Private gifts support top engineering students

Currently only eight percent of the engineering workforce is made up of women. As an aspiring chemical engineer, sophomore Kelly Wilson often finds herself in classrooms that are dominated by male students. But this high-achieving student from Aurora, Oregon, barely notices. She is too busy.

Wilson is the vice president of the OSU chapter of American Institute of Chemical Engineers, a state representative with the student-group “Engineers without Borders,” and an Ambassador to K-12 students for OSU’s College of Engineering. While only in her second year, she has already undertaken two research experiences with top faculty – and every once in awhile she also finds a little time to go rock climbing.

"I really like that there are so many different opportunities to get involved at OSU,” said Wilson.

With a 4.0 coming out of high school, Wilson considered other universities and other majors—but the offer of scholarships helped her make the decision to attend OSU’s College of Engineering.

In her first year, Wilson participated in the Tektronix Scholars Program, a special research experience through the Women and Minorities in Engineering program that pairs first-year students with top faculty. Wilson worked closely with OSU environmental engineer Dorthe Wildenschild on research that examines the ways that pollutants can spread underground.

The next year, through the Pete and Rosalie Johnson Scholarship, she worked with OSU chemical engineer Goran Jovanovic on technology that is leading to a portable kidney dialysis machine.

In addition Wilson, who speaks fluent Spanish, is helping the OSU chapter of Engineers Without Borders create a clean water delivery system for two villages in El Salvador. It is the kind of impact she hopes to have in her future career.

“I like being able to put any knowledge that I do have toward helping other people,” said Wilson.