For the past several years, representatives from the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Kansas City Plant (KCP) have come to Iowa State to recruit students in nearly every engineering discipline to help assemble and manufacture components for national defense systems.
The plant, which is managed and operated by Honeywell Federal Manufacturing and Technologies, offers students who are hoping to stay in the Midwest the opportunity to work at a large manufacturing facility.
Tonya Burke, a KCP engineer and 2001 chemical engineering BS grad, is head of the facility’s recruitment team for Iowa State, although recently she has been working to expand KCP’s relationship with the campus.
About a year ago, Burke and other KCP recruiters were challenged to develop more ways to get involved at universities. Excited at the prospect, she gathered a group of Iowa State alumni who provided a lot of ideas and positive energy to meet the challenge.
“Our group decided on a three-pronged approach that remained focused on recruitment but also incorporated technology transfer and outreach,” Burke explains. “We quickly got several great projects going, and with time we’re hoping to increase our efforts.”
Burke is quick to credit the hard work of her colleagues for the successful efforts KCP has put forth in the past year. Fellow engineers Jen Byer, BSMatE’09, and Brad Lucht, BSAerE’83/MSEngMech’89, are heading up the outreach and technology transfer projects, respectively, and 10 other alumni provide support with their efforts.
“We recently held a fundraising event for Team PrISUm, which was Brad’s idea,” Burke says. “He was walking on campus between meetings, saw the solar car in the window, stopped by the garage, and chatted with the team as they worked on the car. He thought what they were doing was great and that it would be a good opportunity for us.” The Iowa State alums at KCP raised $1,000 for Iowa State’s solar car team.
Team PrISUm was presented with the check on February 8, and the members are grateful for the donation. “We are using the most advanced technology available to us to design and manufacture the car, which makes it an expensive project,” says Eric Weflen, PrISUm director of fundraising and senior in mechanical engineering. “We appreciate material donations from our sponsors, but monetary donations like this help support our outreach events, entrance fee for the American Solar Car Challenge, and other costs as we construct the car.” The team will be racing its solar car 1,100 miles from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Chicago, Illinois, from June 20 to June 26.
In addition to the fundraising event, KCP is supporting three senior design projects in the College of Engineering. “We have two projects in the materials science engineering department and one with electrical and computer engineering,” Burke says. “As we get a system down for these types of activities, we plan to work with more departments and increase the number of projects.”
To advance the technologies in place at the plant, KCP plans to tap into the knowledge of Iowa State’s engineering professors. The technology transfer group at KCP collaborates with professors to identify technology gaps at the plant and how research at Iowa State can help fill those gaps. So far, engineering faculty members have provided six abstracts, and KCP hopes to get funding to support two projects.
Burke was also recently on campus to speak to the college’s Society of Women Engineers. During the event, which was a combination of outreach and recruitment, Burke gave students advice for having a successful experience at the career fair and also talked about the many career options with KCP.
As KCP’s involvement on campus continues, Burke hopes more Iowa State students will end up working at the plant. “Our efforts on campus help to raise awareness of KCP, but more importantly they give us a chance to help students,” Burke says. “It’s a great partnership, and I’m looking forward to seeing it grow.”