First Annual “Exploring NCSU MAE” Recruiting Event a Success
By Shoumi Jeyarajah
April 18, 2008

Thirteen top candidates for the NC State Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering PhD program came from all over the US to attend the First Annual “Exploring NCSU MAE” recruiting event held Friday, March 28 th . Dr. Bill Roberts chaired this inaugural effort, successfully managing a well-organized event in a short planning period. Nine out-of-town candidates arrived in Raleigh on Thursday, March 27 th and took advantage of free time to explore the NC State campus and downtown Raleigh area before departing on Saturday.

Friday's official events began in the morning with a welcome by Dr. Gould, Dr. Nagel and Dr. Roberts in the Duke Energy conference room of Broughton Hall. Approximately 15 MAE faculty members and their graduate students contributed their time throughout the day to lead candidates on laboratory tours, presentations of their work, briefings on the latest research in the MAE department, and discussions of future opportunities for RA positions. Candidates enjoyed the personal interaction with faculty members and graduate students, and they demonstrated a keen interest in many research areas being discussed.

Candidates were also taken to visit the new NC State MAE facilities on Centennial Campus, including the Precision Engineering Center. While on Centennial Campus, they enjoyed a catered lunch in Engineering Building II and heard about the impressive growth and future plans of the MAE department. Over 20 current MAE graduate students and faculty members attended the lunch. Later in the afternoon, candidates were taken on a tour of the MAE West facilities. A highlight of the day was the evening's activities, where candidates were treated to a Southern-style BBQ at the Lake Johnson boathouse. Joined by over 30 NC State faculty members and current MAE graduate students, the candidates thoroughly enjoyed the sunny, warm weather while experiencing the beautiful lakeside setting.

The candidates left with a very positive impression of NC State. It was clear that the opportunity for candidates to visit the NCSU campus and interact with MAE faculty and graduate students had a strong impact on the candidates' decisions about graduate school. Despite competition with other top engineering graduate schools in recruiting these students, several candidates expressed a definite interest in attending NC State. Brandon Lane, a candidate from the University of Nevada in Reno, later wrote, “It was definitely the most organized and well thought out open house of any grad school that I've visited…I think I've fallen in love with hushpuppies after trying them out at dinner…I enjoyed every minute and look forward to the next time I get to visit Raleigh.”