mechanical Aerospace and Engineering (MAE) Department, the College of Engineering and Cal State Long Beach to be recognized among the outstanding engineering students from all universities in Southern California by a prestigious organization such as OCEC," said Jalal Torabzadeh, professor, advisor and vice chair of the MAE Department at CSULB who also sponsored Skow on behalf of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. "I was honored to receive the Outstanding Student Award from OCEC. It is gratifying to be recognized for the things I have done as an undergrad at Cal State Long Beach, but I do the extracurricular work because I am interested in learning more about the topic or I care about it," said Skow. "I stay motivated in the classroom by remembering my goals, remembering other problems that I have overcome in the past, and remembering that there is a whole world out there. So, it is okay to let little things go in order to focus on something more important." Expected to graduate in May, Skow is a President's Scholar with a 3.9 grade point average. She has been on the President's and Dean's Honor lists several semesters. She is the recipient of several scholarships, including those from the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), Boeing, and British Petroleum. Skow is currently an intern with the Boeing Company involved with stress analysis of 787 Dreamliner floor panels and improving training efficiency through production of training and procedural documentation. On campus, she was an active member of CSULB California Launch Vehicle Education Initiatives (CALVEIN), the Rocket Project, in 2008-09. Skow was an acoustic engineering research intern with German Academic Exchange Service in summer 2009. During her stay in Berlin, she was involved in designing and conducting experiments, developing a MATLAB script to convert test data, performing modal analysis of systems using Diamond toolbox, and producing an instructional manual on the use of toolbox for modal analysis. Skow was the President of CSULB SWE Chapter last year and a co-organizer of Women Engineers at the Beach for more than 300 middle and high school girls, promoting engineering and encouraging women to become engineers. Also as president, she increased collaboration with on- and off-campus groups to improve and initiate new events and increased SWE active membership by 65 percent. She is currently serving as vice president of Tau Beta Pi (engineering honor society) and as secretary for Pi Tau Sigma (mechanical engineering honor society) chapters at CSULB. She is also involved with several other organizations including the College of Engineering Associated Engineering Student Body Board of Directors, Brass Ensemble (a French honor society), and Concert Band (a French honor group) and campus residential halls. She is also a volunteer for many community services, including First Congressional Church of Long Beach, Children's Hospital and homeless centers.

********** Published: March 24, 2011 - Volume 9 - Issue 49