Author: musto.32

Year in Review (Year 2)

Skill development, in-depth knowledge, and leadership were the primary goals of my second year at Ohio State. The first semester of the year comprised of two major new experiences, starting the position as a Teaching Assistant (TA) within the Engineering Education Department (EED) and beginning my path to completing a mathematics minor. The TA role has allowed me to obtain a deeper understanding within MATLAB and SOLIDWORKS, which are primary programs within the mechanical engineering profession. The mathematics minor has a specialization within project-based courses, which provides me insight into applications that are used within the product development field, more specifically differential equations. The second semester of the year included the first courses while being enrolled as a mechanical engineer, no longer a pre-major. With the enrolment came challenges and competition, the first courses in the major are what later courses are built on and mechanical engineering being one of the more competitive majors of engineering to get into mean each one of your classmates are extremely intelligent, adding to the course difficulty. I also took part in my first primarily design-based courses, where I used machinery to fabricate an air motor and coded with an Arduino a PPE Station. These directly lead into the product development and design engineering internship that I am taking part in this summer. At Solutions in Polycarbonate, I will be designing drawings, fabrications components, and completing calculations with a professional engineer.

CAD & Graphic Design

CAD Wall Decor

These 3 posters are a mechanical engineer’s approach to graphic design. The first poster is a compilation of the different views of the FEH robot I designed, the first design I made as a student at Ohio state. The second poster is made up of the different views of the Cleveland Sign and Script Ohio. Both places are important to me, where I am from and where I chose for university. The third poster both the main views and the section views for a Cleveland bus shelter I designed for my internship, the first design I did as an engineer.

The main inclusion of this artifact is to show the progression of my designs as an engineer. It was a way for me to display my achievements and what I am proud of, what is important to me. I was also able to utilize graphic design skills that I have developed through the years through an engineering lens. I also learned integration techniques between Adobe Photoshop, AutoCAD, SOLIDWORKS, and TinkerCAD

The poster files (from left to right): FEH Robot Views Cleveland Sign and Script Ohio Views CLE Shelter Views

G.O.A.L.S. Career Plan Reflection

Once I obtain my degree, my desired career is a position as a product development engineer with a focus on design engineering. Taking part in Fundamentals of Engineering Honors directly placed me in the mindset of a design engineer and the overall processes relating to design engineering. Developing a robot to complete a specified task, taking in criteria, and constructing a design are the primary practices of a product development engineer. This was further highlighted within my summer internship of 2021 as a product development and design engineering intern, where I learned the processes needed to complete a fully constructed design, such as project drawings, fabrication drawings, and installation drawings, which ensure smoothness within development and construction. This internship also required a knowledge of AutoCAD, which I learned through individual research and outside courses I partook in. I also had the opportunity to lead various projects, where I was able to learn the minute details needed to ensure there are no issues in the project development. Companies also have organizations that they are partnered with which relate to volunteering and having and continuing to develop and background in engineering provides me another approach to connect with my employer and co-workers. Honors & Scholars have provided me with unique opportunities and experiences which have helped me develop a unique skill set compared to other mechanical engineering students.

Year in Review (Year 1)

Challenges and obstacles encompassed my first year at Ohio State.

The goal of college is to challenge yourself and unleash your true potential, which is why I made my first semester as difficult as possible within reason. I had the opportunity to partake in multivariable calculus, honors fundamentals of engineering, and its physics equivalent. These courses allowed me to develop a skill set that otherwise was not available through the less rigorous track. I developed knowledge within MATLAB, C/C++, an in-depth look at mechanical anomalies, and diverse mathematical applications. Each skill provided me a diverse and intuitive way of thinking within my mechanical engineering coursework, which differed from my classmates. However, the courses did ground me and showed me that with new each skill developed, difficulties will arise.

My second semester involved obstacles both within the classroom and in the outside world. Continuing with the challenging mentality, I again pursued the rigorous path within my coursework, which involved a robotic construction course. Within this course, a team mentality was developed, and it involved other sectors of the engineering design field, budget, planning, and execution. This course allowed me to partake in practices I was to continue as my career, design engineering, where criteria were given and designs had to be developed to execute the criteria within a minimalistic lens. Testing had to take place and then was halted by a worldwide pandemic. Though the mentality that was developed pushed our team to continue to execute the task and further develop the skills at hand.

G.O.A.L.S. & G.O.A.L.S. Update

  • Global Awareness (Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc.)
    • Project Teams
      • Each member of a team has their own way of thinking and interpreting a problem and how the project can be completed
      • Each other’s input highlights issues with others and overall compiles to develop a successful design
    • Sociology (Technology and its influence on society)
      • Learned the various views on topics within STEM and what influences these views
  • Original Inquiry (Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.)
    •  Learning various CAD softwares
      • Taking outside coursework and conducting my own research within the programs to both develop knowledge in my desired field and as a teaching assistant for my students
    • Took part in a design engineering and product development internship
      • Applied design processes learned at the university and outside skills I developed within other CAD softwares
      • Learned and worked within the various sectors and steps of engineering a design
  • Academic Enrichment (Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.)
    •  Learn AutoCAD, Inventor, and Fusion 360
      • Took outside courses, partially through STEP, to learn the ins and outs of the programs to develop a desired skill set for a product development engineer
    • Took part in Fundamentals of Engineering and its physics counterpart
      • Learn more in-depth knowledge about physics, the design process, and the various sectors of engineering
      • Work within a team atmosphere that is comparable to the engineering workforce
    • Obtaining a mathematics minor
      • Taking 4000 level and project-based courses to obtain a more in-depth knowledge within the mathematics sector
  • Leadership Development (Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.)
    •  Head designer for FEH Robot project
      • Considered criteria that robot had to complete and developed/constructed mechanisms and an overall design to complete the tasks
    • ECOS E-Council Representative
      • Organized and reported the club’s individual project information, from their committee chairs
      • report back to ECOS with the information and guidance that the E-Council provides
  • Service Engagement (Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.)
    • Return to BHS Key Club as an alumnus and provide guidance and help within the community.
      • Help with Christmas Crusade set-up, distribution, and clean-up
      • Direct video for the 2021 District Leadership Conference
    • Volunteer within an engineering scope with Engineers for Community Service (ECOS)
      • Help senior citizens with technology issues and new skill development
      • Participate in the design and construction of a wheelchair ramp within the Wheelchair Ramp team

Career

[“Career” is where you can collect information about your experiences and skills that will apply to your future career.  Like your resume, this is information that will evolve over time and should be continually updated.  For more guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

FEH Robot

Final SOLIDWORKS Robot Construction 2020

The robot is a combination of a semester of dedication, skills learned and teamwork. It was constructed with my FEH Robot team, Carmen Cocoa. It was constructed to complete a course constructed by the FEH staff, in order to test of mechanical, coding and teamwork skills. I was able to design and construct most of the robot body and mechanisms.

It holds a distinguished place within my mind. It showed that once I set my mind to something it can and will get “done” no matter what gets in the way, as cliche as it sounds. It involved slicing my fingers with a drill press and the overall competition becoming halted because of COVID-19. However, we were still able to construct most of the tasks given to us by our instructors, just not able to compete against our fellow teams. It was my first semester long project and team building relationship I obtained since coming to OSU and would not change what I did at all.

About Me

Hello I am Nathan Musto, a third-year undergraduate pursuing a Mechanical Engineering degree within the College of Engineering, which the addition of a minor in Mathematics. I am a member of Engineers for Community Service as an E-Council Representative, as well as on the Wheel Chair Ramp and Village in the Ville project teams. All with the main purpose of helping others through the passion for mathematics and science.

I attended Brunswick High School, where I was named National AP Scholar, in Brunswick, OH where my 3 siblings reside today. I was involved in their Key Club and continues to help out to this day, with various projects when I am back at home or if they need any leadership guidance or graphic design tasks to be completed.

As stated previously I want to combine my passion for service, math, and science into my degree. By being a mechanical engineer I want to be able to create and invent products and mechanisms to ease others lives and better them. It may be a unique perspective on the degree at hand but I want better every individual’s life around me, one application of math and science at a time.