Every day, Jaime (McCarrell) Holmes uses the knowledge she learned as a mechanical engineering major at Trine University to make sure satellite instruments will be able to function once they are in space.
A thermal analyst at L3Harris, Jaime builds models of satellite payloads and analyzes them in on-orbit conditions to ensure components do not get too hot or cold. She also monitors thermal vacuum test campaigns for these instruments once they are assembled to ensure their thermal control systems will operate properly.
"Once I got to Baylor, I had to work with my advisor to find additional courses to those taken by most master's students, because I had already taken equivalent courses during my Trine education."- Jaime (McCarrell) Holmes
“Much of the analysis I do in my current work is based on the equations that I learned in my heat transfer class at Trine,” the 2016 graduate said.
Her interest in engineering began with an Introduction to Engineering course in high school.
“We spent each week learning about a different kind of engineering,” she said. “Mechanical engineering and all of the opportunities it afforded me piqued my interest the most, so that made my initial decision. Once I started taking classes at Trine, my decision was confirmed.”
Jaime was attracted to Trine University by the opportunity to pursue an engineering degree while still being able to play soccer.
“I also liked that when I came on a campus visit, I felt like I would really be treated as an individual and would be able to build a relationship with my professors, unlike at a larger university where I felt I would get lost in a crowd,” she said.
She went on to earn All-MIAA and MIAA Academic Honor Roll honors on the pitch while graduating magna cum laude.
After graduating from Trine, she moved to Waco, Texas, and earned a master's degree in mechanical engineering (MSME) from Baylor University, where her thesis included researching ice accretion on aircraft wings over time. She began working at L3Harris in her current position two years ago.
“My education at Trine also prepared me for my master's degree,” she said. “Once I got to Baylor, I had to work with my advisor to find additional courses to those taken by most master's students, because I had already taken equivalent courses during my Trine education.”
