When Madelyn Harvey graduated from The College of New Jersey in May 2025 with a degree in mechanical engineering, she knew she wanted hands-on work where she could build and evaluate real systems.
Now a research and development engineer at the Applied Research Laboratory at Penn State, a university-affiliated research center that conducts applied engineering research for government and industry partners, Harvey works on energy systems projects. In her role, she designs, assembles and evaluates experimental setups based on computer models.
The work is technical and hands-on, the kind of engineering she said first drew her into the field before she fully understood where it could lead. “One of the big things that we do is evaluate how systems actually perform,” she said.
As a newer engineer, she said much of her responsibility centers on planning and executing experiments and analyzing results.
“My main responsibilities typically revolve around designing, setting up and running experimental programs,” she said. “It’s a combination of computer work and hands-on work, which is why I really enjoy it.”
Harvey said she chose mechanical engineering early on because of its flexibility, not because she had a specific career mapped out.
“I didn’t really know what an engineer did,” she said. “I chose mechanical because I heard it was the broadest discipline.”
Over time, coursework began to connect directly to tangible outcomes. “You’re not just doing math for the sake of it,” Harvey said. “Engineering has very real-world applications.”
Seeing calculations become physical objects changed how she viewed the field.
“You do all this design work, and then you get to build it,” she said. “You end up with something in front of you that works and does what you intended.”
Much of that foundation came from her time in TCNJ Engineering’s manufacturing lab, which she described as one of the most influential parts of her education.
Harvey worked in the machine shop all four years, beginning her freshman year, learning a wide range of equipment and fabrication methods. She credited machine shop supervisor, Joe Zanetti, with building her confidence early on.
“He believed in me from day one,” she said. “That really boosted my confidence.”
Her first major design project also centered on shop work. In a first-semester course, her team built an assistive spoon device designed for someone with a hand tremor.
“We ended up making a spoon that had a retractable cover,” Harvey said. “We spent a lot of time in the machine shop.”
She later carried those build-and-manufacture skills into her senior project through Baja SAE, a collegiate engineering competition organized by the Society of Automotive Engineers in which students design, build and race an off-road vehicle. The project required full-cycle engineering, from initial design through fabrication and competition.
“It is a design competition, but you also have to build it and race it,” Harvey said.
The experience also reinforced teamwork and adaptability.
“You’re going to be given a challenge you might not know how to solve, and you have to research it and rely on your teammates,” she said.
Beyond project work, Harvey served as an engineering ambassador, giving tours to prospective students and highlighting the same hands-on spaces that shaped her education.
“My favorite part of the tour was always taking them through the machine shop,” she said. “That’s where people would light up.” She said visitors were often surprised that students could use the equipment themselves.
“I loved getting to tell them they would actually be able to use the equipment if they wanted to,” she said.
During her junior year, Harvey spent a semester studying abroad in Australia, taking core engineering courses while staying on track academically.
“Engineers think they can’t study abroad, but they can,” she said.
She completed thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and mechanical design abroad, and all of the courses transferred back to TCNJ.
“I was able to stay on track for graduation while spending five months in Australia,” Harvey said.
Outside of engineering, she rowed throughout college after joining through a beginner session. “I decided I was just going to learn to row as a side quest,” she said. “Then I ended up doing it for four years.”
Before her senior year, Harvey completed a Navy engineering internship that introduced her to submarine-related design work and large-scale technical systems beyond her typical coursework. The experience challenged her to learn quickly, ask questions and apply engineering fundamentals in unfamiliar environments — skills that now translate directly to her work in applied research and development.
Looking back, Harvey said involvement beyond the classroom mattered most.
“My biggest advice would be to not just hang out in your dorm room all day,” she said. “You need to interact with your classmates and professors outside of regularly scheduled class time,” Harvey said. “That’s how you build connections.”
– Katelyn Schwab