Gwen Eging

Opportunities for hands-on engineering and the chance to work with faculty members who have made notable achievements in their professions drew Gwen Eging to Arizona State University.

“I want to make wearables and prosthetics that help people. Robotics seemed like the best opportunity to do that,” Eging says.  

She chose to enroll in The Polytechnic School, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at ASU. To broaden her skillset, she also took classes in electrical engineering and industrial automation. Her interest in real-world applications led to a summer internship at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

“It was the most productive and coolest project I was involved in,” she says. “It helped reignite my passion for engineering at a time when I needed it.” 

Eging brought that innovation back to campus through roles that connected engineering and creativity. She taught sewing workshops at ASU’s Innovation Hub, served as a teaching assistant for two upper-level engineering courses and participated in the Fulton Undergraduate Research Initiative program, researching optimization strategies for kinetically charged batteries that could power wearable devices. She also expanded her knowledge as a student mentor in ASU’s Barrett, The Honors College.

A sophomore project remains one of Eging’s proudest engineering moments. She led a team in modifying a John Deere Gator to run on propane — a project that involved weeks of machining, problem-solving and persistence. When they drove the propane-powered Gator into class and saw everyone’s jaws drop, it made the long hours and challenges worth it, she says.

After graduation, Eging will continue her education through the Fulton Schools Accelerated Master’s degree program in manufacturing. She is exploring system integration roles while pursuing her passion for designing next-generation robotic prosthetics and wearable medical devices. ​​ 

Eging foresees the knowledge and skills she has gained through education impacting more aspects of her life than simply her professional career.

“All that I’ve learned has changed how I see things. There aren’t any more roadblocks, just new opportunities to create something,” she says.

Eging believes engineering is a creative discipline at its core.

“Projects are the most fun when there is an actual user behind them,” Eging says. “Figuring out how to solve a problem in a unique way is thrilling. I am an artist at heart, and engineering is just another way to create something that makes life better for someone else.” 

Favorites

Hobby: Ballroom dancing
Movie: A Knight’s Tale
Activity: Lifting weights
Geeky possession: Toothless Onesie
Games: Helldivers 2 (video game) Munchkin (board game)

Read about other exceptional graduates of the Fulton Schools’ fall 2025 class.

Written by Joe Kullman