Mechanical engineering major receives David Laine scholarship two years in a row
November 06, 2024
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By Faith Fegley English ’25
Dakota Carter, a junior mechanical engineering major at Trine University, has received
the David Laine scholarship from the North American Die Casting Association for two
consecutive years.
The David Laine scholarship was established in 1975 in honor of David Laine, an instrumental
person in the advancement of die casting. The program is open to full-time undergraduate
students with majors relating to the die casting industry, meaning their major must
be related to the manufacturing process where molten metal is injected into a mold
cavity under high pressure.
Students must also have had at least three months of work experience in die casting
in the last 12 months.
“I come from a family full of engineers and always knew I wanted to be an engineer
too,” stated Carter in regard to his path in die casting. “My experiences in my high
school [Project Lead The Way] and science classes helped me choose mechanical as my
specialization… My interest and participation in the die casting industry first led
me to apply to this scholarship program.”
Given that students must have work experience in the field, Carter further spoke of
his professional experience in die casting.
“I had the opportunity to intern for Aludyne, an aluminum die casting company in Auburn,
for multiple summers now,” continued Carter. “My experience there has been very positive…My
supervisor first mentioned the [David Laine scholarship and internship] program to
me last year, and this year he mentioned it again as we got closer to the start of
the semester.”
Carter went on to say how receiving the scholarship will help him in completing his
education at Trine.
“This scholarship will help me complete my education at Trine obviously by reducing
some of my financial burden,” said Carter. “It will also allow me to have an easier
time when applying for future internships. I believe that internships provide a very
important real-world aspect to our college experience. Having a scholarship like this
one, which is prominent in the metal casting industry, will be nice when I am applying
to jobs at other casting companies and suppliers.”
Carter additionally mentioned how his experience at Trine has benefitted him, particularly
in his internship and scholarship application experience.
“Trine specifically will benefit me as I pursue my career goals because it will give
me a better hands-on experience with concepts from the classroom than I could get
anywhere else,” stated Carter. “I could have [gone] anywhere to learn the science,
but from what I have seen and heard, there aren't many better schools for learning
how to actually apply that in real-world situations.”
Hemin Mohammed, Ph.D., assistant professor in Trine University’s Reiners Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, pilots the department’s DJI Matrice 350 RTK drone on Tuesday, Dec. 3, for students in the CE 2001: Surveying Lab.
Trine University students have been honored for projects presented at the university’s eighth annual STEM Research and Design Symposium, held Thursday, Dec. 5, on the concourse of the MTI Center.
Trine University Chemical Engineering Faculty and Department Chair, Matthew Liberatore, Ph.D., received two national awards during the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Annual Meeting, hosted in San Diego, California, this fall.