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'Completionist' Finds Way to Mechanical Engineering

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Posted on May 9, 2020

Thomas Becnel

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Some students know what they want and zip right through the University of South Alabama. Others zig and zag, changing their minds and majors, before finding a path to graduation.

Then there鈥檚 Bryant Baldwin, who took the scenic route.

After a year of music 鈥� he鈥檚 a percussionist 鈥� he tried pre-pharmacy. Wasn鈥檛 for him. Then exercise science. Another poor fit. Finally, he found a home as a transfer student to South in mechanical engineering, even though that meant catching up and grinding through enough calculus to earn a minor in mathematics.

鈥淚t was a slog,鈥� he said, laughing. 鈥淚t was hard.鈥�

Baldwin, 24, wound up becoming president of the Mathematics & Statistics Club, along with the Biomedical Engineering Society Interest Club. He landed an internship at Austal USA and was named an Engineering Ambassador. He began doing research and writing papers about cardiac problems in breast cancer patients.

The titles of his work include 鈥淔ully Automated, MRI-based Left-Ventricular Contractibility Analysis in Breast Cancer Patients Following Chemotherapy.鈥� Also 鈥淚nvestigating Subclinical Cardiotoxicity in Long-Term Breast Cancer Survivors With DENSE-based 3D Strain Analysis.鈥�

After graduation this spring, Baldwin will continue his research this summer in South's College of Engineering graduate school.

鈥淚鈥檓 a completionist,鈥� he said, coining a word. 鈥淚 want to complete the project we鈥檝e been working on.鈥�

Dr. Julia Kar, Baldwin鈥檚 adviser, helped him find his niche in biomedical engineering. All he needed was an opportunity.

鈥淏ryant is the most brilliant student I have had the privilege to mentor,鈥� Kar said. 鈥淗e is perceptive, insightful and innovative beyond his young age. He will always be an asset to the mechanical engineering department and to USA.鈥�

Baldwin is a Mobile native who grew up just north of the South campus. His mother is a retired schoolteacher with a master鈥檚 degree. His father is a civil engineer who works for the state Department of Transportation.

He likes to tease his dad about the superiority of mechanical engineering, but knows there are limits.

鈥淚 still live at home,鈥� Baldwin, 鈥渟o I鈥檓 trying to tread carefully.鈥�

He grew up playing the drums. At Baker High School, he was part of a marching band that traveled to Hawaii for a prep competition. After graduation, he earned a scholarship and spent a year studying music in Florida.

He also grew up playing golf. He competed on his high school team and still has a 5-handicap rating. During college, he鈥檚 given lessons and sold golf equipment at department stores.

The sport has helped him mingle with executives in the corporate world.

鈥淲herever I鈥檝e done internships, I鈥檝e played with the managers,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen I hit my first shot, they go 鈥楿h-oh.鈥� They actually say that.鈥�

Baldwin finds it easy to talk and joke with people. When he sits down for an interview outside Shelby Hall, other students stop to chat. When a pair of professors walk by, he鈥檚 the one who begins the banter. A custodian coming down the walk gets the same easy tone.

He knows his outgoing nature makes him different from a lot of engineers, or at least the stereotype of a lot of engineers. He can鈥檛 imagine a job that doesn鈥檛 involve working with other people. He鈥檚 the student who鈥檚 always forming study groups and leading campus organizations.

鈥淓very time, I say I鈥檓 never going to do this again,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd then I end up being president of two more groups. At a certain point, it鈥檚 like a lifestyle.鈥�

When he鈥檚 not studying late into the night, Bryant enjoys sushi, rap music and travel. For his research, he鈥檚 been from Boston to Orlando and Philadelphia to Anaheim.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot more to the world than I thought,鈥� he said.

At South, he used to work as a math tutor. He compares it to teaching someone how to play golf. The payoff comes after toil and struggle, when the student finally grasps a concept and finds a groove.

Bryant thinks he learned from his false starts before arriving at South. Truth is elusive, and it鈥檚 not easy to find where you belong. It鈥檚 always good to look for help and ask for advice.

He remembers an early conversation with Dr. David Nelson, chair of South鈥檚 William B. Burnsed Jr. department of mechanical engineering.

鈥淗e told me mechanical engineering is a lot of problem solving, with a lot of moving parts,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat sounded good. I鈥檓 a big problem solver. I love doing that.鈥�

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