CONGRATULATIONS to Suzanne Peterson, a recent graduate in Aerospace Engineering and a previous Worldwide Youth in Science & Engineering program (WYSE) camp attendee and later, lab assistant, on her offer at Raytheon!
WYSE friends like Suzanne are one of the big reasons our camps are so successful!
Suzanne not only attended WYSE camps, but participated in many different camp tracks including: computer science, robotics, electrical engineering, and aerospace engineering. You can read more about her experience and enjoyment of Aerospace Engineering in the ISTEM article, Aerospace Engineering Junior Suzanne Peterson Returns to G.A.M.E.S. Camp. She learned about WYSE camps through a fellow synchronized ice skating friend, and the reason Suzanne decided to apply to more camps was that she “enjoyed working on the projects and working on different teams and learning about challenging things.”
Suzanne is very active in the Urbana-Champaign community:
- In a brass band with some of her friends from high school which had a gig in September for the first time in four years
- Previously the Outreach Chair for Women in Aerospace UIUC, which hosts, among other events, Girls Learning Air and Space (GLASS) Day for middle school girls to learn about aerospace engineering and participate in design challenges
- Active in Illinois Robotics in Space (IRIS), initially as the Outreach Chair and later as their Consulting Engineer. IRIS outreach included participation in Illinois Space Day, a free annual educational event for K-8 students.
- Participated in the Illinois partnership for Respecting the Identities of Students in Engineering (I-RISE) outreach group.
- Did research for two summers on-campus
- Has been a Women in Engineering (WIE) Ambassador. Her advice to those questioning majoring in engineering is, “Seek out opportunities to see if you like engineering or not. Think about the classes you’re taking and what do you actually like and enjoy doing. What do YOU like…Instead of what do you think your parents want you to like.”
Even with all the community outreach efforts, Suzanne also accomplished a great deal in classes and research during her time at the University of Illinois.
- Awarded “Best Computational Approach” for her research poster, titled “Modeling Thermal Instabilities During Frontal Polymerization of Thermosetting Polymers and Composites.” The poster was presented at the 2019 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition Conference, and you can read more about it on AE Senior Awarded for Research Poster.
- Co-presented with PhD student collaborators in May 2019 at the pan American Congress. She was the only undergraduate student there presenting.
- Her senior design project was an air taxi and she competed in AIAA competition with it.
- Interned at CU Aerospace