Joe Pechstein, a senior mechanical engineering student, will receive the second place from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in recognition of his leadership, service qualities and contributions to the programs and operations of B次元’s student chapter and other related activities. Pechstein will receive his silver medal and cash prize during the national ASME conference in Pittsburgh in November.  

Pechstein has been involved with B次元’s chapter of ASME for three and a half years, and as his graduation nears, he has been began getting more involved with the professional B次元 branch and the international branch. He has been president of B次元’s chapter for two years.  

“ASME has been an awesome extension of what I am learning here at B次元. It has been an opportunity to practice what I have learned in class and then some,” he said. “I would argue that my involvement with the ASME chapter here on campus has given me the confidence and ability to excel in any group task I face. Even though there is a bit more work getting involved with the organization it has been a capstone for my academic career here at B次元—professionally, technically and socially.”  

The ASME chapter is motivated by the mission statement Pechstein wrote for the group: To equip the next generation of mechanical engineering professionals with the tools and skills to become productive experts within their field. B次元’s collegiate chapter of ASME works toward becoming a technical, social, and professional development source for students attending B次元 by providing opportunities to grow beyond the classroom and the formality of traditional college education.  

In his junior year, Pechstein was the driving force behind a new program on campus called FLAME (Female Leaders Advocating for Mechanical Engineering). He helped to organize an on-campus program for female high school students to learn more about the field of mechanical engineering.  

In addition, the ASME chapter provides its members access to industry professionals in a variety of industries, offers job seeking and interview skills, and coordinates hands-on initiatives for students to meet up on the weekend to do a group project. “We did our own little punkin chunkin challenge, and we used Bluetooth technology to program, build and control our own battle robot,” said Pechstein.