Ainsley Rexford ’21 

Precision Machining Laboratory at Penn
University of Pennsylvania, pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of our engineering & robotics program, we are highlighting some of our alumni who are at various points in their careers, from working in nuclear engineering labs to working on the ocean floor. 

On Robotics

“My participation in the SCH robotics program taught me how to collaborate with different people who had different skillsets. By working with people on different subteams to create one robot for competition, I was able to learn from my peers and appreciate the knowledge and experience they had of their specific sub-system.”

On Problem Solving

“My SCH engineering experiences taught me how to solve problems on my own and with my peers. SCH engineering creates an environment where students can identify and solve their own problems without much input from the faculty. Gaining these tools in high school enabled me to be successful in college and in my engineering career. The ability to create and execute my own projects in high school made me fall in love with engineering and decide to study it in college.”

Rexford's previous summer internships: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) where I developed a method to track, model, and correct thermal drift in machining tools and U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (U.S. Army DEVCOM) where I developed methods to model and analyze autonomous vehicles