New MCC Professor Leads Student Summer Engineering Project

This summer, new Middlesex Community College Engineering faculty member Angel Escalona is leading two students through a research project funded by the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participants (LSAMP) – a program dedicated to diversifying the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) workforce. Guided by Escalona, MCC student Sody Heng and recent graduate Christian North will spend 120 hours researching and developing 3-D models that can be used to teach material science concepts.

A Chemical Engineering major from Dracut, Heng joined the project to learn more about 3-D printing and epoxy resin ­– materials widely being used in the field. In addition to learning and working with new concepts, Heng enjoys his collaboration with Escalona and North. Grateful to LSAMP for being able to participate on the project, he has a new appreciation for STEM.

“Many things were relatable to where I work, but I’ve also learned about some new things that I did not know,” Heng said. “I’m grateful to have a better understanding of the Engineering process. This project was very fun, interactive, intellectual and I would do it again. There’s so much to learn from working on projects.”

For North, a Mechanical Engineering student from Arlington, the project allowed him to apply what he learned from his material science class to a real-life experience. He enjoys getting a better understanding of working with equipment and software he will be using at his four-year institution and in the field.

“I am a hands-on person,” North said. “I am learning how to work with different materials and create physical objects. The crystal molecules we are creating were one of the subjects that I struggled with most in class, so now, building these models, I am getting a better understanding of why their structure is like it is.”

For the project, Escalona, Heng and North are developing 3-D models in different scales to show different ways structures can be represented. The students can touch and interact with the physical object to gain a better understanding of material science concepts.

“Material science is a field that focuses on the study of materials and their properties and plays an important role in nearly every aspect of modern society,” Escalona said. “It helps us understand the fundamental properties of materials and many of these properties can be difficult to understand due to the visualization skills needed to comprehend the concepts involved.”

While the project is offering Heng and North relevant experience, they are also working on a team, learning to problem solve and follow guidelines, and adding to their resumes.

“MCC offers so much more than classes, these are real-life engineering experiences”, said Cristopher Algarra, MCC’s Chair of Engineering & LSAMP Coordinator. “With LSAMP funding, we have provided students with stipends for books and tuition, paid to send them to conferences, and run summer projects. From it, we’ve won national competitions and paid for equipment and supplies that lend to our students’ success outside of the classroom.”