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.

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 UA 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 UA. 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 UA, 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.