#ginning podcast by Auburn University Samuel Ginn College of Engineering

While it may be appropriate for Matt Cobb to drive or fly across the stage this weekend, the senior in mechanical engineering will walk to get his diploma in Auburn Arena before shooting off to Texas.

Jeremy Henderson, a communications and marketing specialist in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering who served as the cohost of this #GINNing podcast, was born March 19, 1979. He left us too soon on April 17, 2026. 

By the time you finish listening to the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education, it's entirely possible that 2026 Barry Goldwater Scholar, 2025 Astronaut Scholar, Universities Space Research Association Distinguished Undergraduate and 2025 and 2026 NASA Space Grant Scholar Eirik Mulder may have won another award.

Sure, these intros have known to feature a pun or two. But Diane Pham may deserve a little more. All in the Pham? Auburn Phamily? Those are cute and all, but do they do justice to  the scope of her potential? From robots to writing, this NASA-minded ISE senior will be delighting — on the job, on the podcast, wherever. So, buckle up and get your ears on for the latest episode of #GINNing because PHAM! We're kickin' it up a notch. 

If you can find an aspiring model-based systems engineer who believes in Auburn more than ISE junior Andrew Dillard, we'll close up shop. Until then, enjoy the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education. 

I tell you what, Georgia — after you hear about awesome Peach State product Riley Chichester is, you're really going to regret making this civil engineering standout bark. So, consider this fair warning — it's going to be... ruff. 

Let's just say that when it comes to reliability problem-solving and data analysis — and extracurricular leadership — this mechanical engineering senior curls a lot of weight. 

Mechanical engineering honors senior Dalton Robinson sat down with the #GINNing gang to discuss his Auburn journey, the amazing Montgomery Advanced Manufacturing Laboratories and Auburn's chances at once again sticking it to Princeton and the rest of the also-rans at the American Society of Naval Engineers' annual Promoting Electric Propulsion Competition. 

Hey Jude, yes it looks bad.

It might be just as large without him leading the charge. But the contagiously collaborative culture animating the largest student-run makerspace in the country definitely wouldn't be what it is today without software engineering senior Matthew Clegg.  

The latest episode of the best podcast in higher education features the newest assistant professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. Want to learn how systems are measured and how those measurements shape final system design? Hit up Casey Eaton and you'll be just fine.

From solid fuel rockets to medical sockets, mechanical engineering GTA Haley Duncan Evans is designing her future one interdisciplinary project at a time.

Sturdy as elms — that's Mark Nelms. With him at the helm, we've entered new realms. 

From excelling at XO Armor to impressing at NCAME, research engineer Scot Carpenter, '20 mechanical, is framing the future — one T at a time. 

She's zany. She's brainy. She's Elizabeth Gainey. Listen to the mechanical engineering doctoral student detail her decision to pursue precision — lead-free —on the Plains on the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education. 

On the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education, chemical engineering senior and methanotrophs maestro Hanna Dyal discusses how leadership, undergraduate research and overcoming serious illness has defined her identity as an Auburn Engineer.

Civil engineering sophomore Rhett Dobbs, the inaugural recipient of the the Wayne and Yvette Phillips Hard Work Annual Scholarship, discusses his Auburn Engineering journey — from the covered bridges of Oneonta to the country that owns Okinawa — on the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education.

It's a great day on the #GINNing Podcast and it's our pleasure to serve you the story of Brandon Powell, who put his Auburn chemical engineering degree to use in the most delicious, nutritious and cow-friendly way imaginable. 

Aerospace engineering graduate student Mijan Rahman's research may focus on pilot fatigue. But trust us, the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education ain't no snooze fest. 

Connor May will serve as the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering graduation marshal at its fall commencement on Saturday, Dec. 13. But why not avoid the rush and get to know — and be impressed by — civil and environmental engineering senior now? Because he's next up on the best podcast in higher education.

Aerospace aficionado and electrical engineering junior Catherine Franco was recently named one of Auburn’s first-ever Universities Space Research Association Distinguished Undergraduates. It's a story of perseverance. It's a story of propulsion. It's the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education. 

Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy ain't the only thing the recipient of the Student of the Year award from the Governor's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities plans to conquer. He's the president of the Auburn chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers. He's had cybersecurity internships galore. And for the past year, he's served as a research and development engineer at the McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security. Yes, despite losing much of his sight, this senior in computer science and software engineering says he can now "see the larger picture, one that shows I can do anything I put my mind to.” 

Minute man aerospace engineering senior Cade May expounds on the implication of his revolutionary application of FlightStream software — and his plans for the future — on the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education. 

Chemical engineering senior Addison Faggard, fundraising chair for the Auburn chapter of Engineers Without Borders, is making a difference in the world. And the people of Quesimpuco finally have the pictures to prove it.

Get to know mechanical engineering junior Tyler Wilks, the Brown-Kopel Engineering Student Achievement Center's front-desk phenom, on the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education.

Auburn native, former Tim Cook Scholar and doctoral student Deena Sayegh chose to study industrial and systems engineering because she has a passion for efficiency in every workplace and believes that industrial engineering can be applied to any environment. You're welcome, Mercedes-Benz! 

Auburn engineers are making an impact in their own backyard with a stormwater project to protect and improve water quality at Hickory Dickory Park. And without the aid of Stormwater Research Facility phenom Aidan Bosman, it just wouldn't be the same. 

Derek Tournear was named as the inaugural director of the Space Development Agency when it was established in March 2019. He was just named inaugural director of space innovation for Auburn University. But his greatest recent distinction just may be his appearance on the best podcast in higher education. 

She's an honors software engineering student. She's a Cupola Ambassador. She's a Los Alamos intern. A McLeod Software developer. Yep, things sure are adding up for Addy Lee.

Mallory Holland, a senior in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, is Auburn's new Miss Homecoming. Find out why — and other things — on the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education. 

On the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education, aerospace doctoral student Harris Putra drones on and on about the subject he knows best. 

Extra mile? Thy name is Kyle — Margelle Kyle, a Texas-hailing mechanical engineering honors student who's already wedded her passion for biomechanics with the Auburn Creed in order to meet a critical need. 

This week, the #GINNing Gang sits down Iván Nail-Ulloa, a Chile-hailing mechanical engineering postdoctoral fellow (and pal to penguins everywhere) aiming to revolutionize the way safety professionals assess injury risk on factory floors and similar industrial settings.

Pamphlet packing, college fair traveling, #GINNing gabbing. For engineering recruitment administrator Haylee Dorrill, it's all in a day's work. 

Listen to Nathan Moore, new assistant director of the National Center for Asphalt Technology's famed test track, discuss the past and future of that glorious 1.7 mile loop on this, its 25th anniversary year. 

Yes, it's absolutely safe to say it. The NIH says it. The NSF says it. Even the Francis Family Associate Professor in the Department of Materials Engineering himself admits it on the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education: In the field of rapid immunodiagnostics, one name lights up the sensors more than any other... Pengyu Chen. 

Just when you think weed research has gone to pot, along comes Hailey Rhodes, a 2025 Auburn biosystems engineering graduate and brand new research engineer for the Auburn University Rural Partnership Institute.

From researching hydrogels for space transportation to using sound to boost pollination, Jean-Francois Louf is a research renaissance man. 

Kate Shaw is trusting the process — the bioprocess. The Auburn senior took that sweet Pathway to the Plains to pursue the ever versatile bioprocess engineering degree. And, as you'll find out, that one decision has led to a lot precision. 

From AUSME to the RFID, there's nothing artificial about Soundarya Korlapati's intelligence. Listen to the doctoral student in computer science and software engineering discuss her leading role in Auburn's new AI-powered tool transforming how researchers discover one another, form collaborations and pursue complex, cross-disciplinary challenges on the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education. 

You have to hand it to Peden Jones. He really has a grasp on the mechanics of 3D printing — and he's not stingy with it. Why, when they came calling, he lent the College of Liberal Arts a helping hand without hesitation. No sir, it's not hard to put a finger on what makes this mechanical engineering graduate research assistant special. Simply put, he believes in the human touch — and the almost-human, too.

Mechanical engineering sophomore Eliana Floyd grew up watching racing with her dad. She's been into cars for as long as she can remember. So, for her, just standing in pit lane would have made the hours in the Makerspace designing, cutting and clamping panels, bleeding brakes and slapping duct tape on the frame worth it. But to actually win a race — a national championship — at Talladega? That was more electric than the car itself. 

Where would we be without clean water? Where would clean water be without Sydney Watwood? Probably not flowing through the mountainside of Parramos Grande, Guatemala, we know that.

There ain't no brain drain out at Auburn's Stormwater Research Facility — more like drain brain! Just take the latest runoff warrior floccin' and rockin' out there in coagulation nation — Megan Sharpe. 

On the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education, the #GINNing Gang mixes it up with concrete crackerjack Stanton Freeman, a kudos-collecting graduate student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and husband to Morgan Freeman — that Morgan Freeman. 

The latest episode of the best podcast in higher education features a mechanical engineering doctoral student whose name over her past four years at Auburn has practically become synonymous with autonomous — GAVLAB great, Stephanie Meyer. 

We believe in a sound mind, in a sound body and a spirit that is not afraid, and in clean sports that develop these qualities. Therefore we believe in Hart — Dinehart. 

Saving clock towers and computational powers — that's what electrical and computer engineering assistant professor Clint Snider does. 

Assistant aerospace engineering professor and licensed pilot Nicoletta Fala is investigating the attitudes of altitude on the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education. 

Truett Cathy may have put Chick-fil-A on the map. But 2016 Auburn wireless software engineering graduate Eddie Seay put Chick-fil-A on the app. 

Brazilian-born Carolina Triboni, a senior in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, will lead the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering’s class of 2025 as graduation marshal during spring commencement on Sunday, May 11. Find out why on the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education. 

Noah's Ark? How about Joah's arc? Because if you feed freshman civil engineering Auburn basketballer Joah Shay the rock behind that 3-point line, he's going to straight up make it rain.

Jonathan Pettus is the new executive director of the Auburn University Applied Research Institute (AUARI) in Huntsville. Find out why on the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education.

She'll be honest — growing up in Denver, Shelby Balding had never heard of Auburn. Now, the civil engineering junior and cross-country crusader can't stop talking about it. 

This double-degreed  Auburn engineering apostle extraordinaire is just supportin' the team and livin' the dream. Her current mission field? Greater Nashville, a.k.a. Auburn North, where she's been winning the respect and confidence of her fellow men with a can-do swagger that certainly staggers. It's she, it's she... it's Kristin McGhee. 

They call Vestavia-born venture visionary Vince Visser Mr. Mister. Or at least they should. Find out why on the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education. (Or just click here.)

Next up on the best podcast in higher education? CSSE sophomore Liam Heary, who hopes his sweet and salty startup Planet of Snacks has the lucky charms necessary to secure the pot of gold in Tiger Cage Student Business Idea Competition's. 

A word of advice to the Louisiana State University: Make your campus a little more walk-able, or continue losing out to the best student-centered — and pedestrian-centered — engineering education experience in America, like you did with aerospace engineering undergraduate researcher extraordinaire Mary Ferguson. 

Senior computer science and software engineering major Sathvik Prahadeeswaran discusses his engineering journey — past, present and future — on the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education.

Be it on the bars, in the classroom, Emma Grace Boyd is on her way to a Tide-tamin', big-brainin' total score you can't ignore.

Masoud Mahjouri-Samani, Godbold Associate Professor in electrical and computer engineering, is involved in many things. Space things. Manufacturing things. Laser things. Important things. Things, things, things. 

Talk about net worth! Yes, mechanically minded tennis talent (and Lady Tiger legacy) Julie Bedard goes hard — on the court, in the classroom, in life in dang general. In other words, Advantage Auburn. 

Auburn Creed? More like Auburn Speed. 

This senior wants nothing more than to use her communication skills and knack for logistics to help people and overcome the world's greatest challenges. Which is to say, when it comes to selling the strengths and benefits of industrial and systems engineering, nobody's struttin' like Madison Dutton.

From the woods of Columbiana to the Costa da Caparica, junior Anna Carter is living the dream, Birdsonging her away around this great material world of ours one extra engineering mile at a time. 

Brendon Allen has some exoskeletons in his closet, and the National Science Foundation (NSF) wants to find out more about them.

Assistant computer science professor by day, computational biologist by day, medical doctor by day — Haynes Heaton does it all. Great news for Auburn. Bad news for leukemia. 

The legacy of leadership with the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering's Office of Advancement continues. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back Jon Wilson. 

Bradley Johnson didn't just want the paper — he wanted Auburn Engineering. Listen to our conversation with the premiere ambassador for one of the highest-ranked online master's of engineering programs in the country on the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education. 

He may work in Wilmore. But materials engineering program chair Bart Prorok does his thinking outside the box. 

Nintendo? More like GINNtendo. Because senior Caitlinn White, a chemical engineering undergraduate researcher in Auburn's acclaimed Nuclear Power Generation Systems minor who's focusing on developing virtual reality simulations of nuclear concepts, is definitely playing with power. 

As a child, Avry Prewitt’s world was filled with construction — Lego towers, pillow forts and elaborate Minecraft creations. That early passion for building grew into a planet-saving purpose. Learn all about the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering's latest wastewater wunderkind — and the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering's latest graduation marshal — on the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education. 

He’s fresh off a win at the 2024 SEC Machining competition in Starkville, working through several pitch competitions en route to Tiger Cage, majoring in industrial and systems engineering, minoring in business engineering technology, and working for the weekend at Auburn Engineering's renowned Interdisciplinary Center for Advanced Manufacturing Systems. In other words, the Moose is loose. 

STEM advocating influencer extraordinaire Ruha Tacey may have hit the social media stratosphere. But she hasn't forgotten her roots. 

From high kicks to high efficiency, from the dance line to the supply line, Nyah Dedeaux does it all. 

We've always said "never let a good tomato go to waste." Unless, of course, Bipasyana Dhungana could use it to change the world. 

From the mountains of Nevada to the doors of Wiggins Hall, Avery Wells will fight our country's battle with his degree — mechanical.

The latest episode of the best podcast in higher education explores the drive and determination of mechanical engineering sophomore Jenna Sapong, who knows a little bit about keeping goals.

Word to your moms — Ben Bauldree came to drop bombs. Check out the explosive interview with the Auburn aerospace engineering alumnus and pickle pro on the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education. 

Where there's a Wills, there's a way. And an adjustable cup holders for chairs. And a magic cable machine attachment. And, from the sounds of it, an unbelievably bright future. The other thing this Crook has stolen is our hearts. 

Is there some sort of hocus pocus behind Phedra Peter's fervid focus? Is it just that the industrial and systems engineering junior and student leader superstar believes work — hard work? Find out on the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education.

Go ahead and call her Miss Mercedes. Because this Jersey-born mechanical engineering senior and Design and Manufacturing Lab devotee has logged more internship hours in Vance, Alabama than LinkedIn can count. Haley Bhend? More like Haley Benz. 

Parker Lewis couldn't lose. And neither can Parker Thompson. From touring Würzburg to securing the World Wide Web, this cybersecurity engineering grad student has synchronized his Swatch for success. 

Second lieutenant in the Air Force. Three-time Space Camp alum. Third-generation Auburn grad. Second-generation Auburn Engineering grad. ChemE grad student. Graduate Research Assistant. Future astronaut. Future president of Mars. (Don't worry — Handel can handle it.) 

When it comes to diabetes, America is unfortunately rolling in the deep. Enter 2013 Auburn mechanical engineering grad Mark Norton, co-founder of Adele. After all, be it glucose levels or insulin levels, who better to help people take portable, personal control of their diabetic deets than a man who worked for a sweet little company called Apple? 

All right Tiger Fans — let's get it up for a podcast. Senior Ben Timm is one of the leaders down in the Design and Manufacturing Lab in Wiggins Hall. He’s the guy in charge of teaching folks how to machine safely. He chose mechanical engineering because he loved working with his hands. But for the next year, he'll be better known for working with his voice. Are you ready?

From Sand Mountain to American Water, from commencement stages to the NYT business pages, 1981 industrial engineering graduate Susan Story's legacy of leadership is as dynamic as they come. 

Someone has to manage that beautiful, 1.7-mile oval over at the National Center for Asphalt Technology. And DOTs across the fruited, asphalted plains better be thanking their lucky, trucky stars — that someone is Jason Nelson. 

From the Loveliest Village of the Plain comes Mari Miles Dempsey, a senior chemical engineering honors student concentrating in biomedical engineering, and currently researching the effect of acoustics in the growth and further development of physarum polycephalum in the Nature Inspired Fluids and Elasticity Lab at Auburn University. In other words, it's slime time. 

Learn the origin story of an Auburn Engineering ChemE commando on the latest episode of the #GINNing Podcast. Ladies and gentlemen, JaVaris Branford. 

Learn about Auburn's latest College of Engineering grad marshal, Ben Steber. This engineer may not have borders. But he's definitely about to have a banner.

Hey Office of Naval Research, why don't you give assistant electrical and computer engineering professor Matthew Kirchner $307,000, and in return he'll figure out which control sequences and flight conditions make it possible for trained pilots to land in the event of engine failure. Sound good? OK, let's make a deal.

No one engineers like Gaston,

Cupola Engineering Ambassadors. American Society of Civil Engineers. 100+ Women Strong. Society of Women Engineers. Undergraduate research. Chick-fil-A. 

Plucked from the plastic producing province of El Salvador,  Lucila Carias, protege of Auburn polymer pundit Maria Auad, and a bio-resin backing GRA in the Department of Chemical Engineering, is researching ways to 3D print — yep — houses. 

Which upcoming bioprocesses engineering senior is grabbing undergraduate research by the horns in order to harness the power of pectin for skincare applications? Which student leader overachiever is ready to make a believer out of Unilever? Yep, it's Jada Neal. She's the real deal.

Meagan Blosser, outgoing president of Auburn University's Top-20 Design, Build, Fly team, doesn't care how you pronounce her name, because this new Auburn aerospace engineering alumna definitely knows how to... go with the flow.

The name's Beretta — Stefano Beretta. 

From Albuquerque to Auburn, Los Almosin', Lipke Labbin' ChemE commando Nicole Habbit has found the Loveliest Village a hard habit to break.

Great name. Fresh ideas. Yep, enjoy this conversation with biosystems engineering doctoral student Wellington Arthur on long-term nutrient utilization and evaluation of pathogenic bacteria in a pilot-scale wastewater treatment system for hydroponic irrigation — and lettuce.