Engineering Student Awarded Fulbright to Denmark
June 12, 2023 - Owen Trimble, a fourth-year mechanical engineering major graduating this month, has received a Fulbright award to conduct alternative energy research in Denmark during the 2023-24 academic year. He is one of five at UCI to receive a Fulbright this year. Annually, about 2,000 U.S. students are offered the grant that includes a monthly stipend, health benefits and noncompetitive eligibility hiring status within the federal government after completion.
Established in 1946, the Fulbright Program is the largest U.S. international exchange program and focuses on increasing mutual understanding between the U.S. and partnered countries. It is active in over 140 countries and sends American students to study, research or teach English abroad. Applicants are selected based on several factors including their academic and professional history, proposed project and language preparation for the host country to which they apply.
Trimble had little exposure to the opportunities of an advanced STEM education while growing up in Bishop, CA. His childhood babysitter, a retired rocket scientist, sparked his early interest in rocketry. In high school, he took introductory biology, chemistry and math courses, but the school did not offer physics and calculus classes until his senior year. He took them both and fell in love with using the math concepts he had learned throughout school in real scenarios. He then decided to apply as a first-generation college student to UCI.
Trimble spent two years on the UCI Rocket Project, an engineering team attempting to build UCI’s first liquid bipropellant rocket and competing internationally with solid propellant rockets. As a team lead on both the liquids and solids teams, he enjoyed applying engineering concepts outside of the classroom and experimenting with rocketry. He also conducted undergraduate research for a year under William Sirignano, a Distinguished Professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering. They worked together on creating a simulation for a rocket injector undergoing an unstable combustion process to improve understanding of engine safety threats.
“The professors I worked with pushed me to become a strong researcher, student and person as a whole,” said Trimble. “My advice to other UCI students, especially in STEM, is to work hard and take advantage of projects and research until you have an idea of what you want to focus on in the future.”
As a junior, Trimble was selected because of his high GPA for an invitation-only class on machine learning with Donald Dabdub, a professor emeritus of mechanical and aerospace engineering. The class introduced him to computational statistics and developing algorithms through working with fellow students to create machine learning models that could analyze a set of data collected from cell phones and watches to determine what activities the wearer performed.
“He had an innate curiosity and a huge amount of intellectual maturity,” said Dabdub, who became Trimble’s closest mentor and inspired him to pursue a doctorate.
Trimble will start taking classes and conducting research at the Technical University of Denmark in August. Aiming to apply his engineering education to environmental studies, he plans to create and analyze numerical models for alternative fuels to be used in marine combustion applications. Specifically, he is focused on cutting emissions in the shipping industry by studying how cleaner fuels can feasibly replace diesel in boats. After his time in Denmark, he plans to enter Stanford to earn a doctorate in mechanical engineering and continue researching clean and alternative fuels.
“I’m looking forward to this process of self-discovery and narrowing down exactly what field I want to work in long-term,” said Trimble, as this will be his first time traveling internationally. “It will be super fun to live in another country and experience a different culture too.”
– Lilith Christopher
