Dear friends and partners of Marquette Engineering,
I am excited to share another issue of Marquette Engineer and its inspirational stories of our Marquette engineering students, faculty, staff, alumni and collaborators. This special digest showcases how our Marquette engineers ignite curiosity and creativity to lead bold change.
As I read our latest stories, I am inspired by the idea of magis throughout. Magis, Latin for “more,” is a term in Ignatian spirituality that is interpreted and lived out in various ways.
I appreciate the varied manifestations of magis and personally find it easiest to understand when I witness it in the acts of others. For me, magis is a calling to use our gifts to make things better in collaboration with others. More than just going “above and beyond,” magis calls us to step outside of our traditional roles and routines to discover new opportunities to serve others and God. I know it when I see it, especially when individuals are striving to better more than just themselves, but also a wider system and community around them. Magis is a collaboration of souls working toward higher service and greater impact together.
In one of our stories, we see how creative thinking and departure from traditional routines has sparked a new collaboration between Marquette University and Kohler Co. Kate Trevey and her collaborators have asked how things can be done differently and how the talents of Marquette and Kohler can intersect to develop truly innovative leaders.
In another story, we explore a biomedical engineer’s vision for a paradigm shift in cardiovascular treatment. Dr. Brandon Tefft recognizes an opportunity to use his talents to take our current treatments and implants to the next level and is pouring himself into this work to drive the field forward. For Tefft, each of his projects is a steppingstone for others to advance tissue engineering technology to new heights and new applications.
In our third story, we meet Ricardo Vega, a doctoral student in biomedical engineering who is taking on a unique balance of roles during his education. As he commits his hours to developing his expertise as a biomedical engineer and leading research projects to serve communities, he is also finding more hours to mentor and support younger students to be the best versions of themselves. His success comes from recognizing that his experiences and talents put him in a position to truly make a difference.
Please join me in celebrating these stories and supporting our Ignatian-inspired engineers! Consider how magis is on display in their work and let observations of those around you help shape your understanding of this inspiring and challenging concept.
With gratitude,
Dr. Kristina Ropella
Opus Dean
Opus College of Engineering
