Shorewood grad will work as patent engineer at Boise law firm

Shorewood grad Lauren Smith
Photo courtesy University of Idaho

Shorewood and University of Idaho graduate Lauren Smith will be working with the law firm Holland and Hart in Boise.

After graduation with a degree in Electrical Engineering, Lauren will start her career as a patent engineer for Holland and Hart. She interned for the law firm the summer before her senior year.

Lauren has participated in some award-winning research at U of I.

“My engineering courses have taught me how to face challenges, think about the problems from multiple angles and work to overcome them with perseverance and grace.

“Solving technical problems is an exciting challenge for me. It is important to me to be able to keep up with current technologies and think about new ways to solve problems that arise.”

Smith was part of the award-winning research and entrepreneurial team developing a virtual fence for rangeland cattle using signals between local beacons to keep cattle within a specific boundary without fencing, a GPS signal or cellular connection.

“Engineering requires continuous learning, research and problem-solving,” she said. "All of my courses over the past four years have pushed me to grow a much more open mindset, which has improved my self-confidence."

Smith said working under former U of I assistant professor Sameh Sorour to research Autonomous Electric Mobility On-Demand was a huge learning experience.

“I walked out of that experience with a lot of new knowledge not only about electric vehicles and AEMoD systems, but with new skills solving problems in MATLAB, drafting letters and journals in LaTeX, and working on a research team.”

Lauren Smith studied in China for a summer
Photo courtesy University of Idaho

A Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) recipient, Smith also received the U of I Honors Scholarship Endowment all four years, the William and Magdalene Parish Scholarship, the Boeing Company Scholarship, and Lyla Schroeder Memorial Scholarship.

She received a grant to study abroad in China during the summer after her sophomore year as part of the Department of Electrical Engineering’s cooperative program through the Wenzheng College of Soochow University in Suzhou, China.