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Meet Prince-David Malendele, a 2021 SUNY Korea graduate and current Associate Staff Mechanical Engineer at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). In this interview, he shares his journey from SUNY Korea to BNL, highlighting his research achievements, career aspirations in superconducting materials, and his significant role in the Electron-Ion Collider project. 

1. Introduce yourself.
My name is Prince-David, and I graduated from SUNY Korea in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s degree from Stony Brook in 2022 through the accelerated master’s program. I am currently working as an Associate Staff Mechanical Engineer on the Electron-Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL).  

2. Why did you choose SUNY Korea SBU?
I chose SUNY Korea SBU because it has a very good engineering program offering courses in machine design, thermal systems, engineering analysis and robotics that aligned with my interest. Also, I was on a full scholarship that allowed me to get a college degree without taking student loans or worrying about financing my education. 
3. What was your greatest accomplishment as a student at SUNY Korea?
As a student at SUNY Korea, my greatest accomplishment was giving a poster presentation at the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineering (KSME)’s annual convention in the fall of 2021. The presentation was about a research project I worked on with Professor Changwoon Han on predicting failure in solder joints of Printed Circuit Boards (PCB). A paper regarding that project was later published in the KSME’s journal. All of this was done in Korean. 

4. What are your research interests and career goals?
I am currently an Associate Engineer (Level 3) at BNL, and my current role is related to the design of superconducting magnets, radio-frequency cavities, and vacuum systems. I aim to become an expert in superconducting materials and systems while moving up the rank at BNL to become a Principal Engineer (Level 10), then hopefully a manager or director. Those positions require at least 15-20 years of engineering experience with significant contributions to the field. 

5. Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?
The Electron-Ion Collider is a one-of-a-kind nuclear physics research machine that was approved and funded by the US Department of Energy in 2021 but is expected to be fully built and operational by 2035. In the next 5 years, I will still be working on designing, manufacturing, and testing components or systems for the Electron-Ion Collider. Hopefully, by then I will be a Senior Engineer (Level 7). I am also considering pursuing a PhD in superconducting materials and systems while actively working at BNL.