Student Spotlight: Pattanun Chanpiwat

Name

Pattanun Chanpiwat

Year

Third year in the design and optimization research area in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Advisor

Dr. Steven A. Gabriel

Research Interest

Optimization Modeling, Equilibrium/Game Theory Models, Operations Research, Machine Learning, Statistical Learning

What drew you to engineering?

Maths and science were my favorite subjects in school. When I was young, I discovered my passion to apply scientific theories to solve real world problems. I like science and technology, so the engineering program matches my interests nicely.

What made you decide to come to the University of Maryland?

University of Maryland is a top university with incredible engineering programs. There are many research opportunities with industry partners and government organizations at the A. James Clark School of Engineering. The school has a variety of classes offered in the field that I am interested in. In addition, I had a chance to visit the College Park campus and met with Dr. Gabriel during my visit to discuss possible research topics, which was very informative. In the end, I felt like UMD was going to be my perfect fit, since it was the university with a top-notch engineering program, had advanced research facilities, and allowed me to work with dedicated faculty.

What do you want people to know about Mechanical Engineering that they may not know?

The Department of Mechanical Engineering at UMD offers diverse areas of research, and most of them are interdisciplinary. For example, in the design and optimization research area, we take classes in operations research, machine learning, applied mathematics, statistics, etc. We are trained to apply theories of mathematical optimizations to design optimal or near optimal solution methodologies. We are taught to be strong in computational modeling and algorithm skills. We extensively use major programming languages (Python, Matlab, R, etc.) and optimization modeling languages (e.g. GAMS). To solve real-world programs, we will need to be ready to digest and solve challenges from business requirements and engineering objectives, although those problems are unclear and under time constraints. We are expected to contribute in every stage of model development and deployment.

What's a fun fact about yourself?

Soccer is my favorite sport. I have played in the intramural soccer leagues on campus in both fall and spring semesters. The sport motivates me to exercise regularly. It is also good for relieving stress from research and schoolwork.

Published October 2, 2019