Christine Menges |
When she enrolled at UP as a freshman, Chika Eke imagined becoming a doctor, not a mechanical engineer. But through her involvement with student activities like the biomedical engineering club and Engineering World Health, Eke saw a chance to make a difference in another way.
“I realized how many opportunities there were to help people,” Eke said. “So that’s when I started doing research.”
Pretty soon, Eke, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering, will step foot on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) campus as a graduate research fellow.
Eke was awarded the fellowship through the National Science Foundation, which accepted only 2,000 of 16,000 applicants. The fellowship will fund her for three years of graduate research.
Eke plans to use the funding to complete her master’s degree in mechanical engineering and then use her remaining two years to research abroad.
She has taken part in three different internships that have enabled her to try different fields within mechanical engineering. Most recently, she worked with the University of Pittsburgh on a research project to improve wheelchair design. During this project, Eke said she performed statistical analysis on data from Indonesia.
“They give out a lot of free wheelchairs, and they’re not really specialized for each person, so a child will receive the same wheelchair as an adult,” Eke said. “We’re seeing how a new process would improve their mobility and improve their quality of life.”
Eke hopes to continue applying mechanical engineering to medical research in her fellowship. She’s researching several opportunities, such as the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, which would apply biomechanics to solving issues related to musculoskeletal disorders. The Center for Injury Prevention Research is also a possibility, and Eke would research ways to improve the design of children’s car seats.
Eke is taking Deborah Munro’s automated manufacturing class, which Munro says is a popular elective, but very few female students take it. Eke is one of two female students in the class.
“She’s always in here asking for advice and questions on how she can improve her work,” Munro said. “She takes everything very seriously and wants to do well.”
Munro believes that Eke is prepared for research at MIT, as she has taken part in Research Experiences for Undergraduates, doing graduate-level research.
“I think she will excel there,” Munro said. “I think our graduates are as good as any graduates anywhere.”
Those who know her on a personal level, like her friend senior Sarah Barr, say Eke shows a passion for helping others outside of academics.
“Chika loves doing service for other people. She’s one of the most humble, giving people I know,” Barr said.
According to Barr, rather than spending her weekends on Netflix or at parties, Eke will get up early to help feed the homeless or plant trees.
Barr also describes Eke as quirky and upbeat.
“It’s one of the reasons she and I get along,” Barr said. “She loves to dance and sing and joke around.”
Eke feels similarly about her soon-to-be colleagues, of whom she met a few during a recent visit to the MIT campus. Eke said she was expecting them to be a little bit arrogant, but said she was pleasantly surprised.
“Everyone there is super awesome and laid-back,” Eke said.
Christine Menges is a reporter for The Beacon. You can reach her at menges15@up.edu or on Twitter @ChristineyBird.
