User:Lnh7

About Me

My name is Lauren Nicole Heckelman, and I'm from Effort, Pennsylvania. I was born on October 3, 1994. I graduated in May of 2012 from Pleasant Valley High School in Brodheadsville, Pennsylvania. Yes, I was the student from Brodheadsville discussed in great length at the Duke Freshman Convocation. I have two incredible sisters. Christina, 19, is currently a sophomore at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, while Michelle, 14, is a freshman at Pleasant Valley High School. I plan on double majoring in Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering at Duke University and then continue my education in order to pursue a career in prosthetic and other rehabilitative device design.

Interests

I am an avid sports fan and participant. I love playing soccer, tennis, and just about anyother athletic activity I come across. Also, I use music as a creative outlet. I play the guitar and the drums; however, I am trying to teach myself the ukulele and the piano. Country music is my all-time favorite genre because "most" country songs tell incredible stories.

Grand Challenges for Engineering

As I attended the Duke Talent Identification Program (Duke TIP) Institute of Architecture: Living Green/Building Green in the summer of 2011, all energy efficient, or "green" inventions fascinate me.

Here is an article about how robots can help make solar panels collect more sunlight, thus, making them more efficient and economical.

Robot Can Reduce Cost of Solar Energy by 20%, Joao Piexe, Oilprice.com (A CNBC Partner Site), created 5 September 2012, accessed 6 September 2012 (Grand Challenge)