From Driving Curiosity to Engineering Research: Professor Shannon Roberts to Speak at Pizza & Prof
By Lyrique Agorbia and Leila Metres
Content
On April 9 at Pizza and Prof, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering professor Shannon Roberts will be sharing her journey to engineering, research, and academia. Roberts will also be touching on her experiences navigating higher education, identifying her passion, and advising students on how they can take action. Pizza & Prof Night is a night where students get to know a professor on a more personal level, getting the chance to explore and connect with faculty to inspire future research. Though offered by the Honors College, it is open to all.
Roberts studies the relation between drivers and vehicles, using technology and infrastructure as the guide. She first gained her passion during her undergraduate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
“When I was a first-year student in college, I really liked to drive. I looked up labs that did research on driving. There was one research lab that had a research assistant opening, so I signed up. I really enjoyed it, so I stayed in that lab as a research assistant for the remaining years of my undergraduate career,” Roberts explained.
Reflecting on her time as both an undergraduate student and a PhD student, Roberts spoke about those who were influential in her choosing the path of research and academia. She spoke about her undergraduate research advisor as well as her PhD advisor, who told her as soon as she started graduate school that she should be a professor. That same advisor ended up introducing her to the person who hired her at UMass Amherst.
As a mentor herself, Roberts is open to connecting with undergraduates to do research in her lab and encourages students to take initiative and reach out.
“I’ve mentored almost 70 undergraduate students. So it’s fair to say I have a lot of students working in my lab at any given time. Most students just randomly email me to get connected, so don’t be afraid to send a cold email!” she explained.
Here at UMass, Roberts teaches a variety of classes. She teaches different levels of statistics classes, a first-year engineering class, research methods, and a class in human factors. She spoke about her love for math and her preference for teaching very different classes due to the variety it provides.
“I like the variety in topics. It keeps me on my toes.”
For the upcoming Pizza and Prof, one of Roberts’ key points that she wants students to take away is, “The worst they can do is say no.”
“It's hard to hear a no, but at my age, I’ve heard so many no’s, it just rolls off my back. For me, once I hear someone say no, I'm going to move on. I'm going to figure out something else. If I really want to make it happen, I'm going to find another way to do it.”
Not only does Roberts have knowledge of cars, but she has good taste in pizza. Her favorite is Antonio’s here in Amherst, though she is partial to the butter garlic sauce from Papa John’s.
Don’t miss this opportunity to share a slice of Antonio's Pizza and thoughtful conversation with Professor Roberts and fellow members of the UMass community on April 9 from 4:30-5:30 p.m. in the Honors Events Hall. RSVPs are not required but highly encouraged. Everyone is welcome to join.
Featuring
Lyrique Agorbia
Leila Metres
