The Purdue College of Engineering has selected Megan Renee Wentz, a senior in Multidisciplinary Engineering (MDE)—one of two undergraduate programs in the School of Engineering Education (ENE)—as a 2025-26 Purdue Engineering Fellow. She is the first student from MDE to earn this prestigious honor and is an exemplar who showcases the program’s strength in preparing interdisciplinary engineering leaders who make an impact on both technology and community.

The Purdue Engineering Fellows program, established in 2019 through the generosity of Robert H. Buckman (BSChE ’59) and Joyce A. Mollerup, recognizes seven graduating seniors each year for academic excellence, leadership, service, and innovation. Fellows receive a $25,000 award, are honored at a recognition ceremony, and have their photos displayed in the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering.

“Meg represents the very best of what Purdue Engineering strives to cultivate: a fearless innovator, a compassionate leader, and a lifelong learner,” said Justin Hess, Ph.D., who serves as interim co-director of MDE along with Morgan Hynes, Ph.D.

A Bold and Interdisciplinary Path

Wentz, from Cornelius, NC, began her studies in Industrial Engineering before transitioning to MDE to pursue her passion for space systems and satellite design. Her academic program, which includes a certificate in systems thinking, allowed her to tailor her education to match her career goals.

She has also distinguished herself through significant industry experiences:

• At L3Harris Technologies, she supported integration and testing of next-generation weather and missile warning satellites.
• At Caterpillar, she developed a scheduling algorithm that boosted production efficiency by 20%.
• At XGAnalytics, she designed MFG-GPT, which is an AI model that streamlined data retrieval across thousands of records.

Leadership and Community Impact

At Purdue, Wentz has demonstrated exceptional leadership. She has served in multiple roles with the Purdue Society of Women Engineers (SWE)—from Outreach Committee Chair to President—helping to expand school partnerships, grow outreach programs, and deliver more than 100 annual events.

Her technical leadership also extends to the Purdue Space Program’s CubeSat team, where she served as a Systems Engineer and Command and Data Handling Engineer. She coordinated sub-teams, conducted trade studies, and supported the design of Boiler Bus, a modular satellite platform.

Her nominators—Hess, Hynes and MDE academic advisor Christine Pekny—noted that beyond her technical accomplishments, Wentz is “deeply reflective, humble, and driven by a genuine desire to make a difference.”

As a Purdue Engineering Fellow, Wentz will join an elite cohort of peers for a year of leadership development, networking, and recognition. The Fellows program creates opportunities to engage with college leadership, connect with alumni and industry partners, and continue shaping the Purdue Engineering community.

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