Sanders-Schneider recipient of transfer student award
3/24/2017 College of Engineering
After starting his collegiate career in kinesiology at Eastern Illinois University, Ian Sanders-Schneider soon discovered his passion for engineering and, after transferring to the University of Illinois, will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering as well as a bachelor’s in physics with a minor in business from EIU. He is the recipient of this year’s College of Engineering C.S.
Written by College of Engineering
After starting his collegiate career in kinesiology at Eastern Illinois University, Ian Sanders-Schneider soon discovered his passion for engineering and, after transferring to the University of Illinois, will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering as well as a bachelor’s in physics with a minor in business from EIU. He is the recipient of this year’s College of Engineering C.S. Larson Transfer Student Award.
Sanders-Schneider has had great research experiences, helping create a modular design for concentrated solar power (CSP) in the Photonics Research of Bio/Nano Environments (PROBE) lab directed by MechSE Associate Professor Kimani Toussaint. He was also an undergraduate researcher with Research Professor and Professor Emeritus Pratap Vanka.
At EIU, Sanders-Schneider was a researcher under professor Jie Zou in the Department of Physics, where he had a chance to study wave packet formation.
Beyond research, he has been active in Illini Formula Electric, designing a new steering rack during the fall semester. He earned second place in a thermodynamics poster competition and was a member of a team that had the fastest walking robot for the ME 371 mechanical design course.
Sanders-Schneider is a member of the Pi Tau Sigma mechanical engineering honor society, which presented him with a scholarship. He also earned the Hendrick House Scholarship, the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, and the Children of Veterans Scholarship.
He plans to pursue a Master of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering (M.Eng.ME) at Illinois, where he will focus on renewable energy systems with the personal goal of helping decrease the world’s dependence on fossil fuels.
Established in 2010, the C.S. Larson Transfer Student Award honors Carl S. Larson, a long-time professor of mechanical engineering, assistant dean, and Illinois alumnus. Larson served as the primary point of contact for engineering transfer students and worked with community colleges across the state to ensure that their students were prepared for success at Illinois.
Sanders-Schneider will be formally recognized at the College of Engineering student and alumni awards ceremony on April 1.