Mechanical engineering senior awarded top scholarship by national society

Auburn mechanical engineering senior Collin Phillips was awarded the Legacy of Excellence Scholarship by the Society of Maintenance and Reliability Professionals for the 2017-2018 academic year.

The Legacy of Excellence Scholarship is one of five scholarships offered by the society, and this year’s $10,000 gift is their largest amount ever awarded to a student.

Collin Phillips

“Receiving this scholarship is an honor and a privilege because it means that others believe that I can have an impact on maintenance and reliability in industry,” Phillips said. “Due to this scholarship, I am able to focus on my education and my career for my senior year. To me, that’s the most meaningful gift someone can give to a student.”

Phillips is on track to graduate in May 2018. The Mobile native said he discovered tribology – the study of friction, wear and lubrication – in his engineering orientation class and decided to add it as a minor.

“Auburn tribology helped me land my first of three internships with Chevron,” he said. “It’s also helped me explore my career interests through several research projects and provided additional scholarship opportunities for me, along with this one. I couldn’t have had the success I’ve had at Auburn without the tribology program and the College of Engineering.”

Auburn tribology program director and professor Robert Jackson said he is not surprised Collin was selected to receive the scholarship.

“Through my interactions with Collin in the Tribology Minor Program, I have come to know him very well,” Jackson said. “Collin is an enthusiastic, self-motivating and inquisitive person. He has shown himself to be a leader through his involvement in several student organizations and among students in academic activities. I see him excelling in whatever career path he chooses and believe he will one day be a leader in the national and international engineering community.”

The Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals is a nonprofit professional society formed by practitioners to develop and promote excellence in maintenance, reliability and physical asset management while creating leaders in the profession.