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Marcus Melo de Lyra nearly missed out on becoming a Buckeye.
His story starts in the Northeast of Brazil, where he was born and raised. That’s where he earned his bachelor’s in civil engineering at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. His master’s would take him 150 miles away from home to the Federal University of Campina Grande. After discovering a passion for engineering education in his undergrad, he decided to apply to PhD programmes in the US.
The Ohio State University College of Engineering was not the first place he was admitted to.
He had a spot at another research-intensive institution in the West of the US but his advisor — a longtime mentor to him — got a job opportunity at Ohio State, and invited to follow him there. So he applied to Ohio State, got admitted, and continued his doctoral studies in Engineering Education as a Buckeye.
Marcus Melo de Lyra Source: The Ohio State University
Now some 4,500 miles away from his homeland, Melo de Lyra has many reasons to be glad he applied to Ohio State.
“Ohio State considers graduate students more than just student workers,” says Melo de Lyra, who is also a graduate research associate. “The university actively makes efforts to help us have a healthy life while positioning us on the edge of innovation and knowledge, increasing our chances of being at the top in a competitive job market.”
The Ohio State College of Engineering holds many accolades for its research and teaching. The graduate programme ranks at #27 overall in the US News & World Report Best Graduate Schools compilation. It is once again first in Ohio and moving up to 13th among public universities.
The departments within the College of Engineering stands tall among the best of the best — the Department of Food, Agricultural, and Bioengineering is #8 in the nation, and eight other engineering specialties placed within the top 25 .
The Ohio State College of Engineering graduate programme ranks #1 in Ohio, and #13 among public universities nationwide (US News & World Report). Source: The Ohio State University
The college is in the bustling city of Columbus, the capital of Ohio. Although it’s got a lower cost of living, it has lots to offer, from festivals and concerts to sporting events and diverse cuisine. Melo de Lyra also went to the Broadway showing of “The Lion King” with tickets he got through a university programme that subsidises student tickets to cultural events. His stay in Columbus as an international student was just as memorable.
“My decision to transfer from my previous institution to [Ohio State] was based on the amount of support OSU provided to my partner,” Melo de Lyra says. “The option of including my wife in the OSU graduate student health insurance made us feel safer here in the US, contributing to our wellness.”
Ohio State has a long history — since the 1870s, to be exact — of pumping out engineering talent year by year that’s integral to the industry. Its research and development span medicine, artificial intelligence, mobility, and manufacturing. At Ohio State, it’s one of their priorities to collaborate with industry partners so that research is being taken into action. Nine out of 10 engineering students have had industry-related experience by graduation, to no surprise.
They’ve got resources like the Engineering Career Services that connect students with employers, the OHI/O Informal Learning in Tech that engages students with real-world problems through community and industry partners, over 75 active engineering student organisations; the list doesn’t stop there. Last year, American Honda Motor Co. funded four graduate students and several student capstone teams in their research to combat the environmental threats posed in the aviation industry.
And the results speak for themselves. Graduates are commonly hired by some of the biggest companies in the world — JP Morgan Chase, Amazon, Honda, Microsoft you name it. To add to that, Ohio State itself, the biggest employer in Columbus.
The opportunities to join their ranks are right within your reach as a student here. Recruiters visit campus every week, especially for the two large career fairs held for engineering students in the fall and spring of each academic year. Not to mention the connections right at your fingertips — the world-class faculty members and researchers who are ready to turn their students into research experts.
“In my department, faculty are always pen to talking and helping students in their endeavours,” Melo de Lyra says. “I was happy to find a community that supports me and is open to hearing my ideas and providing feedback.”
The university offers 13 graduate degree programmes for you to specialise in research and studies that cater best towards your personal and or career goals. Source: The Ohio State University
One important member of this community is Dr. Ayanna Howard, who’s not only the college’s dean, but a renowned roboticist, entrepreneur, and educator. Her research focuses on human-robot interaction; one of them looking at the idea that humans are quick to trust technology, and how to combat issues with cues on when to second-guess AI tools. She’s among the Top 50 Women in Tech in the US by Forbes, and is one of the 27 experts appointed to the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee.
At Ohio State, they’ve made numerous AI investmente and advancements to better serve the student body, and the public. They’re home to the AI Institute for Intelligent Cyberinfrastructure with Computational Learning in the Environment (ICICLE) and AI Institute for Future Edge Networks and Distributed Intelligence (AI-EDGE), which will each receive a total of US$20 million over five years.
The Centre for Computing Education is set to launch next year to train students until they’re ready for the demands of companies in search of talent. The Centre for Design and Manufacturing Systems Lab was launched back in 2019; a 1,500-square-foot facility to study how AI can improve manufacturing. Experts developed a machine-learning method to advance drug repurposing in medicine. Computer science and engineering professor Dhabaleswar K. (DK) Panda’s leading a National Science Foundation institute to build an AI cyberinfrastructure that is accessible to absolutely anyone, not just the tech savvy people.
Let’s put it simply: with AI pioneers engineering an accessible world, top industry collaborators and expert researchers, and successful graduate outcomes — the Ohio State College of Engineering’s got it all.
So what are you waiting for? Click here to apply to The Ohio State College of Engineering today.
