A student recruitment publication for Rose-Hulman once featured two children using Lego bricks as building blocks to their future. Nearby was the simple statement, “You’ve known it since you were a kid…”

That message, intended to resonate with STEM-passionate kids, symbolizes Katie Collins’ passionate pursuit of engineering and technology that could impact others.

Her childhood in Terre Haute, Indiana, was driven by an insatiable curiosity, creating new things and diving into the details of how things worked. She would craft a robot out of paper or make a car out of a shoebox and plastic wheels, and sought robotics toys as Christmas and birthday presents.

Later, Collins was exploring her growing interests in all things involving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics by attending numerous STEM education outreach programs offered at nearby Rose-Hulman, recognized for having the nation’s top-ranked undergraduate engineering program. A transformative experience came as she became involved in a FIRST Robotics competition team as a high school extracurricular activity, creating robots to accomplish challenging tasks. 

"STEM is where I always wanted to be. It was the place where I felt the most comfortable,” she recalled, her eyes lighting up with the same excitement that fueled her childhood experiments. “I’ve always wanted to learn how everything works and how to make things. I wanted to be one of those people that were making new things and innovating."

Collins has been doing that for the past four years as a computer engineering student at Rose-Hulman, demonstrating her technical brilliance and humanitarian spirit along the way.

As an intern this past summer at DEKA Research & Development in Manchester, New Hampshire, she developed software for a Federal Drug Administration-approved insulin pump. (Getting the opportunity to attend a social event at the home of superstar innovator/entrepreneur Dean Kamen.) An earlier internship with the college’s new product development studio, Rose-Hulman Ventures, provided the opportunity to design and implement an embedded electronic system for an automated medical tissue washing device, working within a multidisciplinary team to replace a real-world client’s existing manual, by-hand process.

In classroom projects, Collins has designed an embedded system for a four-axis robotic arm, programmed in the C computer language, within a strict three-week production timeline – earning best project honors. She’s spending her senior year working on a multidisciplinary project that’s developing an open-source, educational robotics platform involving a bipedal wheeled robot. 

Collins’ commitment to expanding access to technological education has included volunteering more than 700 hours to teach high school, middle school, and elementary school students in her hometown about programming and robotics through FIRST Robotics programs (founded by Kamen). She is the educational outreach coordinator for FIRST Robotics Competition’s Team 5188 (consisting of Vigo County School Corporation students) – coming full circle with the project that originally inspired her interest in robotics – and bringing technology to local school classrooms through the FIRST LEGO League program.

"The most fulfilling experience of my life has been my involvement with FIRST Robotics Competition Team 5188. It’s neat to see the kids getting excited about robotics, just like I did,” Collins shared. The team hasn't just been about building robots; it’s been about building futures. As she developed her skills in programming and electronics, she discovered something more profound – a calling to create opportunities for others. 

This has had Collins collaborating with Lawrence J. Giacoletto Chair and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Carlotta Berry, PhD, to help develop open-source educational robots for classrooms throughout the country. She also has been involved with outreach projects for the Noblitt Scholars and Rose-BUD (Building Undergraduate Diversity) Scholars programs and taught elements of computer programming to VCSC’s Lost Creek Elementary School through Rose-Hulman’s Programming in the Community program. 

In the meantime, Collins has been studying mobile robotics, evolutionary robotics, robotics engineering, image recognition techniques, and deep learning this academic year to complete her computer engineering education (with minors in robotics and computer science) before graduation in May. A dream job awaits as an engineer developing cutting-edge Ethernet systems with Keysight Technologies’ network applications and security group. The ability to work remotely from Terre Haute will allow her to continue assisting with the FIRST Robotics team and other STEM outreach projects. 

“I’m now getting to take really cool robotics courses while still being involved in the FIRST Robotics program outside of classes. These are the kind of custom-designed experiences that I envisioned while originally looking forward to attending Rose-Hulman while in high school,” said Collins, a participant in the Noblitt Scholar program, which supports highly motivated, self-directed learners in turning their passion and knowledge into action. “I’ve learned all the things that I wanted to learn, sprinkled in with some neat internships and outside-the-classroom experiences. I have found the kind of people that match up with things that I’m really interested in. I’m happy with what I know and where that knowledge has me headed (for her career), while I know that there’s lots more to learn.” 

Summarizing her Rose-Hulman experiences, Collins stated, “The campus culture is so special here – from the really cool traditions (building the Homecoming bonfire and participating in residence life’s Greatest Floor Competition) to having students that will bend over backwards to help you to the caring faculty and staff that are always helping you get through any challenging times. There’s a focus on creating hands-on learning experiences and such a special welcoming educational environment that makes everyone succeed.”