David Strickland

July 9, 2024 By College of ECST
David Strickland

 

David Strickland
Materials Science and Engineering MS (Spring 2024)

Musician and veteran aspires to create change through novel battery research

After high school, David Strickland served in the Air Force and pursued his passion for music following his time in the service. His band did well, and music became his life. His career had some memorable highlights, including a record deal, but as the money slowed, David knew he wanted to pursue a formal education and forge a new career path.

“I turned 35, and that was my cut-off point,” David said. “I figured after 35, I’ll probably have beat up my body enough that I won’t be able to do the music anymore, and that will probably still be enough time to figure something out for school.”

He started looking at different options, choosing engineering school to pursue his passion for developing new solutions. “When I was young, I was just fascinated about how things worked. Whether it was the telephone or a calculator or a typewriter, I took a lot of stuff apart as a kid and was able to put some of it together,” he said.

As some of the economic and environmental problems took over the news in 2015, David found himself wanting to look for solutions, rather than just looking at the problems.

“There were a lot of people talking, but I didn’t see a lot of people doing. I didn’t see a lot of people solving,” he said. “I thought to myself, well, you know, if engineers are basically professional problem solvers, maybe if I get into engineering, then I could be one of those people coming up with solutions. And that was it for me.”

David was looking for a strong Mechanical Engineering program close to home and was sold the first time he stepped foot on the Cal State LA campus. Between the ease of getting there on the Metro, the look of the campus, and the welcome of the faculty and staff, David knew it was a perfect fit.

“I just felt like I could learn here,” said David.

David dove headfirst into his classes and the campus community. A proud member of the Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society, he found a strong support community, and he also found that the faculty at Cal State LA ECST were truly invested in his success.

After graduating with his BS in Mechanical Engineering, David continued for his MS in Materials Science and Engineering.

As a graduate student, David was invited to advise the honor society and support others the way he felt supported. “It was my opportunity to learn how to take everything I’ve learned and mentor.”

A lot of the lessons that David learned during his time at Cal State LA have been about managing himself and his efforts.  At first it was a rough couple of years, but once he got it, “it was aces the whole way.” David shared, “the best piece of advice I can give is to relax, take a breath, and think about what needs to get done. Identify what you can do and when you can do it. Learn to budget your time, prioritize, and delegate when appropriate. It's going to happen as long as you just keep at it.”

David recognizes the impact his family has had on who he is. “I get my resilience and drive from my mom. She made sure my little sister and I had all the support we needed no matter what the situation was. She encouraged my curiosity and to always ask why.” In elementary school, David’s mother worked extra to afford a set of encyclopedias and anytime he had a question, she told him to go look it up. “Little did I know she was teaching me how to do research.”

When Dr. Chris Bachman asked David to do research in The Sustainable Technology Lab, David jumped at the opportunity. During his time there, he was exposed to a variety of projects that showed him how to approach research and was supported by funding from the National Science Foundation Center for Advancement Towards Sustainable Urban Systems (CATSUS) and the Sikand Center for Sustainable and Intelligent Infrastructure (Sikand SITI-Center).

“By the time I got to research, I felt well prepared for it, because I felt like the classes that I'd taken beforehand taught me what I needed to know, to be able to do the work that kind of research required,” said David. “It was really cool to be able to take the theory of the classroom and be able to actually implement that.”

In addition to his two research experiences, he completed two successful internships at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory focused on batteries for the Venus Aerobot Mission. As a recent Cal State LA graduate, David is hoping to work at a start-up in Pasadena working on a different battery chemistry.

David was encouraged by the supportive nature of the people who work at ECST. “That’s one of my favorite things about Cal State LA: whether it was the ECST Advising Center, my undergraduate advisor, or the department coordinator, I knew there was somebody who would take the time to help me. When you show that you are driven to succeed, the faculty at ECST are amazing at helping you get there.”

David’s graduate advisor and mentor, Dr. Bachman, was not only someone he felt he could learn from but wanted to emulate. David shared that one day he wants to lead a research team “the way that Bachman does it, where everybody feels like they are important, everybody feels like they are seen, everybody feels they are valued, and everybody contributes to the best of their ability. I would love to lead a team like that.”

Thanks to David’s studies, research work, internship experiences, and the mentorship of his professor at Cal State LA, he feels set up to succeed. “Everything up until this point has been one goal after another. And if you meet every one of those goals; no one's ever going to take that away from you. So set the goals, but while you're working towards it, try to keep your eyes and ears open – and an open mind about different opportunities and possibilities.”

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