Class of 2024: Victoria Rambo's Passion found at Virginia Tech's foundry
Senior Victoria Rambo’s experience learning and working as a woman in steel fueled her fiery passion for materials science and landed her a job at one of the world’s leading specialty alloy companies.
Name: Victoria Rambo
Major: Materials Science and Engineering
Hometown: Bel Air, Maryland
Fun fact: I have a twin sister, so I'm the youngest of four kids, but only by 20 minutes.
Organizations: President of the American Foundry Society Student Chapter
Job after graduation: I'm going to be working for Carpenter Technologies, and I'm going to be a research and development associate metallurgist in their associate metallurgist program.
Favorite Hokie memory: I honestly think my favorite Hokie memory is being here at the foundry. My freshman year I was overwhelmed by the number of engineering major options. I didn't know what I wanted to do. Then, during the first week of my sophomore year, I came into this lab and met Dr. Druschitz, and I’ve had nothing but great experiences since then. His mentorship has been instrumental in success here at Virginia Tech. I wouldn’t trade my foundry experience for anything.
Casting a solid workforce for the future
Women make up only 17 percent of those working in primary metals and fabricated metal products. Victoria Rambo is hoping to spark change and encourage more women to pursue the materials science and engineering major by sharing her experience. There are only 21 Foundry Educational Foundation Certified schools in the United Sates, making Virginia Tech a unique place for students to learn more about this foundational discipline.
Here’s what Victoria had to say about her time as a woman in STEM, teaching assistant, and undergraduate researcher at the Kroehling Advanced Materials Foundry:
What initially drew you to the Foundry at Virginia Tech?
The foundry is just such a cool place. We have engineering students from all different majors come to our lab. I love being able to work with students from the design and competition teams and help them with projects by creating something specific for their needs. Students of all engineering disciplines can come here to draw a specific part they want made for their project. Once that component is sketched, and they understand the material properties behind it, then they can make that part come to life. Making something tangible is what really captivated me. One great example of this is the missile fins that we made for the Human-Powered Submarine Team.
How has the foundry prepared you to enter the workforce?
The foundry has prepared me for the workforce because I’m getting hands-on experience, and also developing other skills like learning how to write a technical report. I’ve even been able to do research as an undergrad with Dr. Druschitz, which has been really cool. I was a sophomore when I started working in this lab. Now that I'm a senior, I've had three years of experience with casting and pouring and learning how to use Magma, which is an industry specific software.
I've also had the chance to work on projects with graduate students as a research lab assistant. For my own research, I even developed a new ductile iron alloy that I’m thrilled to be submitting for a patent alongside my professor here at Virginia Tech. This alloy will be primarily used for automotive safety applications such as chassis parts and exhaust manifolds.
Could you briefly explain the Magma software that you use in the foundry?
Magma is used to insert and create designs of unique gating systems which guide metal into casting molds most efficiently. The software has the capability to suggest and simulate the most optimal design. It’s designed to do a ton of autonomous experimentation in order to make castings most efficient to avoid wasting metal and other materials on designs that are less than optimal. When we use this software, we can test 40, 50, or even 100 designs all at once. You wouldn’t want to do that by hand and make a new mold every single time; it would create an incredible amount of waste.
How has experience using Magma software made you competitive in the materials and manufacturing job market?
When I was interviewing for jobs in the foundry industry, companies really liked that I knew how to use Magma. Many of these companies are using this software themselves and so, compared to graduates from other universities, I was already a big step ahead in terms of applicable experience.
What advice would you give to people just getting into casting and pouring?
It's all about trying new things and getting hands on experience. We are fortunate at Virginia Tech in that not a lot of students at other universities even get to try pouring and casting firsthand. I’ve always felt like college is the time to figure out what you want to do, so I’ve always been passionate about students coming out here to just give it a try.
Did you receive any scholarships during your time at Virginia Tech?
Yes! I actually received some scholarships from the Foundry Educational Foundation (FEF). FEF works with the American Foundry Society chapter to support the next generation of the foundry workforce. Students who are very involved, demonstrate great leadership qualities, and are doing well academically are supported with scholarships to encourage them to later work in the metal casting industry. I’ve received a few of those scholarships and they have really helped me. I also received the American Iron and Steel Technology (AIST) Foundation Intern Scholarship, which is a $7500 scholarship accompanied by a guaranteed internship. When I accepted that scholarship, I also got an internship working in a melt shop at a steel mill. It was cool to see this work on a much larger scale. That scholarship and internship led to other funding opportunities too, which has helped lessen the financial burden for my family as an out-of-state student.
What’s it like being a female in this field?
In general, when you look at the foundry industry, the steel industry, and the metal casting industry, it’s very male dominant, but there are so many jobs available. I was actually interviewed for a book that is on pre-order right now, and it's called Women in Steel. The author wrote a chapter about me and my experiences here as a female working in the foundry at Virginia Tech. There have been times where I’ve felt out of place or like the minority, but there are also a lot of people who have been really supportive of me and my journey. It’s been great to have such a strong community and I hope I can give that same support back to other women in STEM in the future.
