Towner Prize Winner

Mary McMeekin

ME 250: Design and Manufacturing I

In Mary’s ME 250 classroom, she strove to create an environment that promoted positivity and collaboration in diverse settings. She gave constructive feedback to aid her students in their designs and helped produce plans for teams to implement this feedback. During her first semester as a GSI, Mary noticed common mistakes groups made in their designs that set them back and kept them from progressing in the course. She compiled a list of these mistakes and created a process in which each week prior to design review, she would present one issue from the past and talk about how to avoid it. This opened the floor for team discussion and taught students more about evaluating mechanical design. Mary’s creativity and innovation inspired students by reassuring them that their problems are solvable and showing them that what they’re learning will be applicable in the future.