Dayeel Dauphine (ND ‘20) learned about the Innovation Lab from Sarah Kubinski, Outreach Coordinator for the AnBryce Scholars Initiative. Dayeel, a double major in Industrial Design and Theology and an AnBryce Scholar, had been enjoying doing research in Prof. James Schmeideler’s lab in the College of Engineering, and Sarah thought he would equally enjoy working in the Innovation Lab.
Coincidentally, Dayeel was already aware of the Lab. He had been told about it by a connection of Prof. Schmeideler’s who is CEO of Essai, Inc., an electronics manufacturer based in Fremont, CA, and subsidiary of the global company Advantest. The CEO knew about the IDEA Center and the Innovation Lab, and also thought Dayeel would benefit from working there.
Turns out Sarah, Prof. Schmeideler, and the CEO were right, says Dayeel, as the work he did in the Lab was “arguably one of the most important things I did during my entire time in Notre Dame.”
Dayeel describes the Lab’s director, Matt Leevy, as “paramount” to the success he is currently experiencing in his job at Essai. He started working in the Lab in the beginning of his senior year, in the fall of 2019. At the time he didn’t know how applicable the work in the Lab would be to the job he now does. “Matt and Tony [Van Avermaete, the Lab’s manager] taught me tangible skills that you don’t get in school. School taught me mathematical skills, but Matt and Tony taught me the practical skills of how to do things the best way possible."
In his job at Essai, Inc., Dayeel works with both laser cutters and 3D printers. “I was able to jump right into my job since I received what was essentially on-the-job training at the Lab. The access to the Lab’s machines was invaluable.”
Dayeel says he is currently enjoying being very busy at his work. This, he says, is “partly Matt’s fault, because I came to the job with so many practical skills! I can’t underline enough how applicable my experience in the Lab was.”
Originally published by at innovationlab.nd.edu on January 18, 2021.