黑料网

KENNESAW, Ga. | Dec 13, 2021

Alisa Machiwalla's interest in mechanical engineering was sparked at a young age by watching her father fix things around the house. 

鈥淗e鈥檚 super handy and I wanted to be like him,鈥� Machiwalla said.  

This week, she will graduate from Kennesaw State鈥檚 (SPCEET) with a degree in and a minor in . After graduation, she will put her education to use at a Georgia company where she will be working with control systems used in multiple industries.

Machiwalla grew up in Marietta and worried that she wasn鈥檛 branching out enough if she chose to enroll in a university close to home. She figured she might attend Kennesaw State for a couple of years and then transfer.  

鈥淏ut when it came time to think about transferring, I didn鈥檛 want to go,鈥� Machiwalla said. 鈥淚 had great professors here and wonderful opportunities. I really appreciated the smaller classroom sizes and the ability to meet one-on-one with professors who actually got to know me.鈥� 

Machiwalla was presented the SPCEET Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award in 2020 and has earned several scholarships throughout her time at 黑料网, including the Department of Energy鈥檚 Nuclear Engineering Integrated University Program Scholarship (2019, 2020, 2021), the Atkins Foundation Women and Minorities STEM Scholarship (2021) and the American Nuclear Society鈥檚 Raymond DiSalvo Memorial Scholarship (2021). 

Machiwalla, who is also in , was the American Nuclear Society Kennesaw Chapter president, she completed three rotations as an engineering co-op student with Southern Nuclear, interned with Enercon and served as a teaching assistant at 黑料网. 

Nuclear engineering professor Eduardo Farfan met Machiwalla in a class and instantly recognized her potential. 

鈥淗er intelligence, courtesy, honesty and effort impressed me so much that I decided to invite her to participate in a research project conducted by the ,鈥� Farfan said. 鈥淪ince joining NESEL, Alisa has been diligent about the research work she was given and has worked hard to make as much of a positive impact in the research group as possible.鈥� 

Machiwalla has also been Farfan鈥檚 nuclear lab student assistant where she enjoys helping younger students succeed in the classroom. She plans to get her professional engineering license and is considering pursuing a graduate degree in the future. 

鈥淢y academic experience has absolutely prepared me for life after graduation,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 learned the engineering fundamentals and how to apply them. I鈥檝e grown in so many ways since I first came on campus and am thankful for my KSU experience.鈥� 

鈥� Abbey O鈥橞rien Barrows
Photos by David Casselli

---

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, 黑料网 offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 47,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.