Several of our students shared updates with us about their internships and lives abroad this year. Scroll through the postcard updates to learn more about where they interned and some of their international experiences.
France
Mackenzie Fraser ’23
Majors: French & Ocean Engineering
Internship Location: Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography, Toulon
For my internship I work at the Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography, which is a research institution under the joint direction of a few organizations including the Université de Toulon, where I am located. My research topic is characterization of essential physical parameters of the ocean surface using data from the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) satellite. A lot of my research is focused on the mean square slope (MSS) of waves. This important parameter describes the roughness of the sea surface and is typically characterized by wind speed.
While here, I have loved getting to practice my French with my coworkers, who are all doctorate students, post-docs, and other interns, so most of them are not that much older than me. Though most are French, there are a few other foreigners, which means the French people are used to speaking with non-native speakers and will patiently explain a word or phrase I don’t know if I need help. I’ve also loved being able to travel around the nearby region. Toulon is in a beautiful location on the Côte d’Azur and I have been able to spend most of my weekends exploring new places along the coast.
Sofia Lanzi ’24
Majors: French & Mechanical Engineering
Internship Location: Constructions-3D, Valenciennes
At Constructions-3D, I helped develop a new printhead for their main 3D printing machine, the MaxiPrinter. The company designs, builds and sells machines that are capable of printing with mortar and are used to construct buildings. The objective of my project was to develop a smaller robotic arm to be attached to the end of the machine, so that the printer can be more accurate and print in finer details. During the project, I strengthened my skills in CAD modeling, 3D printing and prototyping.
Constructions-3D is located in Valenciennes, a small town 30 mins away from Lille. Living in a smaller town has enabled me to use French more daily and interact with other students from the local university. Also, since Valenciennes is very close to the Belgian border, I get to experience some Belgian cuisine alongside French culture.
Germany
Jacob Milman ’24
Majors: German & Mechanical Engineering
Internship Location: Porsche, Weissach
Working at Porsche has taught me a lot about vehicle acoustics and dynamics. During my time here I have familiarized myself with a number of different specialized measurement systems, all of which are fascinating. I would say my favorite part of the job is the driving. I am in the department responsible for prototype standardization and conformity of production for traffic noise, meaning that I often drive the cars for measurements. This includes all of the Porsche lineup, minus the fancy race cars.
Life in Weissach is very quiet with not much to do in the main town, but I quite like it – with public transport one can travel to Stuttgart whenever they want, to visit friends or find something to do.
Overall I am very satisfied with how this semester has been going, and I am looking forward to applying what I have learned here in the future.
Mycarthy Newton ’24
Majors: German & Mechanical Engineering
Internship Location: MTU AeroEngines, Munich
I am doing my internship abroad as a Thermodynamics Engineering Intern at MTU Aero Engines. MTU is the leading jet engine manufacturer in Germany. They also supply technology and hardware for various international engine programs and collaborate with companies such as Safran, GE Aerospace, and Pratt & Whitney. Their headquarters in Munich has multiple production, assembly, and test facilities and houses most of their engineering and business offices. I had two main projects during my time at MTU. The first was to change the 3D Geometry of an air seal within the turbine and determine the effects on the component’s temperatures. The second was to improve the two-dimensional thermal model of the first stage low-pressure turbine disk and blade root to better represent the complex real-world 3D geometry and boundary conditions. I loved working in Munich. It has a wonderful atmosphere with many international residents and does a great job maintaining its connection to traditional Bavarian culture. Many of my colleagues were from different countries around the world and it was such a cool experience to learn their perspective on living and working in Germany. Munich is also in the perfect location to explore the Alps and take day trips to other beautiful cities and towns in Bavaria and Austria. I will definitely miss being so close to the mountains – and seeing them from my office window!
Japan
Hong Nguyen ’24
Majors: Global Language & Area Studies (Japanese Track) & Biomedical Engineering
Internship Location: Yamadai Food Corporation, Tokyo
Hello everyone! This academic year I first studied at Waseda University and am now doing an internship in Tokyo. I’m interning at Yamadai Food Corporation, a Japanese company that specializes in manufacturing frozen vegetable side dishes. I help maintain the company’s international social media platforms as well as conducting English lessons. Although this internship is not related to engineering, here I get to improve my language skills and discover other skills I didn’t know I had like social media management, business manners, teaching, etc. If you’re ever interested in studying abroad, just know that life never goes as planned, especially when studying in a foreign country, but I guess that’s what makes it so exciting!
Kevin Suggs ’23
Majors: Global Language & Area Studies (Japanese Track) & Computer Engineering
Internship Location: Shimadzu, Kyoto
Working at Shimadzu Corporation in Kyoto, Japan has been a great experience for me. I work at the headquarters and it’s pretty big, as you’d expect. But did you expect it to have its own gym and sports teams? Me neither! So I was pleasantly surprised to see all the facilities the company has to offer its employees. Those kinds of things made me excited to see how life at Shimadzu would be and it turns out that it was great! The projects I worked on were interesting and engaging while helping me improve my engineering and Japanese skills (because it was all in Japanese). It was tough but I had colleagues who were very accommodating and supportive so because of them, my experience as an intern has become an unforgettable one.
Spain
Anna Cetera
Majors: Spanish & Biomedical Engineering
Internship Location: Department of Electronic Technology and Systems/Automatic Engineering, University of Cantabria, Santander
My project is called “Computer Vision-based Robotic Intelligent Picking System for Objects Randomly Arranged” and I work on it with Dr. José Ramón Llata García.
What I have learned: I loved the challenge of conducting research completely immersed in Spanish language and culture, but I also have learned the importance of taking time for yourself alongside performing valuable research throughout long days. In Spain, it is more common to go out and take a mental break after a few hours of working to enjoy a coffee with your friends or labmates, which I noticed improved my work ethic. This is something I look forward to incorporating into my daily routine when I return from my year abroad in the United States.
Meagan Olson
Majors: Spanish & Civil Engineering
Internship Location: Geotechnical Department, University of Cantabria, Santander
I am completing my internship at the University of Cantabria doing research for the geotechnical department. Here I am assisting on a project with the objective to gain accurate results from direct tensile tests of rock specimens. The best aspect of my internship has been getting to know the people that work in my lab and improve my Spanish with them.
