Charles City graduate honored for scientific excellence

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

Dr. Austin Downey, an associate professor at the University of South Carolina, was recently recognized by the governor of South Carolina with the 2024 Young Scientist Award for Excellence in Scientific Research.

An accomplished engineer who holds patents for bridge stability sensors, performed research for the U.S. Air Force, and is the youngest tenured professor at South Carolina University, Austin has come far from his humble beginnings in Charles City and has overcome incredible hurdles along the way.

At 2 years old, Austin was inflicted with an ear infection that left him mostly hard of hearing, exasperating issues that would cause him to struggle in school as a child.

“By first grade it was obvious,” said Mike Downey, Austin’s father. “He was kind and compassionate, but I knew there was trouble ahead.”

While never formally diagnosed with a learning disability, Austin went through elementary school in the 1990s largely unable to speak or read. Still, in spite of his difficulties, his teachers at Lincoln Elementary saw the potential in him.

Donna Counsell, then a third grade teacher at Lincoln, once wrote “Austin always has a solution to every problem. He’s always thinking things over and over. We won’t be surprised when someday he’ll be a most famous inventor!”

Counsell couldn’t have known at the time how accurate her prediction would end up being, but her work and that of her colleagues put Austin on the path to success. From speech therapist Barb Johnson to reading teacher to middle school counselor Stuart Coulson, the teachers and administrators in Charles City helped Austin overcome his academic challenges.

“They believed he had a future,” said Mike Downey.

As he got older, Austin’s teachers also protected him from bullies and provided him a safe space to learn. Mike and Austin fondly remember shop teacher Al Nielson as being instrumental in sparking Austin’s love of science.

“Al Nielson took him under his wing. He took him into his shop and taught him how to weld,” said Mike. “That shop is where he learned his basic skills to do everything he needed to do.”

“Al Nielsen taught me more hard skills than anyone in my life,” said Austin. “Always let me work on machines and get my hands on projects. He really helped me understand what it is that I liked to do and lucky I was decent at it.”

Along with Nielsen, Austin recalls other mentors like metals teacher Jeff Masters, chemistry teacher Dan Pavlovich, and Spanish teacher Al Bode, who challenged him academically while helping him develop social skills.

Outside of school, Boy Scout troop advisor Murry Harris is also fondly remembered for being a positive presence in Austin’s childhood.

“What an outstanding guy, always giving back to the community,” said Austin. “Charles City is lucky to have him.”

While neither Austin nor Mike can recall every teacher that played a part in Austin’s education, they both say they are eternally grateful for helping him overcome his challenges and create opportunities for him to thrive.

“They’ve got to find just one area that they’re good at,” said Mike Downey.

And thrive he has, not only becoming a well regarded mechanical engineer, but also a teacher and mentor in his own right.

In 2018, Austin earned his Ph.D. in engineering mechanics, wind energy science, engineering and policy from Iowa State University. He then joined the Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing at South Carolina University’s Academy of Sciences, where he works on the development of ultra-low latency mechanics, developing technology that lowers the time between software making a calculation and the hardware’s physical ability to react.

The technology has practical applications for both civilian and military use, improving the capabilities of self-driving cars to hypersonic vehicles. It also has the potential to spur advancements in other fields like speech recognition, medical diagnosis and weather forecasting.

Along with the Young Scientist Award, Austin was also recently honored with the Fulbright Scholars Award, which will see him traveling to Sweden to guide students at Chalmers University of Technology and work on robotics and edge computing for maritime safety.

“I am excited for my faculty Fulbright in Sweden, where I look forward to exploring how universities can impact their communities,” said Austin after receiving the scholarship.

No matter how far Austin goes, the Downey family remains grateful to the Charles City teachers that were crucial in unlocking his potential.