{"id":14615,"date":"2012-05-24T09:12:45","date_gmt":"2012-05-24T14:12:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/?p=14615"},"modified":"2016-07-28T14:33:12","modified_gmt":"2016-07-28T19:33:12","slug":"engineering-student-turns-love-of-cars-into-fulbright-scholarship-to-germany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/engineering-student-turns-love-of-cars-into-fulbright-scholarship-to-germany\/","title":{"rendered":"Engineering Student Turns Love of Cars into Fulbright Scholarship to Germany"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Martin Ducote. UM photo by Kevin Bain.<\/p><\/div>\n

OXFORD, Miss. \u2013 Playing with cars in the front yard as a child has led a University of Mississippi student to study engineering and be chosen as a Fulbright Scholar to continue his interests.<\/p>\n

Martin Ducote, a Corinth native who calls Oxford home, always knew he wanted to do something related to engineering. His father, an amateur mechanic, taught his son everything about each component of the engine compartment and how each system affected the running of the entire engine. From there, it is easy to see the trajectory of Ducote\u2019s decisions.<\/p>\n

As a mechanical engineering major in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and a German Language Initiative student, Ducote’s Fulbright project will take him to Germany, where he will study automotive engineering at the Institut f\u00fcr Fahrzeugsystemtechnik , or FAST, at Karlsruhe Institut f\u00fcr Technologie, or KIT.\u201cI had studied with the German Language Initiative program one summer and I knew I wanted to go back to Germany,\u201d said Ducote, who graduated May 12 from Ole Miss. \u201cEventually, I wanted to work with the auto industry there; that\u2019s why I learned the language. Andrus Ashoo encouraged me to apply for the Fulbright, and it worked out perfectly.\u201d<\/p>\n

FAST works to teach students a deeper understanding of vehicle systems and to provide more efficient, safer and luxurious automobiles, which fits with well with Ducote\u2019s goal of one day designing parts for an automotive company. One of Europe\u2019s leading institutions in the field of composite manufacturing, KIT is the perfect place for him to continue his work toward that goal.<\/p>\n

The Fulbright offers fellowships for U.S. graduating college seniors, graduate students, young professionals and artists to study, conduct research or be an English teaching assistant abroad for one academic year.<\/p>\n

\u201cOle Miss has been great,\u201d Ducote said. \u201cI like the size of the School of Engineering and being in the Honors College here. I also like how the engineering school has a liberal arts feel; there is a lot of writing involved and there are smaller class sizes.\u201d<\/p>\n

His research interests are in the field of composite materials and manufacturing, which is something he developed during his internship with GE Aviation in Batesville last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy friend Omar Hamid told me about the GE internship opportunity, and it was awesome,\u201d Ducote said. \u201cI worked there for about six months, and it\u2019s what got me interested in composites and that is the basis for my Fulbright and my honors college thesis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ducote has distinguished himself as an outstanding student as he has pursued German language studies in addition to his engineering courses, said Ellen Lackey, professor of mechanical engineering.<\/p>\n

\u201cMartin is especially well-prepared to quickly adapt to and integrate with the new social and cultural environments he will experience in this program,\u201d Lackey said. \u201cHe is very outgoing, and it is evident that he enjoys interacting with a variety of people. He will be an excellent representative of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

A.M. Rajendran, chair of the mechanical engineering department, is equally impressed with his student.<\/p>\n