Stephen Rakocy
Stephen Rakocy was born an engineer.
In high school, he took engineering classes as part of Ohio’s Project Lead the Way, an initiative to increase the number of students studying STEM fields – science, technology, engineering and mathematics. At YSU, the University Scholar graduates this spring with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Mathematics minor. This fall, he will continue his education at the University of Florida. where he is enrolled, straight from undergraduate, with a fellowship in the engineering Ph.D. program.
Rakocy’s interests lie in vehicle dynamics, all aspects of vehicle design, and the interaction between the vehicle and its environment. Whether automotive, aerospace or nautical, if it involves mechanical motion and performance, Stephen is fascinated.
A North Canton native, he enjoys golf, skiing, soccer, dodgeball and other intramural sports when on campus. Rakocy is also the president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers at YSU, the vice president of Tau Beta Pi, an engineering honor society, and is the head undergraduate lab and teaching assistant on campus.
YSU is quickly becoming a family affair, as Rakocy’s father earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, his mother, a bachelor’s in food and nutrition, and now his University Scholar younger brother, Samuel, is following in Stephen’s mathematics footsteps.
After Stephen earns his doctorate of mechanical engineering, he hopes to continue his research in the industry.