.cls-1{fill:#fff;} Connect with WHOI: .cls-1{fill:none;}.cls-2{clip-path:url(#clip-path);}.cls-3{fill:#fff;} HOME SPECIAL SERIES ARTICLES SUBSCRIBE Summer with Sentry: Intern Renee Gruner-Mitchell By Hannah Piecuch | October 13, 2021 Renee Gruner-Mitchell with Sentry while the autonomous underwater vehicle was home for maintenance. In this picture the vehicle has its outer skin removed and syntactic foam showing. (Photo by Hannah Piecuch, © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) Renee Gruner-Mitchell is a senior at Worcester Polytechnic Institute majoring in mechanical engineering with a focus in robotics and a minor in business. She grew up on Cape Cod, Massachusetts and has known about ocean exploration vehicles at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) for as long as she can remember. This summer Gruner-Mitchell interned with the Sentry group while the vehicle was in port for summer maintenance. Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Sentry is operated by the National Deep Submergence Facility at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Oceanus: What did you gain from working with the Sentry group? Renee: I wanted to learn what the day-to-day life of an ocean engineer is like. At school, I work on something for seven weeks, put my heart and soul into it, and then put it out of my mind and move on to the next term. I wanted to apply what I was learning and get more hands-on experience. I wanted to learn what skill sets I actually need for a career in this field. I was surprised by how hands-on this internship was! I never touched a fancy calculator this summer. But I learned how to make CAD drawings and turn a sketch into a reality—how to turn this little 2D thing on a computer into something people can actually use. Oceanus: What part of Sentry did you work on? Renee: I worked on support equipment for the vehicle—a structure to help discharge the batteries and a testing stand for the thrusters. I loved doing my projects that I was able to take from start to finish. But I also loved being able to just help out when someone needed a hand. I learned how to service different parts of Sentry—how to check a device out, disassemble, and clean it. I helped out a bit with the junction-boxes. Since Sentry is hardwired, everything that is wired goes back to the junction-box. It is kind of the heart of the vehicle. I love puzzles. I think that is why I love engineering. I love seeing how the pieces of Sentry fit and how they work together. AUV Sentry is suspended over the water during a deployment. (Photo by Chris German, © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) Oceanus: How did this experience impact your career goals? Renee: I’ve always known that my career will be something that works towards bettering the ocean. Engineering is really a foundational aspect of policy change. Engineers provide equipment for scientists to get data, scientists write papers, and hopefully those papers inform policy. In the future, I want to see how I can be more directly involved in that chain. I want to see actual change in how we treat our oceans. The National Deep Submergence Facility hosts interns to work with Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Sentry, Remotely Operated Vehicle Jason, and Human Occupied Vehicle Alvin through the MATE program. They also consider individual applicants and are in the process of establishing long-term partnerships with specific universities that will create opportunities for populations that are underrepresented in ocean engineering. The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is dedicated to advancing knowledge of the ocean and its connection with the Earth system through a sustained commitment to excellence in science, engineering, and education, and to the application of this knowledge to problems facing society. LEARN MORE » RESEARCH Areas of Research Departments & Centers Programs & Projects Ships & Technology Data & Repositories ACADEMICS Graduate Postdoctoral Undergraduate Guest Students K-12 Resources Accreditation AROUND WHOI Directions & Maps Events Calendar Discovery Center Visitor Center Summer Tours ShopWHOI RESOURCES Career Opportunities People Directory Community Housing Annual Reports MBLWHOI Library Diversity & Inclusion GET INVOLVED Our work is not possible without you. GIVE NOW JOIN US SHOP WHOI JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST GET CONNECTED © 2021 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy General Information: information@whoi.edu or (508) 548-1400 | Website inquiries: webdev@whoi.edu | Media inquiries: media@whoi.edu We use cookies to analyze site usage and improve user experience. By continuing on this site, you consent to their use. Read our Privacy Policy for more info and to amend settings. OK