Pre-Engineering Academy Completer Now Yale Ph.D Student

Marissa Tousley, a completer of the Compact’s Engineering Academy, recently began her graduate studies at Yale University, where she received a complete full-ride scholarship including a stipend for living expenses. She is one of six research fellows accepted into the prestigious Ph.D. joint program in chemical and environmental engineering.

“At this point, I am interested in exploring water treatment technology where I can apply my material science background to my research, such as how to eliminate salt from sea water,” Tousley explains.

After she graduated from Woodridge High School in 2007, Tousley attended Alfred University in New York where she graduated last spring with a degree in material science and engineering. The faculty of the Kazuo Inamori School of Engineering named her Outstanding CEMS (ceramic engineering materials science) Senior based on scholarship and service to the school and community. Tousley was involved with Relay for Life her four years at Alfred University and also was very active in engineering clubs and honoraries.

In addition, she was honored as one of only 250 graduating college seniors in the State of New York with the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence, which recognizes model students who have integrated academic excellence with other aspects of their lives.

As a Compact student in the Engineering Academy, Tousley worked with Dr. Judit Puskas in her polymer research lab at The University of Akron and also had a summer internship at NASA. During college, she spent a semester studying in England, and summers doing research at the University of New Mexico and Washington State University, as well as with a company in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

“The Engineering Academy exposed me to a wide range of options in the field,” Tousley says. “The critical thinking skills stressed in the Academy, which first helped me when I got into to college, still help me today.”

“We had so many self-directed learning and problem-solving activities when we went through the four rotations,” she recalls. “Those skills don’t leave you. When I got into undergrad, I was more prepared to take electronics, polymers and computer-aided design.”

Her mother, Brenda Tousley, agrees. “The Academy was a wonderful experience for Marissa. She was exposed to a lot of different types of engineering and that helped her decide what direction to go. Her teachers were supportive, and she had a great experience.”