Oluwade Receives Tau Beta Pi Fellowship Award
Abimbola Oluwade, a 2020 mechanical engineering graduate, has been awarded a graduate fellowship from Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society. Oluwade will receive a cash stipend of $10,000 to pursue graduate studies in mechanical engineering. Oluwade plans to obtain his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering with a concentration in fluid mechanics and thermal processes. Tau Beta Pi Fellowships are awarded on the basis of high scholarship, campus leadership and service, and promise of future contributions to the engineering profession.
As an honors student at Howard University (HU), Oluwade was the recording secretary for the HU DC Alpha Chapter of Tau Beta Pi, a member of Engineers Without Borders and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and former power systems coordinator for HU Robotics, a role in which he managed a team of students while building critical parts to power an underwater ROV in preparation for the 2018 MATE ROV Competition. Oluwade has also served as a mentor for the Tau Beta Pi MindSET program, mentoring K-12 students for preparation in robotics for the First Lego League Robotics Competition. MindSET is a program designed to get K-12 students interested in careers in the STEM disciplines.
During his high school years at Grace Schools in Lagos, Nigeria, Oluwade was the senior prefect, the equivalent to a student government or student body president. Oluwade served as the voice of his high school student body, addressing student concerns and mitigating conflicts between students, faculty, and administrators. Oluwade is a 2015 graduate of Grace Schools.
Born to Sunday and Mopelola Oluwade in Lagos, Nigeria, Oluwade developed a passion for math and physics at a young age. His interest in mechanical engineering stemmed from this passion and developed into a love for fluid mechanics and thermodynamics. “I love the fact that we can use the laws of thermodynamics and fluid flow to describe our physical surroundings and also build engineering components. I applied for the mechanical engineering program at Howard University so that I could build a career on my research work in the interesting field of fluid flow and thermal processes,” says Oluwade.
Oluwade’s love for fluid mechanics and thermodynamics has translated into extensive undergraduate research experience. His research experience includes research internships at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and research assistantships in Dr. Bae’s Biosensors Lab and other labs in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Howard University.
Tau Beta Pi is the world’s largest engineering society and provides more financial assistance to engineering students than any other engineering society in the world. Membership represents the highest honor to be obtained by an engineering student and is awarded on the basis of high scholarship and exemplary character.