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GSSM Alumna Selected for Automotive Technology Summer Fellowship
April 3, 2009
Latoya Dixon, GSSM '08, will spend eight weeks this summer in the mountains of Blacksburg, Va., studying automotive technology through a partnership between Virginia Tech University and Technische Universität Darmstadt, a university in Germany.
The Research Experiences for Undergraduates Fellowship Program is an international effort to encourage U.S. students to pursue graduate studies and research careers in automotive technology.
Dixon, a first-year, mechanical engineering student at USC, is one of 12 students nationally accepted into the program.
As a fellow, she and three students at Virginia Tech will study fluid flow, heat transference and performance in automotive designs, while eight others will work in tandem on the project from the German location. During the 2009-10 school year Dixon will continue her research at USC. Next summer, she will likely study in Germany.
The Columbia native called the fellowship a natural extension of her engineering studies at GSSM, namely through the Summer Program for Research Interns (SPRI), a graduation requirement at the school.
"Being at (SPRI), I was pretty new to the whole research scene," she said. "But they never made me feel overwhelmed.
"That experience showed me 'this is how this process works, I might be able to do this.'"
After graduating from GSSM, Dixon completed a seven-month internship with the Bose Corporation as an automotive systems department intern, where she studied practical application of some of the theories she'd learned.
Dixon said that when she arrives at Virginia Tech in June, she'll make sure her colleagues know she's a hard worker and ready to learn.
"I think having had those two internships I'm a little more confident," she said, "but I never want to go into something being overly confident.
"I use those past experiences and apply them to the new ones I'll embark on."
Dixon also is a member of the National Society of Black Engineers, the Minority Honors Student Union and the USC Women's Club Soccer team.
Her fellowship comes at a time when the engineering economy, researchers say, is becoming increasingly global.
According to the National Science Foundation, successful engineers will need the cultural, social and language skills to work with their overseas colleagues.
Before attending GSSM, Dixon was unaware what areas of expertise she could pursue in engineering. She said she plans to spread the word about her "ahah" experience.
"I've been privileged to have gone to the Governor's School," she said. "(In the future) I would hope there would be more women sharing the message that more females are aspiring to be engineers and scientists."
