Spotlights

Thinking outside the box — and outside in general — is what took Cory Tholl from a mechanical engineering graduate at Brigham Young University in 2004, to the president of Klymit, a multimillion-dollar camping gear company 15 years later.

Coming straight out of the fire (or rather the study of objects in fire) at Sandia National Laboratories, assistant professor Dr. Christopher Dillon is bringing his heat transfer expertise to the Brigham Young University Mechanical Engineering department.

Brigham Young University student Andres Peña has had a unique education involving three universities, three languages, two countries and a salvage car. As a junior studying aerospace in mechanical engineering, he is working toward a career that will take his studies out of this world.

In 1991, an internship working on thermal analysis for NASA launched Brigham Young University alumnus Boise Pearson into a 30-year career with the agency.

A Decade of Energy Improvement and Advocacy

Dr. Jeff Hill was half a mile away when he helped set off a half a pound of high explosive for a work experiment that bent the grass waves as the shock rolled toward him. This kind of high impact in both engineering and people is Dr. Hill’s focus as the newest faculty member in the Brigham Young University Mechanical Engineering Department.

When rockets take off or airplanes fly, all of their internal parts move, shake and bend because of various forces. How do you design those parts so they don’t break? Dr. Matt Allen’s structural dynamics research group is working on solutions to these types of problems.

Dr. Daniel Maynes decided to major in Mechanical Engineering through what he called “a process of elimination,” because he liked Chemistry, Math, Physics and did not like subjects like history. Maynes had narrowed down his focus to Engineering, Physics or Math before he left for his mission.

When Dr. Brian Jensen was in first grade, his favorite subjects were math and science, so his mom told him he should become an engineer. That early introduction led to the Brigham Young University professors major focus in the field of microsystems.

Experiments in the basement of the Clyde building on Brigham Young University campus was the beginning of an over two-decade career in mechanical engineering for BYU Alum Thomas Utley.

Cars have always captivated Brigham Young University student David Calabuig Jr. When he found a similar fascination with physics in high school, he set his sights on working as an engineer in the automotive industry.

Where Engineering, Entertainment, and Education Collide

Walking with Wonnacott: Pipsqueak engine malfunctions, contributions to work on a mars rover are just a few things that make life as a mechanical engineering major exciting for Alex Wonnacott.

Combustion and Commitment