Mechanical Engineering major Aayush Shrestha feels like Midwestern State University is a second home to him, but this summer he is enjoying another great experience with an undergraduate research internship.

Shrestha is also the chief engineer on the Formula SAE team. This summer has been a great opportunity, he said.

“I’m grateful for the opportunities MSU has provided, from research to leadership roles,” he said. “Every experience here is shaping me into a well-rounded engineer.”

Shrestha was recommended for his internship at the University of North Texas by MSU Texas Professor of Engineering Sheldon Wang. “His support and guidance played a big role in helping me secure this opportunity,” he said. “In my internship, I’m working on characterizing the mechanical properties of soft materials, particularly elastomers. I’ve been designing a tensile testing setup to measure Young’s Modulus [a measure of stiffness of an elastic material] and using strain gauges to capture strain data accurately. Additionally, I’m using a polarized optical microscope to observe the material deformation in real time. This experience has strengthened my hands-on skills in experimental design, instrumentation, and data analysis — key areas for my growth as an engineer.”

Shrestha is on track for graduation from MSU Texas in May 2026. The FSAE racing team at MSU is building a car for national competition this year. He embraces being a part of that team, too.

“Being chief engineer on the Formula SAE team has been one of the most rewarding parts of my college experience,” Shrestha said. “I designed the airbox using SolidWorks and performed CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulations to improve performance. More importantly, the experience has taught me team coordination, design iteration, and real-world application of engineering principles.

“MSU feels like a second home to me. The professors are incredibly supportive and approachable, and the close-knit campus environment has given me countless opportunities to grow both personally and professionally.”