“Since I was very small, I’ve always been driven to learn,” said the Louisville native. “I’ve been analytical, curious, interested in not just why things are the way they are, but how they work.”

The bioengineering sophomore had several obstacles to overcome in life, including the loss of his mother as a young teen, along with mental health difficulties.

Frank, who was homeschooled through most of middle and high school, says “it was mostly just me on my own with the computer, figuring out what I was interested in. Engineering cropped up very early on as a potential choice, and it always appealed to me because it seemed to jive with my personality.”

After high school and a gap year, Frank attended Jefferson Community and Technical College (JCTC) to explore his options, but he kept finding his way back to his dream of engineering. However, in entrance testing at the community college, he discovered he was at a ninth-grade level in math.

“I knew if I wanted to do engineering, I had to get real good at math real quick,” he said.

In those early days, there were times when Frank spent four hours a day on math in addition to everything else, but he eventually got to a point where the concepts just clicked.

Applying to at University of Louisville was a relatively easy decision that felt like fate, said Frank.��Coming from a nontraditional background prompted Frank to encourage other students like himself who might not think they had what it takes to become an engineer. He volunteered with the bioengineering department to give a presentation at Moore High School, near where he grew up.

“I felt like it was important to reach out and speak to them — I was homeschooled, I had behavioral problems, substance abuse issues, but here I am a sophomore and I’m doing advanced calculus now for fun,” he said. “It is not impossible, it is absolutely doable, and they need to hear the message that there is always a way to rise above.”

Frank’s star continues to rise. He discovered his niche working at , an innovation hub sponsored by GE Appliances on the Belknap campus, created as a space for engineers and product developers to dream up new products.

“FirstBuild has been a blessing and an absolutely transformative experience for me,” said Frank.

Early on, he was given the responsibility for designing an assembly line in the manufacturing process for a new product. Within six months, he was promoted to Assembly Lead, and now co-manages and mentors 20 to 30 students.

“Jacob is naturally gifted at being able to solve problems and help people,” said Brenden Hoover, manufacturing engineer at FirstBuild and Frank’s supervisor. “He makes every employee we have a better employee. Engineering school is hard, and I think his story speaks loudly to those students who are struggling.”

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Six-year old Harleigh was 1.4 pounds when born with cerebral palsy and epilepsy and has faced multiple obstacles, including numerous brain surgeries. Her family, from Carter County, Kentucky, stays at RMHCK when Harleigh has doctor and physical therapist appointments or surgeries.

Harleigh’s grandmother, Jatonda Ousley, mentioned to He that she had outgrown the leg braces she needed to continue making development progress in movement and motor skills. With current supply chain issues, the braces were on a waitlist status and not expected until September, as well as being prohibitively expensive for the family. He said that after meeting the family, he realized “little Harleigh deserved everything in the world.”

He researched if he could custom-fit and use 3D printing to manufacture the braces Harleigh needed, but soon realized it might be beyond his expertise. He turned to engineering friends at Speed School of Engineering, who recommended emailing Ed Tackett, director of Advanced Manufacturing Institute of Science and Technology () for assistance. “He’s been very enthusiastic about this project,” said He. “It could not have been done without his support and guidance.”

Monday, April 25, 2022, was the special “fitting day” for Harleigh and her family who drove three hours to RMHCK for the occasion. The boot-style brace is appropriately adorned with cartoon characters from the movie “Trolls,” Harleigh’s favorite. Ousley, Harleigh’s primary caretaker, was grateful for the thoughtfulness exhibited by the students. “I greatly appreciate UofL and Caleb for doing it, and Peyton for making the braces,” she said. “We love it and can’t thank you enough.”

Tackett then assigned the project to Chemical Engineering Junior Peyton Deaton, who is currently doing his first co-op rotation at AMIST, and asked if he would figure out how to make it work. Deaton relished the challenge, and used a 3D scan of Harleigh’s leg that He sent to work on a prototype, and after trying three different prototypes, Deaton fashioned the shape that worked.

Ousley explained what the braces will allow for Harleigh, who suffered some setbacks after her latest brain surgery.

“These help her get stronger in the legs, and with the right equipment it will help her to start standing up again, and get back to where she was,” said Ousley. “When Harleigh was being fitted for braces before, she had to be sedated. This is going to help tremendously. You’ve really made a difference.”

Having the shareable and inexpensive technology to make these braces could potentially help thousands of kids with similar issues.

Six-year old Harleigh is shown wearing with her 3D printed leg brace.

“For families with really good medical insurance, this might not be an issue, but what do we do to help disadvantaged families?” said AMIST Director Ed Tackett. “We can use this technology to provide positive patient outcomes and train students to do this,” he said.

“This was an opportunity where I saw something, connected with people with great expertise and talent and we got something done, and I’m so proud of that,” added He.

As for Harleigh, she’s just happy to have new “Troll shoes.”

Last fall, the J.B. Speed School of Engineering partnered with GE Appliances to develop a scholarship for pre-engineering students to pursue their studies in STEM. The GEA Scholars Program is designed for students whose dreams and aspirations centered on becoming an engineer, but who struggled to make that dream a reality because of a lack of opportunity. The program also strengthens the pipeline of minority engineering professionals.

“We know what a Speed School student looks like. You see the 75%, but what about the other 25%?” said Jonathan Hughes, director of admissions and community engagement. “If you look at engineering, that’s a lot when it comes to diversity.”

The GEA Scholars Program aims to redefine student success at the Speed School and what a scholarship means. The scholarship provides pre-engineering students who are taking pre-requisites in the College of Arts & Sciences with tuition assistance as well as tutoring and mentoring opportunities.

“GE is providing other capital that contributes to student success like mentorship, networking, and future career opportunities,” said Hughes. “There’s one thing giving people money, but what about that additional opportunity? There is talent everywhere, but few opportunities.”

With the strenuous workload that comes with following their academic endeavors to the fullest potential, both in the classrooms and through co-ops, GEA and UofL hope the Scholars Program will alleviate some of the hardship of having to work more hours to receive an education.

“This scholarship is not about equality but about equity,” said Hughes. “The scholarship combats the negative connotation of pre-engineering students and better prepares them for all the skills needed to succeed in their career path.”

The first recipient of the scholarship was Sarah Bogan, who received $10,000��– $5,000 per semester��– to pursue her degree in civil engineering. As a first-year Speed School student and second-year UofL student, Bogan found a home in Speed School and plans to pursue a master’s degree in hopes of improving infrastructure after graduation.��

To apply for the GEA scholarship, click .

Vance Jaeger, assistant professor, chemical engineering, instructs the class, teaching��students about the development of models using CAD software to iteratively design and produce tactile educational prototypes with 3D printers. Since scientific and mathematical concepts are often taught through visual means like graphs, figures, equations, models and videos, these methods are insufficient for VI or blind students. Jaeger and his students are working toward the goal of creating tools for teaching VI students.

The project was granted $25,000 from NASA Kentucky EPSCOR (Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) funding in September 2021, with $25,000 cost share from UofL.

“The pool of money is meant to fund research that gets people kick-started in a new area,” said Jaeger.

The inspiration for the idea came from Jaeger seeing stories online about aids for blind people, while at the same time being interested in getting into 3D printing.

“The two things sort of clicked in my head, and so I contacted the Kentucky School for the Blind,” he said.��

There, he met science instructor Adam Stockhausen, who is now advising the UofL students on which concepts are most needed by visually impaired K-12 students and providing feedback on design iterations. Stockhausen is also developing a curriculum guide and tutorial for other VI instructors to ensure that the models see use within classrooms across Kentucky and the United States. UofL students’ digital designs will be shared freely and openly with the maker community and educators through popular digital file sharing platforms as well.

When Jaeger was doing his research for the project, he found a great resource and ally in Mona Minkara, an assistant professor in bioengineering at Northeastern University, who is blind.

“I met her at one of the chemical engineering conferences, and told her I had some ideas about making chemical models for blind students,” Jaeger said. “She’s somebody who’s been very helpful and has resources on her website on how to reach blind students and how to make things more accessible, so she has helped me learn.”

The course crosses multiple disciplines in engineering concepts.

“Mechanical engineering is very big in computer-aided design and we don’t have much of that around here, so I think that’s a need we have in the department,” said Jaeger. “The 3D printing technology is a mixture – you have the computer side, the mechanical, electrical and chemical side, such as materials. What is the right material and material properties to convey these ideas? What plastic? What polymer? What strength of material?”

For KSB instructor�� Stockhausen, partnering with Jaeger and Speed School students was a great collaboration to find ways to get ideas across to his current student population.

“There were some things that I just had no idea how to approach,” he said. “Describing things with words and then having a picture up on the screen that only half of my class can access is not effective to make sure everyone has a good understanding of what we’re talking about.”

He said he’s used some models in the classroom over the last three years that have helped convey his ideas to his students.

“The ones we’re currently working on aren’t quite ready, but by the end of the UofL students’ projects, I’ll be able to bring them into the classroom and show them to my kids,” he said.

Stockhausen will continue working on the project throughout summer 2022 developing lesson plans based on the models created.

Jaeger said he believes the project will impact at least three communities of people. The main focus are the high school students at KSB and other high school students whose instructors decide to use these models. The second group are the Speed School students, who are learning computer-aided product design as well as incorporating accessibility for persons with disabilities into what they are creating. The third group is teachers.

“With 3D printing becoming more commonplace, we can make it simple enough for any instructor out there to use it,” he said.

Madelyn Peter, a junior in chemical engineering, said she was initially interested in the course when she learned they would be doing 3D modeling, something she enjoys but doesn’t often get the chance to do in chemical engineering. Another reason this course appealed to her was the combination of engineering disciplines.

“We’re mixing mechanical, electrical, all kind of things,” she said. “It’s beneficial because just like on co-op, you’re never just a chemical engineer, you’re all kinds. Having a class here that introduces you to other disciplines and having that experience has been really nice.”��

She also believes the class has taught her to broaden her perspective.

“As an engineer, that’s something we should always be considering, making things as accessible as possible,” she said.

“I just think it’s great that we’re moving forward with projects in the undergraduate/graduate program with these kids working on stuff that will broaden their horizons and make them actually realize that not everything is built in the world to allow for everyone to have equal or equitable access to it,” Jaeger added. “We can try and bridge those gaps by actively incorporating that into design as we’re making it, rather than thinking of it as an afterthought.”

This story originally appeared on the .

The event, the largest solar decathlon competition for international universities, featured 14 international teams and took place Oct. 20 to Nov. 21 at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. Over the last 2 years, teams designed and built high energy-efficiency, grid-connected, solar-powered houses, which were set up together in a public showcase village during the World Expo.

UofL teamed up with Higher Colleges of Technology, American University of Sharjah and American University in Dubai to form “.” The team fused talents of faculty, staff and students from all four universities to design, build and compete with a state-of-the-science 1,000-square-foot house. UofL’s spearheaded this effort to promote the use of renewables, create the energy efficient house and involve over 10 faculty and 70 students in the international cooperative effort.

Each university provided expertise in engineering, architecture, water conservation and treatment, and project management during the design phase. Teams were challenged to work collaboratively to meet the competition deliverables, which included innovative engineering and architectural designs, construction management, and promotional media, websites and videos.

The students worked side by side with their professors and each other to transform designs and theories into fully functional solar-powered homes based on the competition’s seven pillars: sustainability, future, innovation, clean energy, mobility, smart solutions and happiness. GE Appliances/Haier was one of the sponsors that made it possible for the team to travel to the competition. As such, the Team Desert Phoenix house featured Haier washer and dryer units and a top-mount refrigerator.

“This project enabled broad exposure for Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research and University of Louisville in UAE and the Middle East,” said Professor , director of the Conn Center. “Through this effort, many universities in the region have a greater appreciation for the University of Louisville’s faculty and students in terms of the quality and academic leadership. We created an impactful experience while fostering future collaborations and exchanges, especially for those interested in our and ��programs.”

Cole Kidwell, a sophomore electrical engineering major, said the experience of working in a multi-disciplinary, international team was a reward in itself. Kidwell was inspired by getting to work with people from around the world toward a common goal.

“The experiential learning is invaluable,” Kidwell said. “Specifically in my field, we are taught to design and analyze solar systems. By participating from design through construction, testing and operation, I understand how all the parts work together in a more tangible way. I learned firsthand about power distribution in a solar-powered home, but also how teamwork is needed to realize every project.”

Grace Bank, a master’s degree student in structural engineering, appreciated the experience of working together as a team.��

“We would not have succeeded in completing the home without working together. I gained experience in communication, teamwork and maintaining a positive environment under pressure. I also enjoyed figuring out real-life situations in a foreign culture,” Bank said. “Most of the issues we encountered are not presented in the classroom and can be more challenging to solve than the hardest equations we learn. Struggling helped me take a step back, evaluate the situation, and decide the next move to make. Nothing could be predicted, so it was nerve wracking and thrilling at the same time.”

Bank said the students came together under the stress of the build phase, when they learned to work in a “real-world situation with a real-world budget,” while getting the house constructed on time and competing. Overcoming project management challenges also created a bond for the team.

“Team Desert Phoenix was recruited late into the competition, had a full year less time to design and complete our home,” Kidwell said. “We rose to the challenge, including maintaining a rigorous, virtual, international presence with teammates in UAE. Our team worked very well together to overcome because we had a large student presence on site that was not afraid to put in manual labor and long hours to see the project to its finish. I am very proud to have been a part of a team with this level of determination.”

Out of eight teams that completed their projects, Desert Phoenix took place in the competition. The UofL students and faculty were in Dubai for about two weeks in November for the last part of the build phase and the competition phase. In addition to competing, the UofL group was also able to tour Dubai’s buildings and beaches.��

“Our biggest accomplishment was definitely finishing the house,” said Ximena Flores, a sophomore chemical engineering major who was part of the team. “This opportunity also introduced me to the Conn Center in a capacity that I had not known before. I look forward to potentially working on future Conn Center projects.”����

, the U.S. Consul General in Dubai, was one of the dignitaries who toured the house. She noted UofL as the competition’s sole U.S. participant and emphasized the partnerships with the American Universities in Dubai. The Counsel General expressed her pride in the students, their teamwork and the house at a time when sustainability bears on mitigating climate change.

Also on the Desert Phoenix team was Klemmer Nicodemus, chemical engineer and UofL undergraduate researcher, W. Mark McGinley, professor of civil and environmental engineering in the Speed School, and Andrew Marsh, assistant director for Conn Center.

“The logistic agility required to perform in this competition is intense,” said Marsh. “The solar decathlon experience challenges students to rise to the speed of business. To succeed, they must apply knowledge from the classroom yet bring focus as resilient people. We are incredibly pleased with the performance of the entire team, especially the commitment and leadership shown by students from UofL.”

The agreement is known as a “2+2 Program”, meaning 50% of the classes will be held at each institution, for both students from UofL and AIU. Students in this program will earn a UofL degree.

UofL and AIU intend to enhance relations between the two universities by developing an academic and cultural exchange in teaching, research, and other activities. UofL seeks to increase opportunities for students outside the United States to take UofL classes and obtain UofL degrees, while AIU has expertise and endeavors to support UofL with on-site recruitment, logistical and administrative support, and academic delivery of the program.

Present at the official virtual signing ceremony on November 16, 2021 were Professor Khaled Atef Abdel-Ghaffar, Minster of Higher ����ֱ��; Professor Essam Elkordi, President of AIU; Professor Roshdy Zahran, AIU Director of Board of Trustees; Professor Mustafa ElNainay, dean of the Faculty of Computers Science and Engineering at AIU; Lori Gonzalez, UofL executive vice president and provost; Emmanuel Collins, dean of the UofL JB Speed School of Engineering; Tom Rockaway, associate dean of Programs and Initiatives for UofL JB Speed School of Engineering; and Ayman El-Baz, chair of Department of Bioengineering for UofL JB Speed School of Engineering.

“I am excited about this new partnership with AIU. It provides Speed School with the opportunity to experience an influx of students from a growing region of the world and have fruitful cross-cultural fertilization with our partners in Egypt,” said Collins. “Our agreement also opens up opportunities for other colleges within UofL and AIU to establish similar partnerships and share in these benefits.

The 2+2 Program brings to fruition a program that was the brainchild of El-Baz, who worked with Rockaway and Collins to secure the details of the partnership.

El-Baz’s ultimate vision was to create an avenue for Egyptian students to obtain a degree from UofL. To that end, El-Baz approached Professor Khaled Atef Abdel-Ghaffar, the Minister of Higher ����ֱ�� and hosted Abdel-Ghaffar at the UofL campus in January 2020, to show the world class research, facilities and resources available to offer a high quality education to Egyptian students.

The bioengineering professor said an international partnership like this will reap benefits for both universities, including student recruitment for Speed School and offering a high-quality engineering education for Egyptian students while offering an enhanced cultural experience for all students in the program.

The agreement will enable UofL to start offering classes to students at AIU in the Fall 2022 academic term. Under the agreement, students will spend their first three years of their engineering program at Al Alamein University in Egypt, and two subsequent years at University of Louisville to complete their degrees. (In Egypt, a Bachelor’s degree requires five years). Both universities plan to start similar partnerships with other disciplines that are offered at UofL, both in and out of the engineering school. “This is just the beginning,” said El-Baz.

Alumnus Collie Crawford (BSEE ’18, MEng IE ’19) has the distinction of being the first graduate of GE’s newest workforce development program, Industry 4.0 Development program, or I4DP. The two-year program was created in 2019 to address a growing business need – a stable of technical engineering talent with the depth and breadth of Industry 4.0 skills that can support GEA’s smart factories. The four hands-on rotations for I4DP include highly-specialized, in-class training in industrial controls, robotics, testing and data visualization.

While Crawford had previous co-op and industry experience in controls, he was intrigued by the opportunity to learn more about the other three areas.

“I loved learning from the engineers during my rotations and finding new applications and ways to do things,” he said.

Trenton Ingrim, senior director of Advanced Manufacturing of the program, also a Speed School graduate (EE ’95, MEng EE ’98), said Crawford has been “fantastic.”

“His structured and logical approach to the work is a credit to him – plus he can definitely see the connections between systems,” Ingram said. “Completing the program, we want them to understand how a smart, interconnected factory works, and identify what they like most and feel the strongest about as they look for their first assignment off program.”

For Crawford, that first assignment has been taking a controls engineering position in dishwasher manufacturing and hitting the ground running.

He said Speed School established a solid foundation that helped him to pursue his career goals.��

“I enjoyed the capabilities the co-op program gives you to go out in the field while also learning in school, and applying your problem solving skills while also learning some parts of the trade that are more technical,” he said.

Crawford also cited the Capstone course as a continuing influence.

“It was a really good course that held us to the fire of doing everything properly, and it was a great experience there that I still use frequently,” he said.

In addition to Crawford, the program’s first graduate, two other current I4DP participants, Lana Chausenko (CSE ’17) and Jordan Klotz (EE ’18, MEng EE ’19) are Speed School alumni.

Chausenko said I4DP was an amazing opportunity she couldn’t pass up, and it included robotics, which she said she fell in love with after taking classes with Dan Popa at Speed School. But for her, the program also offered a way to understand operations from a macro view.

“I’ve always thought before you start your main position, that understanding the system and how it all works together is very important, to get all the perspectives,” she said. “That’s what I’m experiencing right now.”

For Jordan Klotz, the master’s program at Speed School was the most valuable experience to prepare him for his future career path.

“The opportunity to work in a lab at UofL was wonderful,” he said. “It was one of the most diverse places I’ve ever worked, with some of the smartest people I’ve ever met from all over the world – China, India, Romania, everywhere. The professors at UofL are top minds in their field and great teachers. That is one of the strengths of Speed School and one of the things that helped me the most – getting involved and asking the right questions.”��

Trent Ingrim said Speed School talent has been instrumental for GE Appliances.

“In the Industry 4.0 program, three of the four assignment leaders for the participants graduated from UofL,” he said.

“It’s easy to get excited about the bells and whistles, the machine learning, the AI,” said Ingram. “But we need people who can understand the fundamental building blocks and different components – what they are – what they do – and how to put them together,” said Ingrim. “It’s a good partnership with Speed School and I look forward to what the future holds.”

What many students may not know, however, is the system responsible for that reliable ringing was from the 1980s, and was in frequent disrepair. But thanks to a group of����seniors, the Clock Tower has now been automated and upgraded. The ECE students who designed and created the new system are Rio Brittany, Andrew Franxman, Johnathan Frech, Nicholas Westurn and Brian Mortberg.

, assistant professor, Electrical Engineering, was approached by Josiah Brock, audiovisual coordinator in the Office of Student Involvement in Fall 2020 to see if a redesign of the old sound system could become a Capstone project for his students. It was accepted as a Capstone in December 2020, and work on the project began in January 2021. The project was completed in late April and the students physically handed off the new system to Brock on April 27.

Faul, who advised and guided the team, said the project was intriguing because the team would have to redesign the controller and put something together at a lower cost.

“The team’s design put everything together to program a new digital carillon microcontroller that would take over the functions of the previous controller,” he said. “Once the device is programmed and synchronized to the national clock standard, it is mostly hands-off and functions automatically to create the necessary sounds when needed. It includes a digital interface users are able to utilize to modify, add sounds or reprogram if necessary.”

Rio Brittany, one of the students involved in the project, said the whole team was interested in this as a Capstone project.

“For me, I have a background in music and play guitar and was interested in the audio aspect of it – that there were speakers and could be instrument interfaces and outputting sounds,” Brittany said. “That’s something we haven’t got to work on too much as undergrads.”

Tackling the project with multiple facets required collaboration, noted Nicholas Westurn, another team member.

“We identified what we needed: a microcontroller to operate the code, a midi device to be able to send and receive midi signals, and an audio interface.” he said. “From there, we branched out and some of us isolated specific parts we could use, while others started working on the coding aspects.”

Brittany said each team member focused on their individual strengths, while also working in partnership with the entire team.

“We acquired off-the-shelf items that we combined for the design, and everyone took an aspect they had strengths in,” he said. “I did some of the midi software that connected the keyboard, Nick worked on the user interface, Andrew is very familiar with Linux so he did a lot of the back-end code, and Brian and Johnathan worked on the hardware aspects and documentation,” said Brittany. “It was a really good collaborative effort.”��

One of the challenges of the project, according to Brittany, was that the former audio system was proprietary, and only the company had the schematics for it. This meant a workaround had to be created to be convert to .wav files to upgrade the controller.

But the team was able to overcome the obstacle, as well as a few others, and for the seniors, it was a great way to end their undergrad careers at Speed School.

“It’s been like a mad dash to the end, especially with getting the parts, but it feels really satisfying to have this accomplishment,” said Brittany.

“The most gratifying part is playing a song and hearing it play it back to you,” said team member Brian Mortberg. “It’s very rewarding in terms of knowing your system that you and your group designed actually works, and knowing that something you do could be implemented for the whole school.”

Faul noted that now whenever the chimes play, these students know they had a part in keeping the campus icon ringing.

Westurn agreed. “I feel pretty excited that we kind of have a legacy on campus.”

“You cannot imagine the feeling,” Elbasyouni said. “I didn’t sleep at all the night of the flight, I was up watching the feed all night.”

The engineer began working for��. in 2012, where he was selected to work with NASA on the Mars Ingenuity Helicopter project, which he did from 2014 to mid-2018 when he completed the flight hardware. He was elated to see it come to fruition in the first flight on April 19.

“Every day I had been waiting for the moment when it was going to fly,” he said. “It was incredibly exciting.”

Ingenuity since has completed two more flights, the latest on April 25.

The 42-year-old����alumnus (Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering, 2004; Master of Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering, 2005) also was part of the team that sent the Perseverance spacecraft to Mars in March.

From Palestine to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, it has been a long and sometimes difficult journey for Elbasyouni. Born in Germany, Elbasyouni moved with his parents and three brothers to Palestine at age six.

“One of my first memories was walking to school with a group of kids when suddenly they all ran into a house, and then I saw an Israeli jeep passing by, and I thought, ‘Wow I thought the military was there to protect us.’ It was a very different experience,” he said.

Elbasyouni attended a United Nations’ Relief and Works Agency School from grades one to nine, but often there was no access to school due to strikes or other civil unrest, so much of his early education was self-taught. Elbasyouni said his father, a busy surgeon, urged all of his children to be educated. Of his three brothers, two are electrical engineers and one is an orthopedic surgeon.

After coming to the United States, Elbasyouni went to college in Nebraska, Pennsylvania and the University of Kentucky before financial issues forced him to sit out a year and work odd jobs. Then he discovered UofL’s Speed School of Engineering.

“I always loved Louisville. In fact, I used to cheer for the Cards while at UK,” he said with a laugh.

Elbasyouni said he was impressed with Speed School’s program because it offered a hybrid study of hardware and computer and electrical engineering, something he wanted to pursue.

“When I transferred, I was welcomed with open arms from day one,” he said.

In addition, Speed School helped him financially with a scholarship award after the first year and a work/study job after his bachelor’s degree so he could afford to finish his master’s degree.

Finances were one of many obstacles for Elbasyouni to overcome, coming from a country where the income is a fraction of the United States, he said. Being from a Middle Eastern country unfortunately complicated other matters as well.

“After September 11, I was attacked delivering pizza to some drunk students,” Elbasyouni said. “It also meant it was harder to get a job because companies preferred U.S. citizens, so you had to apply twice as hard to find the right company who was interested in who you really are.”

Elbasyouni has not returned to Palestine since 2000, and last saw his family in 2011 in Germany, where they now reside and he can visit them as travel restrictions become less COVID-strict.

“I went for 11 years without seeing my mom,” he said. “That was tough. She used to cry every day.”

The engineer said he would like to return to visit his home country someday, but travel and the political conditions within the country have made it trickier than it used to be.

“I have good memories of growing up in the olive and orange groves, one reason why I live in Southern California now,” he said.

Coming to Speed School of Engineering in 2002 was a key turning point for Elbasyouni’s successful career path.

“I had incredible mentors there. I remember when I wasn’t even sure how I was going to pay for my master’s and they helped me get that job in the computer department,” he said.

In another case, Elbasyouni said he was struggling to pay tuition and needed $500 to finish the semester, and one of his professors offered to pay it himself.

“It was every single small thing like this,” he said. “I received mentoring and guidance from every professor I had. In my previous college experiences, I had nothing like that. I felt like a number, whereas at UofL I felt like I’m part of a family.”

For budding engineers, Elbasyouni said he believes Speed School offers an excellent path to success: small classes with a lot of hands-on lab experience, the math program which promotes camaraderie and connection with other students early on, and last but definitely not least, the ability to talk to any professor about any issue.

“It’s always an open door,” he said. “They appreciated the fact that you wanted to learn. Speed School really gives you that passion for engineering.”

After graduating from Speed School with his Master’s in Electrical & Computer Engineering in 2005, Elbasyouni worked for a variety of companies as a hardware engineer designing electrical vehicles, including General Electric in Louisville and startup electrical vehicle companies in Boston and California, before he was contracted to design the motor controller and other components of the Mars helicopter. Today, he’s a senior director at����in Santa Monica, California, responsible for West Coast operations. The company designs and solves problems for aerospace, commercial aviation and superconductor industries.

In his role at Astrodyne, Elbasyouni also recruits and hires engineers, and that is where Speed School shines, he said, even in comparison to bigger-name engineering programs. For example, Elbasyouni was able to take a senior-level design job himself straight out of college.

“I see engineers from big engineering schools that don’t know how to hold a soldering gun or know the basics. They know a lot of theory, but don’t have enough hands-on experience. These differences in the way a lot of Speed School classes are taught have given me an advantage in the field. There were so many professors who had a big influence on me in so many ways and helped me through my career. I want them to know they’re all part of the accomplishment we achieved on Mars.”

It was at Speed School that Elbasyouni’s philosophy about engineering and life also began to evolve.

“Before, I always wanted to be in that entrepreneurial world but afterwards, I became active in environmental issues and wanted to be a person to try to make as much change as I could in the world,” he said. “It’s why I took the avenue I did exploring alternative energy efficiency. I am proud to have a negative carbon footprint on the planet. It changed my way of looking at life.”

How does Elbasyouni hope to make his mark on the world as an engineer? He said he is already “in process” with his next career step, creating his own startup, and he may work with NASA again in the future. It has always been his goal to own his own company, he says. His ambitions are driven by his desire to change the world.��

“I want to work at things that are going to make the world a better place, providing tools to make it easier for people in underprivileged places,” he said.��“I believe we can change the world by engineering new ways to communicate, utilize the environment, and do everything around us. We are all one, we just don’t realize it. We all want the same things – to enjoy life and live in peace.”

“The��competition was about��redesigning an ambulatory endoscopy center to help mitigate the negative impacts of COVID-19,” Sanchez said.

While including requirements imposed by the Centers for Disease Control on healthcare facilities, the pair were also asked to find ways to optimize the current facility using FlexSim, a simulation software. Once Sanchez and Pastor made the simulation and wrote a paper detailing their improvements, why they made those changes, and their results, they gave a presentation at the Healthcare Systems Process Improvement Conference.

With Sanchez finishing his final year of Speed School while working at an internship in Panama, and Pastor’s busy schedule of courses and playing field hockey for UofL, their collaboration had to happen through Microsoft Teams.

“Since it was difficult for us to be available at the same time, our��key to success��was to be organized, have weekly meetings, dividing the tasks each week and working independently,” Sanchez said.

The project required learning new simulation software, and the two were able to apply what they learned in their Simulation class with��, also their faculty adviser on the project. In fact, Sanchez said they used many of the concepts learned in IE classes.

“For example, we had to conduct many experiments to find the best combination of resources and staff, so we did a design of experiments learned in��’s class,” he said. ��“Also, we completely changed the layout of the healthcare facility to make it more efficient by applying concepts learned in our facility location and layout class with��.”

The team was so motivated to do their best, that even after finishing the paper, they found a way to make their model more efficient with better results, so they rewrote the paper.

Project faculty advisor, Dr. Arsalan Paleshi

Paleshi said the students expressed interest in the competition when he offered it as an option to complete the required major simulation project in his Fall 2020 Simulation class.

“We met throughout the semester and discussed guidelines and how to prepare the material,” he said. When the two were selected as one of the top three teams, Paleshi said he gave them advice on how to improve their presentation. “This competition was not just against undergrads; graduate students also compete, and on an international level. I’m really proud of them.”

This is the first time UofL students have reached this level in this competition.

Faculty advisor Paleshi, who has been a full-time faculty member since 2016, said simulation modeling is experiencing an exponential growth in popularity.

“Now that we have more powerful computers and more sophisticated software, it’s affordable for even small companies to run simulation models,” he said. “In the past, only major corporations used it for strategic-level decisions, but now smaller companies have the capacity to do it at an operational or tactical level.”��