Two Engineering Students Receive Pitt Staff Council Endowed Book Fund Scholarships
Two students at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering received the 2023 Pitt Staff Council Endowed Book Fund scholarships. University staff member donations fund the annual $500 scholarships, which are awarded to two outstanding Pitt students with a parent or guardian who is a dedicated Pitt staff member. The awards were presented at the Chancellor’s Staff Recognition Ceremony, which took place on June 16, 2023.
This year’s awardees are:
Tyler Bindas is a rising senior studying Chemical Engineering in the Swanson School of Engineering. Throughout his academic journey, Tyler has received many awards and scholarships from Woodland Hills high school, the University, and the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation. He shows his leadership by helping lead a team for the Chem-E-Car competition and being the External Vice President for the American Institute of Chemical Engineers organization. Tyler is also involved in other University extracurricular activities such as Engineering Student Council and Engineers without Borders. With these organizations and other initiatives, he has volunteered for the community in various ways including Habitat for Humanity, Adopt-A-Block and has participated in PMADD. In addition to these activities, Tyler has found time to work as a teaching assistant in engineering and has shown his strong leadership and work ethic during his CO-OP experience with BASF as a process engineer. In his free time, Tyler enjoys building puzzles, Legos, board games and card games, walking his dog and baking cookies – especially with his mom for the holidays. Tyler’s mother, Sharon Bindas, has over 30 years of experience at the University of Pittsburgh, earned her MBA at Pitt, and currently works in the School of Computing and Information.
Tomas Mayer-Costa is studying mechanical engineering with a focus on nuclear engineering in the Swanson School of Engineering. Tomas is very involved here at Pitt as he is the chapter treasurer for the American Nuclear Society, the First Year Committee Chair for Engineering Student Council, and a First Year Engineering Peer Mentor. In addition to being a teaching assistant in engineering, last summer he was an intern with Westinghouse. Tomas is currently also a research assistant in the Multiscale Thermophysics lab with Dr. Heng Ban and this summer is working at the Naval Nuclear Laboratories with a testing team for aircraft carriers used by the US Navy. Tomas has experience with grant writing and is considering pursuing his PhD in Nuclear Engineering and hopes to make the world a safe place through the implementation of carbon-free energy. He is also considering using his talents in academia later to assist in teaching the next generation of nuclear engineers. In his free time, Tomas enjoys running, cycling, soccer, basketball, reading, cooking and music. Tomas’s mother, Meg Mayer-Costa, is a registered dietician and has worked for the University for more than 20 years.
