Mechanical Engineering Alumni Society Mission Statement
The University of Utah’s Mechanical Engineering Alumni Society seeks to strengthen the local and societal impact of the Department of Mechanical engineering through
- Assisting current and future ME alumni to achieve their educational and career goals
- Strengthening the student learning outcomes for future alumni through real-world mechanical engineering problems and experiences and providing input on curriculum and courses
- Enhancing community involvement by offering engineering volunteering opportunities and fostering meaningful alumni engagement
- Encouraging corporate sponsored partnerships, innovation and engagement
- Generating funds to help decrease the cost of education
- Generating funds to increase the societal impact of the department’s research
Overarching Goals
- 5% of the alumni attend at least one event each year
- 10% of the BS students in the ME department will receive an endowed scholarship before they graduate. (Currently about 2%)
- 10% of tenured faculty have an endowed chair or professorship. (Currently about 2%)
- 50% of labs or offices are named. (Unsure, but it is small)
- The department is named
- Establish at least one new corporate sponsored activity each year
Alumni Events
The Department of Mechanical Engineering desires a vibrant network of alumni that are engaged and collaborating to help make the U better. As such, numerous activities are scheduled throughout the year. Some activities involve just showing up and others require an RSVP. See the list of upcoming activities and we hope you can attend some of these events.
Highlights of past events from the Alumni Society.
Before the September Career Fair, the ME Alumni Society hosted a resume critique and mock interview event. Ten ME Alumni Society members provided general suggestions for about 75 students. The students were divided into groups of about 7 students. Each group did two mock interviews with two different society members. This enabled the society members to provide individual feedback and suggestions to each individual student. Pizza was served. Conversations continued an hour after the event ended.
July, the ME Alumni Society volunteered at the SLC warehouse of The Utah Food Bank. The group of 10 boxed bread, cans and miscellaneous donations for distributions around the state. Everyone worked efficiently for the two-hour shift. The worker said, “It is time to pack up. Wow! You all did an incredible amount of work. Thank you!” All volunteers seemed to have a good time and enjoyed donating their time to help feed the less fortunate.
On June 14th, 2025, the ME Alumni Society combined with the ME Graduate Student Activities Committee to hike to Bell’s Canyon Waterfall. It was a warm day and the hike took about 3.5 hours. All seemed to enjoy the views and the hike.
18th about 25 people joined the Alumni Society for the spring picnic, despite the cold and rain. The group ate sandwiches and played games including: egg toss, egg trampoline, Bocce ball, corn hole and Viking Kubb games. Everyone had a great time, including the kids.
The Alumni Corporate Ladder Event featured 4 panelist with over 50 years of management experience. The audience of about 40 people learned about numerous management career tracks within organizations. The panelists agreed on the primary skills that individuals needed to be promoted were:
- Effective communication
- Proactively taking on additional tasks
- A willingness to seek help from others
The Mechanical Engineering Alumni Society hosted a ski event at Solitude on Jan. 26. Fifteen people joined the event. The participants came from alumni, faculty, students, friends and family. There were no injuries and all seemed to have a great time.
The Mechanical Engineering Alumni Society hosted a ski event at Snow Basin on February 8. Eleven people joined the event. The participants came from alumni, faculty, friends and family. There were no injuries and all seemed to have a great time.
Ten alumni and about fifty students attended the mock interview and resume critique session hosted by the Mechanical Engineering Alumni Society. Students were split into ten group for half hour mock interview sessions.
Students commented:
“This was probably my favorite experience at the U so far. Bringing all these alumni working for extremely selective employers was eye-opening and a fantastic opportunity to pick their brain and ask for advice.”
“Overall, it was a great experience, I’ve updated my resume per the recommendations, and I feel much more prepared for the next interview I will have.”
“Ultimately, I valued my experience at this event and will definitely be attending more.
About 35 people participated in the inaugural Mechanical Engineering Alumni Society Banquet on Dec. 3, 2024.
Dr. Tommaso Lenzi gave an inspiring talk about his development of the robotic leg, Time Magazines 2023 Invention of the Year. His message was that human disabilities should not exist. It is actually the technology and the engineering profession that has not created sufficient advances to overcome human disabilities. He encouraged all present to be better engineers.
The Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Utah has earned an outstanding reputation of providing the workforce with accomplished individuals known for their positive contributions to society. You can help continue the legacy of excellence by taking an active, supportive role in our program. If you are affiliated with the Department of Mechanical Engineering in any way, stay connected and help support the department! Please take a few moments today to visit the donation page to make a contribution to our department.