For two men from such different backgrounds, David Renzi '99 and Garrett Olsen '00 have a lot in common. Both received bachelors degrees in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University in 2000 and have remained to pursue graduate degrees. Both are involved with the same research. Both would like to embark upon careers in research and development. And neither would be able to afford the education needed to achieve these goals without financial assistance from private donors.
"I don't think you can find another school that has the atmosphere we do here," said Renzi about the university and department that persuaded him to stay beyond his undergraduate years. "The professors really love the school and care about what you're learning. And they're very good at what they do, they're world-renowned for their research."
Renzi said that when the time came to make a decision concerning a master's degree, he could think of no reason to leave Texas A&M. But while his desire to pursue a graduate degree was clear, money was another matter. Fortunately for Renzi, funding came through in the form of two private endowments. The first is the Thomas J. Kozik-Donald G. Hervey Fellowship, established in 1996 in honor of Dr. Thomas J. Kozik, Texas A&M mechanical engineering professor. The second is a research assistantship funded by worldwide research and development giant 3M.
Renzi's lab colleague Garrett Olsen '00 joined the Navy after graduating from high school, serving a six-year stint as a submarine nuclear electrician. Olsen was stationed in Georgia when he met his wife-to-be, Debra, the daughter of Texas A&M alumnus Travis R. Williams '66. His Aggie father-in-law persuaded him to attend Texas A&M. In May 2000, Olsen graduated first in his class of 352 mechanical engineering students. He was also a finalist for the Dwight Look College of Engineering's Outstanding Senior Award, an honor bestowed upon his father-in-law 34 years earlier.
Now 31, Olsen is one of the rare students pursuing a joint master's and doctoral program in mechanical engineering—a feat that he hopes to complete in four years. Getting a doctorate has always been a goal of mine, Olsen said. So I figured that if I got the funding, I'd go all the way.
During his senior year, Olsen said he became a fixture in front of departmental bulletin boards, applying for anything that could possibly help fund his graduate education. Like Renzi, he eventually got support from Chona through a 3M research assistantship. He also received a federally funded National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship.
Renzi and Olsen’s assistantships are under the direction of Dr. Ravinder Chona, associate professor of mechanical engineering. The students work in a laboratory with lasers and fiber optic sensors. They use a laser to create an ultrasonic wave at one point in a material such as steel or silicon wafers and then attempt to detect the wave at another point. The trick is in carrying out this process without actually touching the material itself.
While Renzi's job entails picking up the wave sent through the materials, Olsen's job involves creating it by using a pulsed laser. Specifically, he is examining ways to get the maximum amount of information from a minimal amount of input energy. The research taking place in this laboratory eventually might be used to examine materials without compromising a structure. One way of doing this, for instance, is by using guided waves to determine temperature or identify the presence of defective cracks in a material.
Olsens long-term plans currently lean toward a college teaching career, but first he wants to enter the research and development field upon graduation. He and Renzi both mentioned 3M as their first choice of an employer.
As for now, though, Olsen said he's simply learning everything he can as a Texas A&M graduate student. The best thing about my educational experience at A&M is the fact that I can do it," he said. Not everyone gets the chance.
