#GINNing Podcast

It’s been a busy month for Missie Smith, assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering. First, she was named as one of Business Alabama’s Women in Tech for 2026. Then, she was awarded an NSF CAREER Award for her work in augmented reality. Now, she’s the next guest on the #GINNing Podcast. Just imagine how far her career is going after this…

Looking to further your engineering education or acquire new skills through professional development? Alicia Harkless has you covered. The director of Auburn Engineering’s Office of Online and Continuing Education loves learning, both on campus and online. She holds two bachelor’s degrees, two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. And because of her, you too can add a degree to your portfolio from the comfort of your office or home.

When you were a student, did you make the dean’s list every semester? Didn’t think so. But you know who did? India Warren did. In addition, this week’s guest has accomplished a lot in the past month. She was named as the Outstanding Civil and Environmental Engineering Student of the Year, graduated summa cum laude and has begun graduate school. And that was just in her spare time.

Last week, we heard from Roland Walker of the famed Walkers of Orange Beach. This week, hear the other side of the story, as brother Bill sets the record straight on what Roland got wrong. Bill’s blood runs Auburn colors, from Orange Beach to the Navy. This commander was forged by the sea, and now he’s full speed ahead.

This is a tale of two brothers — Roland and Bill Walker — and this is the legacy of the Walker family of Orange Beach who traveled from the charter industry at the Gulf Coast to the orange and blue of the Plains. And now, they’re giving back in both places. First up: brother Roland. This fisherman turned electrical engineer brought many good things to life for GE, and now he’s doing the same for future Auburn engineers. So, pick up your rod and reels, bait your hook and get ready: this is the Sea Rebel.   

Move over Dmitri Mendeleev and make room for Konstantin Klyukin, an assistant professor or materials and mechanical engineering. While the new Russian research machine may be in search of the holy grail of catalysis, it’s gonna have to wait 20 minutes for this next podcast. 

SpaceX loves Auburn Engineering graduates. SpaceX needs more Auburn Engineering graduates. Enter Nick Raciti. The honors mechanical engineering graduate will take his diploma and head to the West Coast upon graduation as the second #GINNing guest in a row to work with the space giant.

While it may be appropriate for Matt Cobb to drive or fly across the stage this weekend, the senior in mechanical engineering will walk to get his diploma in Auburn Arena before shooting off to Texas.Following commencement ceremonies, Cobb will finish what he started with the Auburn Formula SAE team as it travels to the national competition before he blasts off to his new position with SpaceX.

Jeremy Henderson, a communications and marketing specialist in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering who served as the cohost of this #GINNing podcast, was born March 19, 1979. He left us too soon on April 17, 2026. No, Jeremy’s not dead, but he’s dead to us as he’s moving on to become the new senior manager for editorial and media relations for Auburn University’s Office of Communications and Marketing. Today, we’ll have one last chat with the velvet voice from Vestavia and look back on the man who helped build the best podcast in all of higher education. Buckle up… this is the Jeremy Henderson Experience. 

By the time you finish listening to the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education, it's entirely possible that 2026 Barry Goldwater Scholar, 2025 Astronaut Scholar, Universities Space Research Association Distinguished Undergraduate and 2025 and 2026 NASA Space Grant Scholar Eirik Mulder may have won another award.Listen to the #GINNing Gang's interview with the Auburn senior boasting a 4.0 GPA in computer science and software engineering and aerospace engineering now and find out.

Sure, these intros have known to feature a pun or two. But Diane Pham may deserve a little more. All in the Pham? Auburn Phamily? Those are cute and all, but do they do justice to  the scope of her potential? From robots to writing, this NASA-minded ISE senior will be delighting — on the job, on the podcast, wherever. So, buckle up and get your ears on for the latest episode of #GINNing because PHAM! We're kickin' it up a notch. 

If you can find an aspiring model-based systems engineer who believes in Auburn more than ISE junior Andrew Dillard, we'll close up shop. Until then, enjoy the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education. 

I tell you what, Georgia — after you hear about awesome Peach State product Riley Chichester is, you're really going to regret making this civil engineering standout bark. So, consider this fair warning — it's going to be... ruff. 

Let's just say that when it comes to reliability problem-solving and data analysis — and extracurricular leadership — this mechanical engineering senior curls a lot of weight. 

Mechanical engineering honors senior Dalton Robinson sat down with the #GINNing gang to discuss his Auburn journey, the amazing Montgomery Advanced Manufacturing Laboratories and Auburn's chances at once again sticking it to Princeton and the rest of the also-rans at the American Society of Naval Engineers' annual Promoting Electric Propulsion Competition.  

Hey Jude, yes it looks bad.Take a sad space and make it better.Remember: "STEAM" includes a letter for "Art."Then you can start to make it better.Learn about industrial engineering sophomore Jude Smith's Auburn journey — and his artistic, campus-improving passion project — on the latest episode of the award-winning #GINNing Podcast. 

It might be just as large without him leading the charge. But the contagiously collaborative culture animating the largest student-run makerspace in the country definitely wouldn't be what it is today without software engineering senior Matthew Clegg.  

The latest episode of the best podcast in higher education features the newest assistant professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. Want to learn how systems are measured and how those measurements shape final system design? Hit up Casey Eaton and you'll be just fine.

From solid fuel rockets to medical sockets, mechanical engineering GTA Haley Duncan Evans is designing her future one interdisciplinary project at a time.

Sturdy as elms — that's Mark Nelms. With him at the helm, we've entered new realms. Listen to our interview with the Godbold Professor and chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering on the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education. 

From excelling at XO Armor to impressing at NCAME, research engineer Scot Carpenter, '20 mechanical, is framing the future — one T at a time. 

She's zany. She's brainy. She's Elizabeth Gainey. Listen to the mechanical engineering doctoral student detail her decision to pursue precision — lead-free —on the Plains on the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education. 

On the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education, chemical engineering senior and methanotrophs maestro Hanna Dyal discusses how leadership, undergraduate research and overcoming serious illness has defined her identity as an Auburn Engineer.

Civil engineering sophomore Rhett Dobbs, the inaugural recipient of the the Wayne and Yvette Phillips Hard Work Annual Scholarship, discusses his Auburn Engineering journey — from the covered bridges of Oneonta to the country that owns Okinawa — on the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education.

It's a great day on the #GINNing Podcast and it's our pleasure to serve you the story of Brandon Powell, who put his Auburn chemical engineering degree to use in the most delicious, nutritious and cow-friendly way imaginable. 

Aerospace engineering graduate student Mijan Rahman's research may focus on pilot fatigue. But trust us, the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education ain't no snooze fest. 

Connor May will serve as the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering graduation marshal at its fall commencement on Saturday, Dec. 13. But why not avoid the rush and get to know — and be impressed by — civil and environmental engineering senior now? Because he's next up on the best podcast in higher education.

Aerospace aficionado and electrical engineering junior Catherine Franco was recently named one of Auburn’s first-ever Universities Space Research Association Distinguished Undergraduates. It's a story of perseverance. It's a story of propulsion. It's the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education. 

Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy ain't the only thing the recipient of the Student of the Year award from the Governor's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities plans to conquer. He's the president of the Auburn chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers. He's had cybersecurity internships galore. And for the past year, he's served as a research and development engineer at the McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security. Yes, despite losing much of his sight, this senior in computer science and software engineering says he can now "see the larger picture, one that shows I can do anything I put my mind to.” Ladies and gentlemen, Aidan Anderson.

Minute man aerospace engineering senior Cade May expounds on the implication of his revolutionary application of FlightStream software — and his plans for the future — on the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education. 

Chemical engineering senior Addison Faggard, fundraising chair for the Auburn chapter of Engineers Without Borders, is making a difference in the world. And the people of Quesimpuco finally have the pictures to prove it.

Get to know mechanical engineering junior Tyler Wilks, the Brown-Kopel Engineering Student Achievement Center's front-desk phenom, on the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education.

Auburn native, former Tim Cook Scholar and doctoral student Deena Sayegh chose to study industrial and systems engineering because she has a passion for efficiency in every workplace and believes that industrial engineering can be applied to any environment. You're welcome, Mercedes-Benz! 

Auburn engineers are making an impact in their own backyard with a stormwater project to protect and improve water quality at Hickory Dickory Park. And without the aid of Stormwater Research Facility phenom Aidan Bosman, it just wouldn't be the same. Listen to the civil engineering GRA discuss how a public playground has found the town and gown on new common ground on the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education.

Derek Tournear was named as the inaugural director of the Space Development Agency when it was established in March 2019. He was just named inaugural director of space innovation for Auburn University. But his greatest recent distinction just may be his appearance on the best podcast in higher education. 

She's an honors software engineering student. She's a Cupola Ambassador. She's a Los Alamos intern. A McLeod Software developer. Yep, things sure are adding up for Addy Lee.

Mallory Holland, a senior in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, is Auburn's new Miss Homecoming. Find out why — and other things — on the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education. 

On the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education, aerospace doctoral student Harris Putra drones on and on about the subject he knows best. 

Extra mile? Thy name is Kyle — Margelle Kyle, a Texas-hailing mechanical engineering honors student who's already wedded her passion for biomechanics with the Auburn Creed in order to meet a critical need. 

This week, the #GINNing Gang sits down Iván Nail-Ulloa, a Chile-hailing mechanical engineering postdoctoral fellow (and pal to penguins everywhere) aiming to revolutionize the way safety professionals assess injury risk on factory floors and similar industrial settings.

Pamphlet packing, college fair traveling, #GINNing gabbing. For engineering recruitment administrator Haylee Dorrill, it's all in a day's work. 

Listen to Nathan Moore, new assistant director of the National Center for Asphalt Technology's famed test track, discuss the past and future of that glorious 1.7 mile loop on this, its 25th anniversary year. 

Yes, it's absolutely safe to say it. The NIH says it. The NSF says it. Even the Francis Family Associate Professor in the Department of Materials Engineering himself admits it on the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education: In the field of rapid immunodiagnostics, one name lights up the sensors more than any other... Pengyu Chen. 

Just when you think weed research has gone to pot, along comes Hailey Rhodes, a 2025 Auburn biosystems engineering graduate and brand new research engineer for the Auburn University Rural Partnership Institute.

From researching hydrogels for space transportation to using sound to boost pollination, Jean-Francois Louf is a research renaissance man. Listen to the Department of Chemical Engineering's latest NSF CAREER Award recipient discuss his journey from Nice the Beautiful to the Loveliest Village on the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education.

Kate Shaw is trusting the process — the bioprocess. The Auburn senior took that sweet Pathway to the Plains to pursue the ever versatile bioprocess engineering degree. And, as you'll find out, that one decision has led to a lot precision. 

From AUSME to the RFID, there's nothing artificial about Soundarya Korlapati's intelligence. Listen to the doctoral student in computer science and software engineering discuss her leading role in Auburn's new AI-powered tool transforming how researchers discover one another, form collaborations and pursue complex, cross-disciplinary challenges on the latest episode of the best podcast in higher education. 

You have to hand it to Peden Jones. He really has a grasp on the mechanics of 3D printing — and he's not stingy with it. Why, when they came calling, he lent the College of Liberal Arts a helping hand without hesitation. No sir, it's not hard to put a finger on what makes this mechanical engineering graduate research assistant special. Simply put, he believes in the human touch — and the almost-human, too.

Mechanical engineering sophomore Eliana Floyd grew up watching racing with her dad. She's been into cars for as long as she can remember. So, for her, just standing in pit lane would have made the hours in the Makerspace designing, cutting and clamping panels, bleeding brakes and slapping duct tape on the frame worth it. But to actually win a race — a national championship — at Talladega? That was more electric than the car itself. 

Where would we be without clean water? Where would clean water be without Sydney Watwood? Probably not flowing through the mountainside of Parramos Grande, Guatemala, we know that.The chemical engineering sophomore recently sat down with the #GINNing Gang to detail how Auburn's chapter of Engineers Without Borders is facilitating the philanthropic ambitions she's had since sixth grade.