This summer, Electrical Engineering major Madison “Maddie” Bland will embark on a 10 week research program at the University of San Diego through the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU). NSF provides grants to colleges and universities towards furthering science and engineering research.
Madison’s REU with Engineers For Exploration, a multidisciplinary and collaborative research program aimed at protecting the environment, will focus on reducing the impacts of climate change through the analysis of cyber-physical systems. This program partners with organizations including the National Geographic Society, Hubbs SeaWorld Research Institute and the Scripps Institute of Oceanography to list a few.
Passionate about the environment, she is thrilled to participate as it combines her interests for robotics and electrical engineering with the environment through the practical process of the research. Madison excitedly described how she is looking forward to understanding how to monitor fish using a 3D imaging system during her REU. 3D imaging systems allow researchers to observe fish without having to utilize traditionally invasive and harmful methods.
Participating in this REU is one of the many ways Madison continues to make an impact on the TCNJ community. She began trailblazing in her freshman year working in Dr. Seung-yun Kim’s Robotics Lab and continued her research that summer through the Mentored Undergraduate Summer Experience (MUSE). She learned about robots with an interest in the stabilization of NAO humanoid robots.
Currently, she is president of TCNJ’s Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) student chapter. IEEE represents the field’s largest professional organization for electrical, electronic and computer engineers. Madison also serves as a Team Engineering Ambassador, giving School of Engineering tours to accepted and prospective students. In addition, she recently became the founding Vice President of TCNJ’s Women Engineers in Computer and Electrical Engineering (WE-CEE), a new community for women in the male dominated electrical and computer engineering discipline. Together, the group started a Big/Little program pairing female freshman and sophomore engineering students with a junior or senior to act as an upperclassmen guide.
In the summer of 2019, she acted as a counselor at TCNJ’s Robotics Summer Camp. As valuable as all her research experience has been for her, one of her favorite memories at TCNJ is helping campers at the Robotics Camp build robots to navigate through a maze.
Madison was originally drawn to TCNJ for small class sizes, personable professors and a location close to home in Marlton, New Jersey. She thrives on the community that TCNJ’s atmosphere brings and loves running team building activities whether it’s with campers, running workshops through IEEE, supporting prospective students at open houses or building a community for women in electrical and computer engineering.
Madison is a shining example of what it means to be making an impact on the TCNJ community. With her research abilities and leadership prowess, she hopes to pursue her PhD in Electrical Engineering and become a professor while continuing her research.
– Anisa Lateef ’22