Speaker Series
What is OMEGA's Speaker Series?
OMEGA's Speaker Series is an academic initiative launched in Fall 2023. These events welcome accomplished Purdue alumni -- including industry representatives, faculty, and other speakers -- to share their invaluable insights with aspiring ME graduate students. This event promises an engaging and interactive format where we pose thought-provoking questions to our esteemed speakers, drawing from their rich experiences during their own graduate journeys at Purdue University.
Together, we will delve into their personal narratives, exploring their transformation as graduate students, the pivotal choices between industry and academia, the hurdles they confronted along their academic path, and the hindsight wisdom they've gained about what they might have done differently if they could revisit those formative years.
Upcoming Speakers
Currently no upcoming speakers. Contact us if you're an alumnus and would like to engage with current students, or if you're a current student and have requests for speakers!
Past Speakers
Make sure to check out our Past Events page for pictures from previous Speaker Series seminars!
Mr. Bojun Song (February 2, 2024)
Date: Friday, February 2, 2024
Time: 4:00-4:45 pm
Location: TBD
Speaker Bio: Mr. Song is currently a chassis architecture engineer at Ford Motor Company developing electric trucks. He has been at the company since 2017 working in roles such as Frame CAE, Ford Performance Technology Development, and New Vehicle Launch. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree (2016) and a Master’s degree (2018) from Purdue and is currently working on an MBA part-time at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Monique McClain (November 20, 2023)
Date: Monday, November 20, 2023
Time: 4:00-4:30 pm
Location: Online
Speaker Bio: Dr. McClain, an assistant professor (ME) at Purdue since 2021, previously held a postdoc position at Oak Ridge National Laboratories. She earned her Ph.D. and M.S. in AAE from Purdue in 2020 and 2018, respectively, and her B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from UCSD. During her NSTRF fellowship, she interned at NAWCWD China Lake and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.
John Foster (October 27, 2023)
Date: Friday, October 27, 2023
Time: 4:00-4:30 pm
Location: Online
Speaker Bio: Mr. John Foster is a aftertreatment catalyst performance engineer at Daimler Truck North America (Detroit Diesel), where he has worked since 2020. He graduated with his Bachelors from Purdue in 2018 and with his Masters in 2020, studying diesel engine thermodynamics and vehicle powertrain controls under Dr. Greg Shaver.
Dr. Nicole Key (October 6, 2023)
Date: Friday, October 6, 2023
Time: 4:00-4:30 pm
Location: PGSC 105 and online
Speaker Bio: Dr. Key is a Full Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University, where she also serves as the Head of Graduate Studies in Mechanical Engineering. She earned her bachelor's degree from Purdue's School of Aeronautics & Astronautics in 2000 and her master's from the School of Mechanical Engineering in 2002. Following her master's, she spent a year in Brussels at the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, working on turbine tip flows. She returned to Purdue and completed her Ph.D. in 2007, with a focus on vane clocking effects in a multistage compressor. She joined Purdue's Mechanical Engineering faculty in the fall of 2007.