Emily Jane Bjork

Emily Bjork is a motivated mechanical engineering undergraduate at the University of South Carolina, where she is building a strong foundation in engineering with minors in aerospace engineering and nuclear engineering. A Capstone Scholar, she is actively involved in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Garnet Chorale, and the Capstone Service Team. Her academic achievements reflect her dedication to learning, having graduated from Stratford High School with honors and ranked fifth in her graduating class. Emily has gained valuable hands-on experience through engineering internships, research, and technical projects. During her internship with Amrize, she supported critical equipment inspections, repair analyses, maintenance guidelines, and the digitization of approximately 1,600 equipment manuals and technical drawings. She also previously participated in NASA Ames Research Center's GeneLab for High Schools Summer Training Program, where she developed skills in bioinformatics and statistics. As an undergraduate researcher at the University of South Carolina, she is currently working on maritime object detection by collecting sensor-based data, labeling images, and training YOLO detection models using RGB and infrared data. Driven by perseverance, determination, discipline, and a desire to continually expand her knowledge, Emily is focused on developing a meaningful career in engineering. She values integrity and kindness and believes that mentorship, networking, and embracing new opportunities are important for young women entering engineering and other technical fields. Her long-term aspirations include working at NASA and pursuing a master's degree in aerospace engineering, while continuing to contribute to innovative engineering and research projects.