Mechanical Engineering Graduate Student
Debbie George Wins the
2006 Laird Fellowship

Although gymnastics, mechanical engineering, and ceramics may seem to have little in common, they are all outlets for Debbie George’s creativity and passionate nature.  Winner of the 2006 Laird Fellowship, George is a Ph.D. candidate advised by ME Assistant Professor Jill Higginson.

Debbie George Accepts
Laird Fellowship Award

It was actually a phone call from Higginson that persuaded George to come to Delaware.  Originally from the Philadelphia area, she earned her bachelor’s degree at Cornell University.

“I think the classes at most good schools are pretty much the same,” George says.  “I came here for the research.  I had been accepted at several schools, but when Dr. Higginson called me and described her research program, it was easy to make a decision.”

George had already developed a strong interest in biomechanics as an undergraduate at Cornell, where she did research during her junior and senior years.  Higginson’s study of gait mechanics in stroke patients intrigued her. 

The work involves the use of muscle stimulation, for both rehabilitation and “maintenance”—for the latter application, the stimulation becomes a kind of pacemaker for the muscles, taking over where the natural stimulation of the brain is impaired.  “After I finish my Ph.D., I want to work on products that will directly benefit a group of people, such as stroke patients,” George says.

While she is an outstanding student, George had to be more than that to win the Laird Fellowship.  Established over 25 years ago in honor of George W. Laird, the Fellowship is given annually to a graduate student in engineering “to encourage the recipient to become engaged in a broadening intellectual pursuit that may or may not be of direct application to the recipient’s chosen field of study.”

In Debbie George’s case, the focus of that broadening pursuit is pottery.  Interested in manipulating clay since she was a young child, George took ceramics courses in high school and at Cornell.  She has continued her passion as a graduate student, taking a course at a community college. 

But the Laird Fellowship will enable George to do two things that she would not otherwise have been able to do:  have convenient access to ceramics facilities and become a better potter by studying the work of masters. She plans to use the money to open a pottery studio where she will not only have unlimited time to work on her own pieces but also offer other members of the community the opportunity to work.  In addition, she plans to travel to Spain during the summer of 2007 to learn from the teachers in that country, improving her own work and enabling her to share what she knows with others.

“The trip will give me a new perspective and new techniques to cultivate and enrich my abilities to express myself creatively,” she says.  It will also enable me to offer my acquired knowledge to anyone in my pottery studio who wants to learn.”

Although Laird’s untimely death precluded his meeting the recipients of the Fellowship established in his name, he would undoubtedly approve.  Over the past two decades, the funds have supported an exceptional group of “Renaissance” men and women with many diverse interests. 

Deb George is no exception.  A former competitive gymnast, a talented potter, and a promising biomechanics researcher, she is also an energetic volunteer and an accomplished baker.  “All of these things have helped shape who I am as a person,” she says, “and in turn, they will help shape my future.”

“Debbie has been a wonderful addition to my research group,” Higginson says. “Her self-motivation, inquisitive nature and charismatic personality enhance the lab atmosphere and make data collection sessions more fun. I expect Debbie will thrive here at UD and her future career (and ceramic) pursuits!”

by Diane Kukich