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MOMENTUM • VIRGINIA TECH MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS
Associate Professor of Practice Linda Vick was named Advisor of the Month for July 2021 by Virginia Tech Academic Advising Initiatives . She has been a part of the Virginia Tech community for more than 20 years , starting as an instructor . She became an academic advisor in 2006 , and has seen more than 4000 undergraduates cross the stage . Vick has helped usher students into careers with institutions such as Disney , Hershey , Exxon Mobil , SpaceX , Tesla , NASA , and auto racing teams .
Of her time as an advisor , Vick says : “ The fun part is seeing our graduates get married and have kids , start their own companies , and do other cool things like finish Ironman triathlons and ultramarathons , travel the world participating in humanitarian efforts , compete in the Olympics , and generally be happy with life .”
Varsha Swamy , a New Horizon graduate student pursuing a MS . in mechanical engineering , is the recipient of the Excellence in Research Award presented by Automotive Research Center ( ARC ).
As a recipient of the award , Swamy will receive funding and contribute to a project with ARC . Her proposal to study tiremud interaction and modeling , will be included in ARC ’ s body of work in the future .
Swamy is a graduate teaching assistant in the mechanical engineering department , advised by Dr . Corina Sandu , Robert E . Hord Jr . Professor .