West Virginia Wesleyan College

Department of Physics and Engineering

Graduates Employed in Mechanical Engineering

_____________________________________ Mechanical engineers apply the principles of physics to design moving systems. They use Newton’s laws and the laws of thermodynamics to design such things as cars, industrial machinery, and heating and cooling systems. _____________________________________ Chris Andrews is a mechanical engineer at Siemens Diesel Systems in S.C. Andy Aurelio (M.S., WVU) works as a project manager at the Federal Energy Technology Center in Morgantown, W.Va. Andy reports, “My work is related to my M.S. research in coal.” Rod Barcenilla (M.S., University of Arkansas) works as a designer of ventilation system for new Walmart centers. John Bowen (M.S., UVa) is a vice-president at Mega-Tech Systems in Mechanicsville, Va. Dan Booze designs high voltage and air conditioning systems at Gipe Associates in Maryland. Tylanvis Burris performs engineering design work at Kaydon, Inc., in Maryland. The company produces parts for jet fighter engines and missiles. Bill Carpenter (M.S., WVU) is a mechanical engineer at Westvaco in Covington, Va. Jimmy Choi works at Hynix Semiconductors in Korea as a test engineer for mobile phones. The company supplies mobile phones for Motorola and Apple. Tom Damiani (Ph.D., WVU) works at Bechtel-Bettis in Pittsburgh. He designs nuclear power systems for probes to be sent deep into outer space. Adam Hunnell (M.S., Case Western Reserve University) works as a mechanical engineer at the Blue Bird School Bus Company in Georgia. Phil Lemire (M.S., UVa) writes, “My research involved fluid flow in an artificial heart. I made a presentation at a conference of the Society of Artificial Internal Organs. I am now employed at the National Ground Intelligence Center in Charlottesville, VA.”

Jason Martin (M.S., UVa) writes, “I work Bechtel-Bettis at the Naval Nuclear Weapons School in Charleston, S.C. Jason trains Navy personnel on operating the nuclear reactors on submarines and aircraft carriers.” Morgan Meadows (M.S., University of Colorado at Boulder) reports, “I am a process engineer in the dry etch department at IM Flash Technologies in Utah. The company is a semiconductor manufacturer that makes memory chips for companies such an Intel.” Chad Moore (M.S., Georgia Tech) writes, “My research topic involved rapid prototyping. It required knowledge of lasers that I learned in my Electro-Optics Lab at Wesleyan. I was selected for this project because I was the only student at Georgia Tech with this knowledge. Now I am working as a mechanical engineering for General Motors. I have worked at their facilities in Mexico and Detroit.” Chad recently got promoted and will be moving to GM’s Oklahoma City facility. Valerie Keefer Oldaker (M.S., WVU) writes, “I am a Quality Control Specialist at Toyota Manufacturing in West Virginia. My favorite duty is to make performance tests on our engines. I have a career that I really love.” Marie Woolwine Rasmussen works as mechanical engineer at Caterpillar in Peoria, IL, with the C7/C9 engine group. Izumi Sekiguchi designs bumpers for Nissan Motors. Izumi returned for a visit to Wesleyan in August, 2010. Gary Snow is a mechanical engineer at Lockheed-Martin in Mississippi. Gary Valkavitch (M.S., UVa) works at Bechtel Plant Machinery back home in Pittsburgh. Wes Wilson (M.S., WVU) is a mechanical engineer at the Naval Surface Warfare Division in Maryland. Josh Wong (Ph.D., University of Sydney) is a professor of mechanical engineer at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.