Alumni

Why did you choose Michigan Tech? Growing up in Metro Detroit, the Keweenaw environment (including the snowfall) was a huge draw. My father, who had graduated from U of M, spoke highly of the engineering program at the university and even his own desire to attend there but could not due to the distance and travel constraints for him and his family. It simply felt like the right place to go and I am thankful I did . . .

Bill Turunen joined General Motors in 1939, after graduating from Michigan Tech with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. After four years with the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1942-46 and earning a MS in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University in 1946, he spent his career in various capacities at the GM research laboratories before retiring in 1979. Beginning as a research engineer, he was promoted to head the mechanical . . .

Colonel Merrily Dente Madero graduated from Michigan Tech in 1985 with her BS in Mechanical Engineering. Following her Tech graduation, she went on to earn four additional degrees, including a master’s in personnel management from Troy State Alabama (1989), amaster’s in military science from Air University (1996), a master’s in national resource strategy from National Defense University (2003), and a bachelor’s in theology . . .

Tom Walker earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Tech in 1962. He spent eight years with General Motors, then joined Volkswagen of America in 1976 as general superintendent of the assembly plant in New Stanton, Pennsylvania. From 1979-1985, he was general manager of a Volkswagen subsidiary producing air conditioning evaporator and condenser coils in Ft. Worth, Texas. From 1985-1992, he was president and . . .