Aha! Life on campus! And another semester begins. Free barbecue today at the Student Activities Center, courtesy (I believe) of the Fraternity-Sorority system here on campus. Thanks to them for that.
We stopped by the barbecue on our way to the Heavy Engineering Building, where we met with Goldie Najat, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering. Professor Najat gave us a tour of some of the mech labs, including robotics, EE labs, and tribology (which is an unusual name meaning the study of “wear” mechanics, as in how materials wear down over time). Fascinating, fascinating stuff, almost all of which went right over my head. (Hey, I was a radio guy in college.) Professor Najat says that one of the reasons that Stony Brook has become a feeder school for top graduate engineering programs like MIT and Stanford is because of these labs; undergraduates have the opportunity to work — hands-on — with millions of dollars in state-of-the-art equipment. She even has a couple of high school students who work in her lab, getting exposure and experience before even thinking about college. BIg thumbs up to Professor Najat and her program.