Who am I
Name: Olek Gralczyk
Major: Industrial & Systems Engineering
Minor/Certificates: Military Science; German
Focus Area: Design & Manufacturing
Year: Fourth-year
Hometown: Schaumburg, IL
A Little More About Me
What is one piece of advice you would give to an incoming freshman?
Make sure to surround yourself with people who inspire you to grow and who are committed to your mutual success. Encourage your friends to be accountable for their goals and support each other in achieving them.
What have you been involved with outside of the COE?
Outside of the College of Engineering, I am actively engaged in Army ROTC, where I hold the responsibility of managing Supply and Logistics for our battalion. Additionally, I have been a part of several competition teams within our program. During my free time, I enjoy participating in intramural sports such as volleyball.
Who is your favorite or most impactful professor and why?
My most impactful professor has been Ruben Beltran del Rio. He is a great example of the passion faculty have for teaching and developing future engineers here at Iowa.
What has been your favorite or most impactful course?
My favorite course to date has been Design for Manufacturing, where I was able to delve into diverse manufacturing processes and gain hands-on experience. Within this course, we honed our modeling and drafting skills by designing and fabricating a plastic brick bridge.
What organizations inside the college of engineering do you belong to?
Inside the college of engineering I am the President of the Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers (IISE), and a research assistant at the Additive Manufacturing-Integrated Product Realization Lab.
What is your favorite part about being a student at The University of Iowa?
My favorite aspect of being a student at The University of Iowa is the strong sense of community. The Hawkeye Spirit is always vibrant and enhances the overall student experience. Additionally, due to the smaller size of our College of Engineering, I've been able to develop close friendships with all my peers across different disciplines.
Have you done any research with a professor? If so, what department was the professor and what was your research about?
I am a research assistant at the Additive Manufacturing-Integrated Product Realization Lab with Dr. Xuan Song. Through this research I have been able to grow my skills in modelling/designing, and make a genuine impact on various projects regarding ceramics and materials testing.
Airborne School
Me after my first jump out of a C-130 at US Army Airborne School