The Mason Mechanical Engineer

Interested in George Mason? Interested in becoming a mechanical engineer? Not yet sure what a mechanical engineer does, or what life at Mason would be like? Subscribe to this podcast featuring research, students, outreach, and more!Intro/outro music by PaulYudin via Pixabay.

The Mason Mechanical Engineer is a news podcast hosted by Leigh McCue, with 31 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Leigh McCue hosts The Mason Mechanical Engineer, a news show with 31 episodes published.

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  Episode #47

  Intersecting Engineering and The Arts

  Sep 13, 202620 minS1

  On this episode of the Mason Mechanical Engineer I’m joined by John von Bergen a sculptor and professor in Mason’s College of Visual and Performing Arts. Prof. von Bergen’s art and teaching leverages technology in unique ways and scale in a manner that would inspire even civil engineers. (Did he say 16’ tall? He meant 16 meters / 50'!) If you’re a tinkerer, an artist, an engineer, or all of the above, this is the episode for you. To learn more about his German Bundestag project, check out this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTgjweB8vDc .

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  The Mason Mechanical Engineer

  Problem solving, communication, and curiosity – key skills and traits for commissioning professionals

  Aug 24, 202625 min

  What happens when you bring together Eagles, Commanders, and Bears fans, electrical and naval engineers, and communications professionals? A quite lively talk about commissioning! (We somehow avoided talking football, which was probably in the best interests of preserving friendships.) Commissioning is an industry of professionals doing verification and quality assurance work for building construction, and requires a broad range of technical expertise in a client-facing, human-centric role. In this episode, Philip and I chat with William Thomas from the AABC Commissioning Group and Charles Jackson from CMTA to learn about commissioning, and how students can prepare for jobs in this field. If you’re interested in learning more, listen along then visit: AABC’s "Commissioning as a Career Path" webinar on September 30, 2026: https://www.commissioning.org/commissioning-webinar/ CMTA’s careers website: https://www.cmta.com/careers George Mason’s BS Mechanical Engineering – Specialized Facilities concentration requirements: https://catalog.gmu.edu/colleges-schools/engineering-computing/engineering/mechanical/mechanical-engineering-bs/#requirementstext

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  Episode #45

  Don’t panic if your career isn’t linear

  Jun 16, 202629 minS1

  Stephanie Butron, a Virginia Tech alum and current Mason student, joined me for this episode of the Mason Mechanical Engineer. She is brilliantly combining her passions for aerospace engineering and rhetoric, to dig into how what is written following engineering disasters influences public perception. She provides some excellent guidance for prospective and new engineers on the interface of engineering with verbal and written communication, developing a professional identity, and following your interest. If this particularly resonated with you, she recommends the following reading list: To Engineer is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design by Henry Petroski The Man Who Broke Capitalism by David Gelles The Challenger Launch Decision: Risky Technology, Culture, and Deviance at NASA by Diane Vaughn “Mr. Feynman Goes to Washington” by Richard Feynman The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas S. Kuhn “The Economic Theory of Agency: The Principal Problem” by Stephen Ross " Thinking Critically About Historical Failures: How Young Professionals Can Expand Their Innovation and Problem-Solving Capacities " by Stephanie Butron

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  The Mason Mechanical Engineer

  Capstone Day 2026

  May 28, 202654 min

  The 2026 Department of Mechanical Engineering Capstone Day was held on May 4. As usual, the students' work was incredibly impressive. I would have loved to interview every team, but time limited the interviews to the following four teams: Team VPRT Team OSCAR Patriot Motorsports Team Salus Listen on to learn more about these projects and where these students are going after graduation. More about our capstone program can be found at: https://mechanical.gmu.edu/hands/senior-design-capstone .

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  Episode #43

  Bachelor's to Accelerated Master's Programs

  May 6, 202610 minS1

  In a recent episode , Alex Sprintson and I started chatting about the benefits of bachelor's to accelerated master's programs (BAM). With that in mind, Rachel Cameron, Mason’s College of Engineering and Computing graduate recruitment coordinator, joined me on the podcast to talk in more detail about BAM programs. If you have been considering getting your master's degree, listen on for how you can make this process as efficient as possible. A few links we mention in this discussion include: George Mason University, College of Engineering and Computing Accelerated Master’s Admissions: https://cec.gmu.edu/admissions/accelerated-masters-admissions George Mason University, Mechanical Engineering Accelerated Master’s options: https://catalog.gmu.edu/colleges-schools/engineering-computing/engineering/mechanical/mechanical-engineering-bs/#acceleratedmasterstext George Mason University, Financial Aid Services: https://www.gmu.edu/financial-aid George Mason University, Graduate Education Financial Support: https://graduate.gmu.edu/financial-support George Mason University, College of Engineering and Computing, Fast-Track Graduate Admissions: https://cec.gmu.edu/admissions/graduate-admissions/fast-track-graduate-admissions

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