When most people think of mechanical engineers, they usually conjure up images of people building things like robots, planes, and cars. But it’s so much more than that! At its core, mechanical engineering uses math and physics to uncover how things work. I design and build new instruments that other scientists can use to study DNA and run experiments and design tools that help us sequence and build DNA molecules.

I do this by designing and developing instruments such as when I’m soldering two wires together or operating machines that create new instrument parts, properly sequencing the DNA our equipment needs, and creating a database that will allow all the different teams to keep track of each other’s experiments and meeting with the programmers at Illumina so that I can tell them what information I want to see in the database once it's finished.

Engineers design items we use every day. They use what they’ve learned to create new technologies that can help improve society, drive innovation or support exploration. Dr. Bennett, for example, focuses on tribology, or the study of how two materials interact with each other. Tribology has been used to create better medical equipment, including designing joint replacements, contact lenses, and medical devices that stick to the skin. It can also help create renewable energy by improving the efficiency of wind turbines.