Diego Gerardo Vargas-Avila, Class of 2021
Junior engineering specialist at Stackpole International
“Materials engineering is at its core, understanding the fundamentals of the physical world then using that understanding to branch out into and impact all other aspects of engineering.”
What drew you to materials engineering? McMaster specifically?
I was initially drawn to McMaster to allow myself another year of indecision while I weighed out the options of choosing one engineering stream over another, all while advancing my education in the common engineering first year. I have always been a curious person, asking why things behaved the way they did, it was not until taking the 1M03 materials course in first year that I realized that materials engineering is at its core, understanding the fundamentals of the physical world then using that understanding to branch out into and impact all other aspects of engineering. Being exposed to the materials engineering faculty who were intensely passionate about their field spurred my interest and emboldened my decision to pursue materials as my field of study.
How did you find your internship? (OscarPlus, networking, Indeed, etc.)
Our materials science and engineering student council organizes Industry Nights every year where employers can showcase their companies and job openings to prospective students. It was at one of these events where I spoke with the reps at the Stackpole booth and became very excited at the idea of working as a part of their team. I submitted my resume online and a few weeks later, received an interview.
What is your typical day like?
A typical day will start at my desk where I look over emails to get any incoming work requests or to follow up on any of the previous day’s work. I’ll put on my PPE and head out to the plant floor or lab and begin the day’s tasks which can range from creating a powder metal blend from scratch, loading trial parts into the furnace or sectioning, mounting and analyzing metallurgical samples using optical microscopy or other lab techniques. I may be running a few trials at a time which often requires working alongside various departments and the production assistants. If measurements have been collected, then I’ll return to the office for some data analysis, prepare a report and circulate it to the team. At the end of the day, I’ll head back to the office to reply to emails and head home.
How has COVID-19 impacted your work? Have your duties changed, are you working from home, reduced hours, etc.?
Initially, most businesses were shut down, along with ours, so we had a brief gap in work. As guidelines changed, I began coming into the office but taking precautions to physically distance, wear a face covering, wash hands properly, sanitize surfaces, etc. The scope of my work, however, has not shifted much, other than to accommodate for the reduction in working hours as well as the staggered work times implemented to minimize physical proximity.
How has materials engineering prepared you for this position? What concepts have you learned in school that apply to your job?
A significant portion of my job is related to failure analysis and general metallurgical analysis. Using the tools and topics learned in the classroom such as phase diagrams, sinter mechanics, CCT curves, wear patterns, diffusivity profiles and assorted laboratory techniques, to name a few, is crucial in the identification of problem areas and root causes in our analyses. There is also the statistics in the testing and reporting I do which are crucial in properly ascertaining conclusions from a set of measurements.
What skills have you learned that you will be able to apply to the rest of your engineering studies? In your next job?
During my time at Stackpole, I have learned much about the utility of programming in the workplace. I began teaching myself VBA, a programming language which works with Microsoft Excel, and creating various systems to calculate, alter and keep track of data along with various other aspects which can be applied wherever I go next. I’ve also developed a much deeper understanding of sintering mechanics and metallurgy in general as well as how the knowledge I have applies to real-world situations. In this understanding, I am better able to perform metallurgical analysis, taking into account the theory and the experience I’ve gained during my time working.
What advice would you give to other materials engineering students considering doing an internship?
I would absolutely advise students to get involved with an internship so long as they keep the following in mind; Starting out at a new company, it’s easy to become shy and avoid asking questions as they come up or overthink things because the work done might not be perfect, but it’s important to understand that asking questions is the only way others know what you still need to go over; a fresh set of eyes may even notice inefficiencies or hazards in the system where more experienced people have become accustomed. While caution should be taken to avoid performing poor work, the need to submit perfect work could also cause significant delays. Most mistakes are great tools for learning and allow you to grow your skills as well as grow personally, and trainers/colleagues will understand that there are some bumps on the path to success.
