Amy Gonzalez, University of Texas-Pan American, Mechanical Engineering - Your UT Health Science Center San Antonio

Amy Gonzalez, University of Texas-Pan American, Mechanical Engineering




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Amy Gonzalez, University of Texas-Pan American, Mechanical Engineering
Hi, my name is Amy Gonzalez. I attend the University of Texas-Pan American, UTPA,
and I am pursuing my bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering.
My research involves defect detection on bearings, which is very crucial to railroad safety
because if a bearing develops a defect on a train, then that bearing can seize or it can stop rotating
and it can cause a derailment.
Safety is a big priority in any sort of transportation, but especially in railroads
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because they travel through cross country delivering cargo to various places.
So, if a bearing fails in a city or just a train, in general, if something happens to it -
if they carry coal, it uses a combustible engine, it uses diesel fuel, so if something happens to that train
and it crashes into something, it could be a catastrophic disaster.
As a child, growing up and going to school, I've always been a really good student
and my mother has seen that in me and she's always -
&quot;If you can do this, go ahead and try to do it. Whatever you want to do, possibilities are endless.&quot;
I'm the first generation to go to the university and get my degree.



Your UT Health Science Center San Antonio




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We were founded in the late fifties on donated land that was once a dairy farm.
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“It was very easy to transition into a student organization and to seek help from professors.
I mean I could knock on Dr. Berggren’s door and she’ll just invite me to come in and talk to her.
The hands-on opportunities are endless and I don't think it can do more, really,
in terms of giving us the human perspective of medicine,
and the Health Science Center is definitely providing students with that foundation.”
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“Being able to be involved in education, patient care and research on a daily basis
makes for a really exciting job.
It's constantly challenging, it's constantly changing and it's so very rewarding.
There isn't a day that goes by that I can't look back on that day and say,
‘What did I do that made somebody's life better or enriched somebody's education
or that made the world a better place?’.”
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including neurobiology, cardiovascular disease, aging…
It's really the synergy of the people who work in these different areas
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That's really what doing good science is all about.
As a researcher my passion is in studying the brain,
and the Health Science Center and the collaborations I have here allow me to do that.”
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