NM Tech's Top Engineering Students for 2005 Are Named

by George Zamora

SOCORRO – Sue A. “Sandra” White, a graduate of Manzano High School who is now a senior majoring in environmental engineering at New Mexico Tech, recently was named the 2005 Engineering Student of the Year at the state-supported research university in Socorro.

White, a native of Cedar Crest, N.M., is the daughter of Mary and Carl White, also of Cedar Crest.

Having maintained a 3.6 grade-point average (GPA) during her studies at New Mexico Tech, White is a designated Tech Scholar and has been named to the university’s academic honor roll each semester of her enrollment.

White’s recent research experiences at the university include fieldwork done in conjunction with New Mexico Tech hydrology professor Fred Phillips, nano-particle synthesis research with Tech environmental engineering professor Frank Huang, and remote sensing of vegetation cover with former Tech hydrology professor Eric Small.

White also has been active in research pursuits during summer months, completing student internships with both Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories, as well as with the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at Washington State University and the University of New Mexico.

In addition, White currently serves as president of the New Mexico Tech Environmental Engineering Club and lists active memberships in Tau Beta Pi national honor society for engineering students, the Society of Women Engineers, and the university’s Ballroom Dance and Off-Road clubs.

She also was instrumental in founding the newly established New Mexico Tech student chapter of the Rocky Mountain Water Environment Association and American Water Works Association.

The ten-member committee (comprised mostly of Tech engineering faculty), which chose White as this year’s Engineering Student of the Year, also named four other Tech seniors as runner-ups for the prestigious honor:

David P. Gonzales, a graduate of Aztec (N.M.) High School who is now a graduating senior majoring in petroleum and natural gas engineering:

Gonzales is the son of Tim and Yolanda Gonzales, also of Aztec.

Having maintained a 3.7 grade-point average (GPA) in the course of his studies at New Mexico Tech, Gonzales is a designated Tech Scholar and attends the university on a Four Corners Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Scholarship, a Denver SPE Scholarship, and an American Petroleum Institute Scholarship.

Gonzales’s recent research work at the university has resulted in his giving technical presentations on “Empirical Foam Flow Modeling” at last year’s Burlington Resources Artificial Lift Conference in Denton, Texas, and on “Downhole Capillary Surfactant Injection Systems Pilot on Low-Pressure Gas Wells in the San Juan Basin,” to be delivered at this year’s SPE Productions Operation Symposium in Oklahoma City.

Gonzales also has been active in research pursuits during summer months, completing several student internships with Burlington Resources in Farmington, N.M., as well as an oil and gas mentorship with Merrion Oil & Gas of Farmington.

In addition, Gonzales currently serves as social coordinator the New Mexico Tech student chapter of SPE, service committee chair of the Tau Beta Pi national honor society for engineering students, and vice president of the New Mexico Tech College Republicans. He also is a member of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and is captain of an intramural basketball team at the university.

Aaron E. Lund, a graduate of Roughrider High School in Port Angeles, Wash., who is now a graduating senior majoring in both electrical engineering and mathematics:

Lund is the son of Layton and Victoria Lund, also of Port Angeles.

Lund’s recent research work at the university includes a project on developing a nanometer capacitive distance sensor, and stints as a microcontrollers laboratory assistant and as a freshman peer facilitator. In the recent past, he has worked as a student intern at Los Alamos National Laboratory and with humanitarian engineers in Mexico City.
In addition, Lund also is a member of the student chapters of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Society and the Instrumentation & Measurement Computer Society at the university.

John H. Macha, a graduate of Albuquerque’s La Cueva High School who is now a senior majoring in materials engineering:

Macha is the son of J. Michael and Dyne Macha of Albuquerque.

In the course of his studies at New Mexico Tech, Macha has been named to the university’s honor roll every semester and attends the university on a Transfer Excel Scholarship.

Macha’s research work at the university includes a current stint as a research laboratory assistant, working on the metallography of explosively welded copper.

Macha also has been active in research pursuits during summer months, completing four student internships with Sandia National Laboratories.

In addition, Macha currently serves on the image and activities committee of the Phi Eta Sigma national freshman honor society and is a member of the local chapter of the Tau Beta Pi national honor society for engineering students.

“At New Mexico Tech, the classes are challenging and the professors are knowledgeable and approachable,” Macha says. “I’m confident that I’m getting an excellent education here.”

Katheryn Stapleton, a senior from of Santa Maria, Calif. majoring in civil engineering at New Mexico Tech:

Stapleton is the daughter of Patrick and Leslie Stapleton, also of Santa Maria.

Stapleton currently is a research laboratory assistant with New Mexico Tech’s civil engineering department, and also has been active in research pursuits during summer months, having completed a student internship last summer with the New Mexico Department of Transportation.

“New Mexico Tech has afforded me many opportunities to obtain internships in my field of study, as well as research opportunities on campus,” Stapleton says.

In addition, Stapleton currently serves as president of the New Mexico Tech student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

“New Mexico Tech has proven to be all that I expected when I visited as a senior in high school,” Stapleton says. “The environment is extremely friendly, and I enjoy the personal level in which you can get to know your professors.

“Though Tech is definitely a different atmosphere from Santa Maria—both in size and environment—I have found the adjustment to be pleasant and enjoyable, and am very glad that I decided to further my education in the New Mexico desert,” she adds.

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