The 3rd Annual Engineering Roundtable at Northeast Texas Community College was held on Friday, April 1, 2016 in the Student Union Building on campus. Since 2014, this event has become an annual opportunity for both students who are currently enrolled in the NTCC engineering program and students from area high schools who are interested in the field of engineering. Glen Calvert, P.E., General Manager of Priefert Complex Designs, gave the keynote address. He spoke about the characteristics necessary for a successful career in engineering and challenged the students to cultivate those life qualities. NTCC adjunct engineering faculty member, Roger Farr, highly engaged the students in the ?Let?s Get Started? session. For this year, this introductory warm-up was a teamwork activity to pair famous inventions with the respective year of discovery.
The following guest engineers led small group discussions by discussing their college experience and careers as professional engineers:
- Tim Berry, Civil Engineer, Texas Department of Transportation
- Les Brown, P.E, Principal & Sr. Mechanical Engineer, Baird-Hampton-Brown
- Glen Calvert, P.E., General Manager, Priefert Complex Designs, Priefert Manufacturing
- Kenneth Calvert, P.E., Petroleum Engineer, Retired
- Kevin Chumbley, P.E., Project Manager of Public Works for the City of Longview
- Clint Collier, Engineering Manager, Priefert Manufacturing
- Tod Corbin, P.E., Electric Power Engineer, Manager of Engineering and Operations for Bowie-Cass Electric Cooperative, Inc.
- Roger Farr, M.S. ChE, Chemical Engineer, NTCC Adjunct Faculty Member Engineering, President of Principled Living, LLC.
- Andrea Graham, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Industrial Engineering and Technology Management at Texas A&M University-Commerce
- Keith Holmes, P.E., Electrical Engineer, Principal Engineer, Luminant Power
- Kenneth L. Irizarry, P.E., M.S., REM, Industrial Engineer, Professor of Engineering, Northeast Texas Community College
- Brian Johnson, Senior Mechanical Engineer, Mission Integration Division of L-3 Communications
- Lee Jordan, Mechanical Engineer, Priefert Manufacturing
- Roger Ledbetter, P.E., Area Civil Engineer, Texas Dept. of Transportation
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When sophomore engineering major, Arturo Flores, was asked about his experience at the roundtable, he said, ?The conversations I had with the professional engineers gave me insight of what my life could be like ten years from now. It was very helpful to get the chance to ask questions. Listening to them talk about their jobs gave me a better understanding of what a career in engineering is like.?
Chase Hiles, a freshman engineering major, added, ?This was a great experience that I was glad I was able to attend. The roundtable gave me many opportunities to search around and talk to many different engineers from many fields for me to learn how they work on a daily basis. It was great to seek new ideas of interests and talk one-on-one with engineers themselves which most students do not get the opportunity to do.?
Will Villalobos, a sophomore majoring in petroleum engineering, said, ?Northeast Texas Community College's engineering roundtable was informational, professional, and well-worth the time. There were plenty of engineers from various disciplines to answer all of your questions. Personally, I enjoyed being able to talk to these engineers and further expand my network.?
Another freshman engineering student, Haley Furlow commented, ?The engineering roundtable was a great experience and opportunity to make connections. I met many successful engineers who had many different and interesting stories to tell about their jobs that made a career in engineering seem even more interesting. Overall, the engineering roundtable convinced me that engineering is what I want to do with my life.?
During lunch, Dr. Bouwens, NTCC Professor of Physics, introduced Thorondor, the new supercomputer of the NTCC Physics and Engineering Department. He explained the details of the design and the extraordinary capabilities of the supercomputer that will be used to 1) calculate high precision numerical analyses 2) simulate many-body systems via Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics, 3) generate 3D electron orbital and molecule models, and 4) conduct research.
Fifty-seven of the 80 attendees were students of the NTCC engineering program, Mt. Pleasant High School, Winnsboro High School, Pittsburg High School, Chapel Hill High School, Daingerfield High School, and Hughes Springs High School. Each student was assigned to four roundtable discussions during the event. Each of these discussions was led by a guest engineer.
For more information about the NTCC Engineering Program of Study, contact Dr. Mark Bouwens (mbouwens@ntcc.edu), Professor of Physics, Kenneth Irizarry, P.E., (kirizarry@ntcc.edu), Professor of Engineering, or Dr. Paula Wilhite (pwilhite@ntcc.edu), Division Chair of Mathematics, Physics, & Engineering.
