Engineering undergraduate seeks to ‘design the future’

Kemper York has found his passion in engineering and his home at Ohio State.

York, a third-year undergraduate student in mechanical engineering, grew up in a military family and lived all over the country. But after spending six years living in Pickerington, Ohio, and following in his sister’s footsteps to becoming a buckeye, he now considers Ohio his home.

Ever since middle school, York has known he wanted to be an engineer. He said he became interested in mechanical engineering because he saw the field as an opportunity to help “design the future”.

“Mechanical engineering is the perfect field for that because I am exposed to not only vast theoretical material but then presented the opportunity to tackle the challenge of using that knowledge for applicable projects,” York said.

He first became involved with the SIMCenter after seeing an opening for an undergraduate research assistant position with Professor Scott Noll in a newsletter from the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department. York assisted Dr. Noll in his work with General Electric, using modeling to work control noise and vibration in engineered products.

While working on this project, York said he has improved his SolidWorks skills while learning new programs, such as Altair Hypermesh, which is used to create 2D and 3D meshes of solids, and Abaqus, used to run structural dynamic analyses on members. He is using this experience to prepare his undergraduate thesis on acoustic-structural modeling of speakers.

A high-achieving student who has been on the Dean’s List 5 semesters in a row, York says the biggest lesson he has learned at Ohio State is the importance of staying motivated and passionate about learning.

“There is always something to be learned. Whether it be inside or out of the classroom, a tenacious mentality to learn is essential,” York said. “Without drive or focus, you might lose focus of what you are working so hard to obtain.”