Testimonial

Ty Dawson

[Ph.D. ME 2002]
Research Engineer
Milliken Research Corporation

When looking at graduate schools, there were several criteria I used to measure the quality of mechanical engineering programs. First, the perceived overall quality of the department was important, the Woodruff School at Georgia Tech was (and is) obviously well respected by other educators and by industry. My second measure was departmental research expenditures. I think it is important to conduct research as part of a program that is able to attract significant research dollars because it indicates the quality of research and availability of modern equipment and facilities. My third measure was the relative size and influence of the mechanical engineering department at the university. Using any of these metrics, the Woodruff School stood out as one of the top mechanical engineering schools in the country, and coupled with a strong research program in my area of interest (manufacturing) and being located in a great city and climate, it was an easy decision to attend Georgia Tech.

There are several ways in which my graduate experience at the Woodruff School prepared me well for a career in engineering. The undergraduate ME curriculum at any school covers so many areas in a such a short time that almost no student graduates with significant technical depth or expertise in any area. The graduate coursework at the Woodruff School allowed me the opportunity to dig deeper into my areas of interest and develop real technical depth. Combining this with a quality research experience that was a balance of theoretical and experimental work prepared me well for my current position as a research engineer. The addition of teaching responsibilities, writing and presenting technical papers, attending conferences, and working with industrial and academic research consortia helped me develop confidence working with and leading others.

The three strengths of the graduate program at Georgia Tech are easy to identify. The quality of the facilities, the quality of the faculty, and the quality of the students put Georgia Tech among the very top schools in the country.

There is no question that the quality of the faculty, students, and facilities put the Woodruff School among the elite graduate mechanical engineering programs. It is even more exciting that in each of these categories there has been significant improvement over recent years. The quality of faculty, students, and their research have been well rewarded by outstanding national rankings of the Woodruff School. However, I think our facilities really separate us from many of the top schools in the country.

Through research collaborations and attending conferences, I have visited several of the top mechanical engineering departments in the country, and I have not seen any that have facilities comparable to the Woodruff School.