By Randall Brown.
Mary Kocak expanded her contribution to the department this year, taking on a new role as senior lecturer after previously teaching as an adjunct instructor in the college’s Engineering Fundamentals first-year program. Her past academic experience includes serving as an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a professor at Pellissippi State Community College.
She looks forward to teaching and developing courses and has a strong interest in recruitment, retention, and placement of MSE Vols.
“During my tenure at PSCC, two extracurricular responsibilities included ensuring the PSCC engineering transfer curriculum met the needs of Tickle College of Engineering and facilitating the transfer process from the community college to university level,” she said.
Her background there also helped her connect with the college’s TranSCEnD program, which supports students who transfer from Tennessee community colleges.
“As a member of the TranSCEnD team, my primary responsibilities have been to assist in recruitment of qualified students, review of applications, selection of the recipients, and act as support staff for the summer bridge program,” said Kocak.
She found that she was able to contribute serendipitous technical skills to the 2021 TranSCEnD program.
“My industrial experience includes selection, installation, and testing of pumps for fire protection systems,” said Kocak. “So I was able to help with the pumping system on the floating water intake system that the TranSCEnD students constructed during the bridge program this summer.”
Kocak earned her BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Kentucky and her MS from North Carolina State University, also in mechanical engineering, with the thesis “Thermal Contact Conductance of Metals at High Temperatures.”
“Upon graduation from North Carolina State University, I worked in industry for five years and then transitioned to postsecondary education,” she said.
Her industrial experience includes working as a manufacturing engineer for Johnson Controls and as a loss prevention consultant for Factory Mutual Engineering.
“At the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Pellissippi State Community College, I primarily taught mechanical engineering courses,” said Kocak. “While most of those courses included materials engineering, working with materials at the atomic and molecular level to discover the reason for their specific properties has been a refreshing change.”
She has also enjoyed becoming more connected with the MSE community.
“The faculty, staff, and students have been a pleasure to work with as they are resourceful, inclusive, and communicative. My peers have graciously shared their time and materials to help me prepare for the courses I am teaching,” said Kocak. “And the talent of our faculty and level of research continually impresses me.”
Originally from Oak Ridge, Kocak has lived in Lexington, Kentucky, and Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina, before returning to Tennessee. She stays on the go with a number of activities.
“I love horseback riding and have had my soulmate dream horse, Goldie, for 21 years,” she said. “As often as possible, I kayak, hike, and/or travel with family and friends. Before starting a family, I was certified as a private pilot and have a continued interest in aviation.”
Kocak’s energetic approach and wealth of experience will help inspire current and future engineering Vols in MSE and throughout the college.