Growing up in Bowman, N.D., Ben Braaten didn’t know his future career path would take him from the plains of North Dakota to high-tech research on radio frequency identification. As a graduate student soon to earn his doctorate in electrical engineering, Braaten is one of 15 employees at NDSU’s Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) who have combined educational and hands-on opportunities to shape their future careers in technology.
Mike Reich, a full-time employee at CNSE and native of Cleveland, N.D., also is earning his doctorate in electrical engineering. Others such as Greg Owen, a Valley City, N.D. native, and Casey Roshau from Dickinson, N.D., will earn master’s degrees in electrical engineering at NDSU commencement ceremonies on May 15. CNSE employees Mariam Hoseini of Tehran, Iran, and Sourin Bhattacharya of New Delhi, India, also will graduate with master’s degrees in computer engineering and manufacturing engineering, respectively.
Most of the CNSE employees earning advanced degrees credit a portion of their success to working as undergraduate or graduate research assistants at CNSE while going to school to earn their degrees. Roshau, for example, has worked at CNSE since 2006 while pursuing his degrees. He’s received hands-on experience with hardware design, sensor systems and photovoltaic cell research. “Internships throughout a student’s college career are extremely beneficial to obtaining post-graduation employment,” he says. “My CNSE experience has allowed me to focus on hardware design for control circuits and power electronics.” Roshau has joined Phoenix International, a John Deere company in Fargo, N.D., upon graduation.
Braaten worked at CNSE developing antenna designs for radio frequency identification tags while completing his undergraduate degree, master’s degree and doctorate at NDSU. Reich came back to North Dakota from Keyport, Wash., to pursue a technology career first at Phoenix International and then at CNSE.
Owen worked on an agrosecurity animal identification project at CNSE, part of a research project in conjunction with the NDSU Research Extension Center in Dickinson to track thousands of cattle. Upon earning his master’s degree from NDSU, Owen will join Sebesta Blomberg and Associates, an engineering firm with offices in 14 states.
Reich and Bhattacharya will continue as CNSE employees, while the other graduates are pursuing additional degrees or career opportunities.
Another nine undergraduate research assistants at CNSE also will receive their bachelor’s degrees on May 16. This group includes Jacob Baer, Frazee, Minn., mechanical engineering; Thomas Cinnamon, Stillwater, Minn., industrial engineering; Jaime Jensen, Devils Lake, N.D., biochemistry and molecular biology; Kyle Johnson, Thief River Falls, Minn., mechanical engineering; Kianoosh Karami, Fargo, electrical engineering; Natasha Plemel, Anoka, Minn., mechanical engineering; Thomas Severance, Herman, Minn., electrical engineering; Drew Thompson, Barnesville, Minn., mechanical engineering; and Jenny Wu, Fargo, zoology.
“CNSE provided these students the opportunity to work side by side with highly trained professionals and gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge research,” says Philip Boudjouk, who oversees CNSE as vice president for research, creative activities and technology transfer at NDSU. At CNSE, the students work with cutting-edge miniaturized electronics design and fabrication and protective coatings.
CNSE provides students access to a combination of high-tech equipment, cleanroom processes and software design tools that you wouldn’t find anywhere in the area. “There are so many ‘wins’ for these NDSU students and for us,” says Greg McCarthy, associate vice president for interdisciplinary research and CNSE director. “The typical student will work on our projects full time in the summer and part time during the school year. What they earn goes a long way toward covering college costs, and they come out after two or three years ready to compete with any graduate from anywhere in their first job or research appointment in graduate school.”
Boudjouk notes that students coming from the North Dakota prairie and surrounding areas to gain experience at CNSE bring unique qualifications. “They often have a built-in respect for machinery. They have designers’ eyes. They’re always seeing how to improve a piece of machinery. Typically, they make mistakes only once because they learn quickly.” These characteristics and an unusually strong work ethic, add to their success in pursuing research, advanced degrees and high-tech jobs, he says.
Established in 2002, NDSU’s Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering offers a dynamic environment for researchers and students to engage in exemplary programs while enhancing their educational and career opportunities. “CNSE has provided returning North Dakotans with access to high-tech jobs, offered research opportunities to NDSU students seeking advantages in the job market, and supported educational opportunities for students seeking advanced degrees,” Boudjouk says. “As research continues to grow at NDSU to include CNSE and a new Center for Nanoscale Energy-Related Materials, we’ll continue to offer high-tech opportunities to the region.”
May 14, 2009