Madelyn Loveday, a junior from Cookeville, Tennessee, recently completed a two-semester co-op at CleanAir Engineering, where she worked as a laboratory and field tech and built a great foundation for a career in materials science and engineering.
The Office of Engineering Professional Practice connected Loveday with the co-op at CleanAir, a third-party company that tests a variety of equipment at power plants and other industrial facilities to ensure compliance with contractual guarantees and regulations.
“My co-op at CleanAir has been an exciting and enlightening experience where I was able to grow as a professional and immerse myself in various fields of engineering,” said Loveday.
Loveday’s main assignment was to calibrate and perform maintenance on high-precision instruments such as pressure and temperature transmitters, RTDs (Resistance Temperature Detectors), DASs (Data Acquisition Systems), power meters, humidity sensors, psychrometers, and other equipment to ensure operation in accordance with industry standards. She also extracted samples for chemical analysis and performed surface tension measurements on water samples.
“The best part of my co-op was the opportunity to travel to the field and experience what life as a field engineer is like,” said Loveday. “I went to Phoenix, Arizona, to assist in the testing of a cooling tower at a large power plant. I learned the process of how cooling towers work and what factors affect their efficiency.”
Loveday assisted with instrument setup and tear down, water flow measurements, supply and return water temperature measurements, monitoring wet bulb temperatures and collected wind speed and direction data. She also participated in daily safety meetings and progress discussions on site, which she felt were educational.
The co-op experience has enhanced Loveday’s appreciation for materials science.
“What I love most is the idea that everything involves materials engineering,” she said. “My time as an MSE student has helped me understand the importance of the relationship between all fields of engineering and the role that materials science plays within each of them. I am excited by the unlimited possibilities the field of materials science will give me access to.”
Loveday is on track to graduate next spring and is looking forward to a career in MSE research and development, studying life-changing materials that will help make the world healthier and safer.