Mechanical polymer engineering senior receives DME Co. scholarship
University of Akron senior mechanical polymer engineering student Sunandini Chopra of Richfield is one of five students worldwide to receive a plastics scholarship from DME Co., a mold technologies manufacturer headquartered in Michigan. Chopra received the $1,000 scholarship last month.
Sunandini Chopra
Mechanical engineering is a fundamental branch of engineering, which helped me to strengthen my basic concepts and fundamentals of engineering during my undergraduate studies,” Chopra says. “For further studies, I want to specialize in soft materials or nature-inspired materials for which a polymer background will be helpful.”
Since enrolling at ¹ú²úÂ×Àí in 2008, Chopra has received more than 15 scholarships and awards, including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers scholar award, ACESS STEM scholar award and a Tau Beta Pi scholarship.
Outstanding academic career
Chopra is a member of the Honors College and has been named to the dean’s list every semester of her academic career at ¹ú²úÂ×Àí. Chopra also is ranked in the top 1 percent of her class. She works as a student assistant in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and as a resident assistant in Spicer Residence Hall.
After Chropa receives a bachelor’s degree at ¹ú²úÂ×Àí, she says she plans to attend graduate school and ultimately, earn a doctorate, focusing her research on soft or nature-inspired materials. Chropa has been accepted to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for fall 2012.
The DME Scholarship Program has awarded 25 scholarships and grants totaling $25,000 during the past three years as part of its Plastics University® training partnership.
Media contacts: Drew Williams, 330-972-7661 or drw41@zips.uakron.edu, or Denise Henry, 330-972-6477 or henryd@uakron.edu.