Engineering Science

Student Showcase

• Grad of Note - Ryan McElfresh

  

  Why did you choose to attend Tompkins Cortland?

  I chose to attend Tompkins Cortland after making the decision to cease my studies in physics at Wells College to study Engineering Science at TC3. My oldest sister attended TC3 as well before transferring to Cornell, which had a great influence on my decision. 

  Who at TC3 had the greatest positive impact on your experience?

  That is a difficult question to answer because there are so many professors and administration at TC3 who are so passionate about what they do. One of the most influential professors I’ve had during my time at Tompkins Cortland is Janet Swinnich, whom I worked closely with on my coursework and who would frequently give me advice on how to succeed, not only  in the classroom but as a professor. I immediately grew fond of Janet and thought of her as a mentor as I venture into the engineering field.  I want to thank Tim Putnam as well for his tremendous impact on my education at TC3 as well. Tim was my advisor both years at TC3, and I can’t say enough about how impactful he was on my education, specifically learning fundamental math skills. I still remember how he would relay information to us in lecture, fueling my passion for calculus etc. 

  Lastly, I want to give a huge thanks to professor Schultz who taught Physics 3 my last semester at TC3. The Spring 2020 semester was Ben’s first semester at TC3, and although it was nerve-racking not knowing anything about him at the start, Ben quickly set the tone for class and became one of the most notable professors I’ve had. Ben is incredibly talented at what he does. It was crazy sitting in lecture and learning concepts that were so abstract and thought provoking. Ben really pushed me to limits that I had not yet been, in my experience, that’s when students see success!

  I also would like to take a moment to also thank a couple of people who had positive impacts on me outside of my major. First off, I want to thank Tim McCabe, my economics professor the spring semester of 2019. There are some moments in college that resonate and stick with you throughout. I remember vividly the first day of microeconomics Tim lectured on different paradigms in which people have the option to view the world. The motivation I had after that speech made me so fired up I wanted to run through a wall. Professor McCabe brought a passion to the classroom that pushed me to make him proud of my accomplishments. I heard he’s pretty decent at golf, too.

  Another person at TC3 who had a positive impact for a short amount of time is Richard Grossman. Although I only met him a few times for advice on managing the intense course load I was experiencing, every time we met Rick was very pleasant to work with and always gave meaningful and useful advice.

  
  What were your extracurricular involvements at and how did they contribute to your college experience/future aspirations?

  As far as extracurricular involvements, I worked in the Baker Center Tutoring for Math and Science. It was quite rewarding and felt good to help my peers. It has opened up doors for me that I would never have imagined. I was able to give back to the TC3 community and find opportunities that certainly benefited me looking forward in my career.

  
  What are your next steps after graduation (employment, transfer, etc) and how did the College prepare you for that?

  After graduation I will be transferring to SUNY Binghamton to study electrical engineering in hopes to make positive contributions to the robotics field and implementation of robotics in the health or other applicable fields. TC3 prepared me for this next step simply by having a fundamentally sound engineering department and also other influences such as the transfer office, mentors (Scott Bennet was a huge help in mentoring and providing connections for me to use while considering colleges) and lastly the ability to perform meaningful, hands-on lab experiments that made me understand that what we learn in lecture applies directly.

• Daniel Kim

  

  Four Tompkins Cortland students took honorable mention at the prestigious New York State Business Plan Competition - Southern Tier Division, for their business plan to fund, develop, promote, and sell Breath of Life. Breath of life is a sophisticated solution to the issue of treating pneumothorax injuries (chest cavity punctures leading to collapse of lung(s), which often occur in combat and in car crashes.

  The team, consisting of, from the left, Daniel Kim (Engineering Science), Thomas France (Biology), Clark Young (Entrepreneurship), and Alex Barraclough (Business Administration) completed in the Science Technology division at the competition held at Binghamton University.