Graduate Student in Engineering Earns Scholarship and Summer Experience
Brendan Crutchfield
JONESBORO – Brendan Crutchfield of Sheridan, a graduate student in mechanical engineering at Arkansas State University, has enjoyed getting some hands-on professional experience this summer.
Earlier this year Crutchfield received the Smith Graduate Steel Intern Scholarship, awarded by the Association for Iron and Steel Technology (AIST). The award provides $7,500 to help support his graduate studies, and it included a paid internship with a steel-related company.
Now concluding his summer experience with The Systems Group Spray-Cooled Division in Smyrna, Tenn., Crutchfield will soon be returning to A-State to resume work on his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (MSME) degree.
As one of 43 recipients nationally of an AIST scholarship, Crutchfield has had a variety of relevant experiences during his internship.
Projects have ranged from “ . . . working on a calculator that is used to find head losses for gravity-drained systems to designing a basket strainer to prevent spray nozzles from getting clogged,” Crutchfield explained. “I also added to what I did last summer, working on a camera that is used to look into an operating electric arc furnace.”
Crutchfield, who is about halfway through the graduate degree program, hopes to finish his coursework next year. He completed his undergraduate degree at A-State in mechanical engineering, while earning a minor in Spanish.
The AIST student program is designed to reveal significant and rewarding steel industry opportunities that are often associated with renewable energy applications, decarbonization technologies, and smart manufacturing solutions such as robotics and artificial intelligence.
Applicants are evaluated on technical interests, academic performance and extracurricular activities. All recipients are deemed to have high potential for future steel industry career success.
“This is a tremendous program and a great opportunity for students and steel companies alike,” said Chuck Greene, president and chief executive officer of AM/NS Calvert LLC, who serves as chair of the AIST Foundation Steel Intern Scholarship Committee.
The AIST Foundation is a Pennsylvania-based 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation organized for charitable, education and scientific purposes to attract technology-oriented professionals to the steel industry. The foundation is part of the Association for Iron & Steel Technology, a non-profit technical association of 17,500 members from more than 70 countries.
