Andrew Hoffpauir received an academic scholarship to attend UL Lafayette, which included an undergraduate research assistantship in the College of Engineering.
Because of this research apprenticeship, Andrew worked with 3D printers and developed a mold set for a heart valve.
“I learned about 3D printers and computer-aided design in a way that is not taught in classes,” he said. “It was very valuable to work in UL Lafayette’s heart lab with Ph.D. students, along with Dr. Taylor and in Dr. Faisal’s lab. My time in the lab gave me valuable experience of what it will be like to work in the professional world.”
This experience also gave him the opportunity to talk about his work and present it to others.
“I had the opportunity to present posters on my work from my undergraduate research apprenticeship at UL Lafayette’s Undergraduate Research Conference two years in a row,” he explained.
Andrew says the knowledge from this research apprenticeship, along with what he has learned from his classes, is “invaluable.”
In his mechanical design class, he worked with a group to design a robot for a competition. In the mechanics of materials lab, he conducted experiments to test material properties.
He also enjoyed all of his classes taught by Dr. Hibbeler, who also taught Andrew’s dad, a 1992 UL Lafayette alumnus.
“I think it is neat that my dad and I were able to share the experience of both being taught by Dr. Hibbeler,” Andrew said.
Andrew is in the Honors Program, which he said, “provides me with the opportunity to challenge myself and get the most out of my key classes.”
As part of the Honors Program, Andrew takes certain classes for honors credit. As part of one of his honors classes, he had to create a poster that involved his research on estimating spinal curvature using MATLAB software.
Outside of class, Andrew is an Engineering Ambassador, which means he volunteers at events to recruit future UL Lafayette students.
He was also part of the Engineering Living-Learning Community (LLC) when he first came to UL Lafayette, a community for freshmen living on campus.
“This experience was very welcoming,” he said, “and I was able to connect with people similar to myself. It helped me acclimate myself to people with the same skill sets as me.”
