The Mason Mechanical Engineer

Leigh McCue
  • 5.0 (1)
  • TECH NEWS

Interested in George Mason? Interested in becoming a mechanical engineer? Not yet sure what a mechanical engineer does, or what life at Mason would be like? Subscribe to this podcast featuring research, students, outreach, and more! Intro/outro music by PaulYudin via Pixabay.

  1. "Everything is connected to everything else"

    3D AGO

    "Everything is connected to everything else"

    Greg Opas from Oceaneering recently joined me on the podcast to talk about model-based systems engineering, digital twins, and the future of naval engineering. If you like what you hear and are interested in pursuing a career at Oceaneering, visit: https://www.oceaneering.com/careers/.

    37 min
  2. Kids can do big things!

    10/20/2025

    Kids can do big things!

    Mike Briscoe (Ph.D., GMU CEHD, 2024) sat down with me the other day to chat about STEM activities hosted by the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE) including the FLEET program, a gamified approach to teaching naval ship design, and the hands-on Promoting Electric Propulsion (PEP) competition, which has enabled speed world-record setting college teams. Mike’s attitude toward outreach is filled with authenticity and creativity, so listen in to learn more from his holistic approach to STEM education.

    24 min
  3. 2 cents from Daniel Scott Mitchell

    09/03/2025

    2 cents from Daniel Scott Mitchell

    Philip and I particularly enjoy getting to catch up with alums doing great things, and we’d been trying to get Daniel Scott Mitchell on the show for a while.  Between stints at Form Labs, Tesla, Rivian, and now launching his own startup, Daniel’s career trajectory is inspirational.  He chatted with us to share some words of wisdom on perseverance, hard work, creativity, and making things happen.  Looking for more from him? Check out his podcast The Next Byte at https://www.thenextbyte.com/, his startup Takton.com, or connect with him by email at daniel@takton.com.

    47 min
  4. Transferrable skills - a crossover episode with Rachel Yoho

    08/20/2025

    Transferrable skills - a crossover episode with Rachel Yoho

    In this episode, we feature Rachel Yoho from the Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning. She invited Philip and I to be on her podcast, Keystone Concepts in Teaching, and in the process we were fascinated to learn more about her engineering background and how she uses the skills she developed as an engineer in her day-to-day as Assistant Director of the Stearns Center, helping faculty improve their teaching and classroom effectiveness.

    29 min
  5. We’re all drinking dinosaur pee, and that’s ok.

    06/11/2025

    We’re all drinking dinosaur pee, and that’s ok.

    In this episode I caught up with Brooke Mayer from Marquette. Water is essential for our survival. Prof. Mayer is doing high impact research on water quality and working closely with industry to make sure that research finds its way into improving access to safe, clean water. In this conversation we chat a bit about her research and also about the importance of communicating science research effectively. (For any listener interested in the book I mention in this chat, the full title is Robot-Proof: Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence by Joseph Aoun.)

    21 min
  6. Interesting people are interested

    05/29/2025

    Interesting people are interested

    Phil and I recently had the opportunity to chat with Edwin Wallis from Maritime Academy Charter School in Philadelphia.  In this episode he shares some tricks of the trade for recruiting and coaching a rookie SeaGlide underwater robotics team. (Spoiler alert: they did really well!) Listen on to learn about the bright, future naval engineering workforce.

    34 min
  7. Capstone Day 2025

    05/12/2025

    Capstone Day 2025

    Capstone Day 2025 was held in conjunction with the Department of Mechanical Engineering's 10th Anniversary Celebration on May 5th. As icing on the cake, the festivities took place in George Mason's brand new Life Sciences and Engineering Building, which is home to numerous instructional laboratories that provide our students hands-on learning experiences. Listening to this episode will give you a glimpse into the day; more information on our capstone design program can be found at: ⁠https://mechanical.gmu.edu/hands/senior-design-capstone⁠.

    27 min

  8. 04/07/2025

    Tenacious problem solvers

    In this episode, Phil and I chat with Zach Lenkay from Ulliman Schutte Construction to learn about construction of water treatment facilities.  You’ve probably seen news coverage of water supplies gone wrong; in this episode we’re shining a light on water treatment done right.  Zach shares with us his excitement for enabling access to sustainable clean water and the future opportunities for students pursuing careers in this industry.

    34 min
See All (39)

About

Interested in George Mason? Interested in becoming a mechanical engineer? Not yet sure what a mechanical engineer does, or what life at Mason would be like? Subscribe to this podcast featuring research, students, outreach, and more! Intro/outro music by PaulYudin via Pixabay.

Information