Crew members refuel an V-22 Osprey before a night mission in central Iraq.
the best in. Aside from liking math
and science, I also had a natural
knack for it, and I excelled at both
subjects in high school.
MIT was not only the top
engineering school in the country,
it was also my dream to go there
to take on the challenges the
courses and professors presented
to the students. I applied during my
senior year of high school, and was
accepted into what became an
extremely rewarding experience.
At that point in my academic
career I had never received near
the challenge academically as I
did at MIT.
I polled upperclassmen to
see what each major offered. I
ended up choosing Mechanical
Engineering because it was the
most general of the engineering
majors. I wasn’t one hundred
percent sure exactly what I was
going to do, but I knew that
degree would give me the option
to go into many different industries
to learn. What everyone considers
when you think of an engineer, is
usually a mechanical engineer.
Q:
How did you become a
structural
engineer
with
Boeing?
Mohl:
It was my position as an
intern. Boeing is great about
getting you involved in real projects
that are happening – you are not
just going around fetching people
coffee – you are actually getting
hands on experience with the
aircraft.
Structural engineering very much
spoke to my natural love of problem
solving. Growing up, I loved math
and science, and trying to figure
out the answer to a problem I would
see. That is what engineering is like,
especially in structures. A problem
will come up, we ask ourselves how
we can solve it, and how we can
make the product better.
Q:
What do you do with the
V-22? What is something
“cool” about this aircraft?
Mohl: Since I am a structural
en gineer, I work on the design
and structures of the aircraft. The
greatest aspect of the V-22 is the
fact that it is a transitional aircraft.
It can be both a helicopter and an
airplane at the same time.
Seeing the results of that in the
field is pretty remarkable - the
missions they can do - with this
capability that they have never
been able to do them with before.
Aerospace
companies
are
Photo: U.S Navy/Chief Petty Officer Joe Kane
always looking to the future. We
are creating that future by asking
ourselves what improvements we
want to make down the line.
Q:
You do a lot of STEM outreach,
focusing on getting girls
involved. Can you elaborate on
this?
Mohl: I am an officer in the local
chapter of society for Women
Engineers and through that, we do
a lot of work with Girl Scouts.
There are two main things we
do. First, we do two engineering
mini camps per year for high
school girls. These students are
from all over the tri-state area
(Pennsylvania, New Jersey and
Delaware plus Maryland, New
York and Ohio). They come for a
day and participate in different
engineering projects taught to
them by professional engineers
and engineering students.
Last year, I was able to show a
bridge building program to the
students demonstrate how different
trusses and bridges work – and also,
how it relates to the structural side
of airplane design as well. I also did
a roller coaster design lab where
the students were able to use foam
tubes and marbles and design
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