Industry Connect

The Grand Marshall of the 2014 Engineering Expo offers advice for industry and aspiring engineers.

The 15th annual Oregon State University Engineering Expo on May 16th featured more than 200 student-created projects on display inside, outside, and high above the ground on the balconies that surround the atrium of the Kelley Engineering Center.

The Grand Marshall for this year’s event was Ken Wightman, chairman emeritus of David Evans and Associates, Inc., a 750-person engineering consulting firm based in Portland, Oregon. David Evans and Associates focuses on helping its clients solve problems related to water, renewable energy, transportation, land development, and more. The company played a critical role in moving Space Shuttle Endeavor 15 miles through the streets of Los Angeles to its permanent home at the California Science Center.

Wightman toured the Engineering Expo and then announced the winner of the People’s Choice Award, a prize determined by the hundreds of attendees who vote at the event. Afterward, he took some time to reflect on his experience at the expo and talk about the value of hands-on learning, teamwork, and communication skills — assets highly valued by industry today. He said the entire experience was exhilarating.

“The expo was fantastic. It was exhilarating to be among so much energy and so many great projects that students have spent time and effort on since last October,” he said. “The focus of this event gives students a very good idea about what real-life engineering is going to entail when taking a project all the way from raw ideas or theoretical concepts to something that is pretty close to reality. They end up with a completed project and something they can demonstrate.”

He cited an example. When he was told which student team he would be announcing as winner of the People’s Choice Award — Intellicycle — he quickly used his smartphone to check for any information about the project. He was pleased to find the students had a website up, including a 10-minute video clip about their technology. Intellicycle is a device that can be added to any bicycle to measure speed, distance, cadence, and temperature. Data is routed to a smartphone, where it is displayed via a mobile app that can also display a map of the rider’s location.

“This was a good example of taking a project from concept to fruition, and then beginning to market it using today’s social media, including Google and YouTube,” Wightman said. “Student teams need to know how the business side relates to them as well.”

Wightman said the expo helps develop the skills in engineering graduates that firms like his are looking for.

“As a consulting engineering firm, we find that most graduates who come to us have all the technical skills they need to begin their professional careers — good solid bases in the sciences, mathematics, and so on,” he said. “But what separates them is their ability to work with people on teams, to communicate effectively — orally as well as written, and to be able to really think through projects.”

He also spoke about the value of practicums, both for students and prospective employers.

“For us, finding students who have had a practicum experience like MECOP or CECOP is key,” he said. “It takes a year longer, but it sets students up for what it’s like in the business arena, working in interdisciplinary, multigenerational teams. And it also offers businesses great access to really prime people.”

Of all the places his firm recruits, Wightman ranks Oregon State at the top. “By far, we’ve hired more Oregon State graduates than from any other university we acquire from,” he said.

His advice for being successful in today’s markets is taking good care of your customers and knowing what they want.

“It’s critically important to care for your clients and understand fully what their priorities are, what their metrics for successes are,” he said. “If you can meet and satisfy their concerns and needs, you will be successful. Most clients are not interested in the lowest-cost provider. What they’re after is a good, solid solution at the most economical price you can provide.”

For students looking for work, Wightman strongly recommends doing some in-depth research before the job interview.

“Be extremely careful to research who you are going to visit in order to make sure their cultural norms and how they practice as a company match with who you are as an individual, so you have alignment; so it can be a symbiotic relationship,” he said. “And be a clear, concise communicator — verbal responses that are intelligent, respectful, and to the point are critical, because that’s how they anticipate you will be interacting with their clients in the future, and that’s ultimately how the company will succeed or fail: how well they are taking care of their clients.”

Wightman enjoyed his role as Grand Marshall of the expo. “Honestly, it was a tremendous experience and one I’ll remember for a long time,” he said. “I really just appreciate the opportunity to be out and among a bunch of really, really great students. It was a tremendous honor to have been selected.”

— Gregg Kleiner