Research Rookies Student Profiles

Name: Alejandro Lopez

Cohort: Sophomore/Transfer Research Rookie

Major: Mechanical Engineering

Hometown: Oswego, Illinois

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Nicholas Pohlman

For Alejandro Lopez, deciding on the college he wanted to attend was easy, deciding what to major in was the challenge. Alejandro had his heart set on NIU since his uncle went to the university years ago, so after a year of community college, Alejandro was excited to come to NIU. In high school, Alejandro was unsure of what he wanted to do later in life until he started taking some basic mechanical engineering classes that were offered at his high school. He found he really liked the subject, so he kept taking similar classes, and even joined the robotics team where he drafted all of the robot-models for the team on a computer. Once Alejandro found his niche, everything fell into place.

Upon transferring to NIU, Alejandro found out about the Research Rookies program and decided to apply so that he could expand his opportunities in the field, and work with a mentor in the department. Alejandro was accepted into the program, and found a mentor in Dr. Nicholas Pohlman. For Alejandro’s project, they are trying to develop a better understanding of how materials flow. To do this, they will be filming materials flowing through a circular, triangular, and square object with a high-speed camera. Then, Alejandro will be able to compare how a material flows in different-shaped containers and if the efficiency of the flow is dependent on the shape of the container. The findings from this project could even impact general mixing tools if Alejandro and his mentor have significant results. 

Alejandro on what being a Research Rookie means: “Being a Research Rookie means having an opportunity to explore more in depth on the field I am going into.  It means learning how to research and to build relationships with mentors in my field.”