Alumni

Fred Spagnoletti graduated from Michigan Tech in 1965 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. Before graduation he accepted a position with Rocketdyne, with whom he had interviewed while at Tech. His first assignment was at their test site in the Santa Susana mountains northwest of Los Angeles on the turbo pump for the F-1 rocket engine. This was the engine on the Apollo program Saturn V main booster . . .

Lou Anne and Fred Koerschner both graduated from Michigan Tech in 1981—Lou Anne with a BS in Chemical Engineering and Fred with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. Both went on to distinguished careers. And both feel a connection to the University. "I think the education I got at MTU did a great job of preparing me for the real world," said Lou Anne. "I only worked formally as an engineer for about seven years, after . . .

Most magna cum laude graduates of Michigan Tech seek jobs in their field of study to begin their career. For 2005 alumnus Joe Berger (pronounced Bur-jur), who earned his bachelor's degree with a 3.8 grade point average in mechanical engineering, this was not the case. His career started on the field - playing in the National Football League. There are plenty of twists and turns on Berger's road to being a pro football . . .

Donald G. Wheatley went to work for General Motors in 1963. He worked on the guidance systems doing vibration and fatigue analysis for the Apollo project. Out of the sixty new hires on the project, he was the only one remaining at the end. He also did some work on the main battle tank. Don then accepted an offer from Ford, where he worked on a small team to define the new Ford Maverick. He later led the team that designed . . .