Hands-on experience leads Rales Fellow to role as Additive Manufacturing Engineer

As a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University, alumna Cameron Drewery found that learning to weld at TechSpark, a CMU makerspace, was one of her most hands-on and favorite classroom experiences.

“I didn’t have the opportunity to learn how to weld up until then, so to learn different methods of welding and when to use each method in real-life scenarios were both educational and practical,” said Drewery, who completed the yearlong Master of Science in Additive Manufacturing, an interdisciplinary degree in the College of Engineering.

Drewery, a member of the first cohort of CMU’s Rales Fellows Program, is now working as an additive manufacturing engineer for Nikon AM Synergy in Long Beach, California.

“I plan to learn as much as I can while I'm in industry. In the future, I would be more than happy to go back and complete Ph.D.-level research that will help a lot of people,” she said.

With Nikon AM Synergy, an additive manufacturing hub creating bespoke industrial parts, Drewery works with clients to design parts for additive manufacturing, then develop processes and support post-manufacturing for those parts, such as heat-treating and finishing.

Eventually, she would like to research how to use additive manufacturing to create structural components for homes in order to help families in coastal areas that are repeatedly subjected to heavy storms.

The Rales Fellows Program, now hosting its second cohort, was established in 2023 to support the world's next generation of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) leaders. The program offers students full tuition, a stipend to cover living expenses, and mentorship and career guidance opportunities, made possible through the university’s partnership with the Norman and Ruth Rales Foundation. 

It was really nice to know I could just be myself with my professors, and with other students, especially other Rales Fellows.

Cameron Drewey, MSE Alumna, Rales Fellow

Before coming to Carnegie Mellon, Drewery earned her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Howard University, and spent a summer as an undergraduate researcher at Florida International University that solidified her interest in additive manufacturing.

One of the few universities with a master’s degree program in the field, CMU created a place where, Drewery said, she could thrive academically while preparing her for her position in the industry.

“Coming from an HBCU, I wanted to make sure I could find an authentic community where I wouldn’t have to hide pieces of myself to make others feel more comfortable, and I didn’t have to do any of that,” Drewery said. “It was really nice to know I could just be myself with my professors, and with other students, especially other Rales Fellows.”

As for finding a community now that she’s in the Los Angeles area, Drewery said she’s hoping to get involved with the local Women in 3D Printing chapter, and has been playing beach volleyball in her free time.

She said she looks forward to a continued connection with future cohorts of Rales Fellows as the program continues to grow.

“Students who come after us will be able to build on and make the program even better than what it was when I was there — which, in my eyes, seems very, very difficult,” she said. “It was a great program.”