Ever since he took an AP physics class at Philadelphia's Northeast High School that explored the electrical aspects of physics, Michael Samarco Jr. has been fascinated by the broad software and hardware applications that electrical engineering offers.

Then, when his first-year student team built and then directed a simple hovercraft by using Arduino software coding in their introduction to engineering class at Temple, his passion for electrical engineering was cemented.

Now, four years later, the dean's list student put his electrical engineering skills to good use again when his senior design project team created a multispectral imager for detecting surface and subsurface defects of a tomato. "Potentially, it could have applications for agriculture and food retailers, because you can detect bruises that aren't apparent to the naked eye," says Samarco.

This year Samarco also interned with the Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support site in Northeast Philadelphia. He analyzed data sheets about electronic parts—microcircuits, diodes, capacitors and sensors—to determine if better, alternatives exist for naval aircraft components.

"I like analyzing things and taking a look at what's under the hood, observing and piecing things together, and that's a lot of what we do in engineering," says Samarco, who is also a part-time Philadelphia Eagles usher.

His four years at Temple, Samarco acknowledges, have significantly changed him: "I take education much more seriously than I did in high school, and it's helped me grow and become much more interested in learning. I didn't used to focus on getting the work done perfectly. But with engineering, as Temple Engineering has taught me, you need to take all the steps possible to make sure you're accurate."

Although he is currently considering several job possibilities, ultimately, the member of Eta Kappa Nu, the national Electrical and Computer Engineering Honor Society hopes to earn a master's degree.

"I feel like I can never learn enough," says Samarco. "It's fun to learn new things. When you have that 'Aha' moment when you figure something out after the problem has been bothering you for weeks, it's really great. There's not another feeling like it."