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May
22, 2004, 16S:
Special Commencement Issue
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to Front Page
Bechtel
Achievement Award: Emery
Sanford, ME
Bechtel
Engineering Scholarship:
Austin Minnich, Eng. Science
Departmental
Citation Winners:
Ryan Doan, BioE
Sarah Gidding, CEE
Kevin Simler, EECS
Olivia Or, Eng. Science
Anthony Paganini, IEOR
Priam Pillai, MSE
Matt Panzer, ME
Ryan Hannink, NE
Other
Departmental Awards
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Photo
by Nick Lammers
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Nuclear Engineering
Citation: Ryan Hannink
The debacle of California's energy crisis had at least one positive effect:
It inspired then high school senior Ryan Hannink to pursue nuclear engineering
as his major.
"In high school I admired the contributions that engineers made to
society, and I thought I could contribute best by finding an energy source
that solves the problem of demand growth and doesn't pollute the environment,"
he says.
Ryan decided to double major in ME and NE to broaden his understanding
on how nuclear power plants produce energy. Having graduated a semester
early, Ryan is currently working at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating
Station in Southern California, performing design and analysis in support
of plant operations and design change development.
Despite the tough job market, Ryan said he didn't have trouble finding
work and actually had to chose between four different offers. He found
those employers primarily through the Campus Career Center and career
fairs.
After working for 18 months Ryan plans to go to grad school, but meanwhile
he sees his job training as a different type of education, where he is
finally able to apply the theory he’s learned.
Perhaps it was his background as an Eagle Scout that taught Ryan the regimented
self-discipline he used to succeed in school.
"My secret to doing well was to never procrastinate. Time management
is important. You need to break things down and work on them when you
have time instead of waiting until the last minute," he says.
Time management is what helped Ryan handle his workload while also finding
time to be an officer in the engineering honor societies Tau Beta Pi and
Pi Tau Sigma.
He also managed to fit in research at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab,
investigating the beam characteristics of heavy ion beams. The hope was
that getting a tighter focus with the beam would help expedite the fusion
process.
The son of a kindergarten teacher and a grocery store manager/almond farmer,
Ryan says his parents never pushed him to choose engineering. “That's
how I was able to find it myself,” he says.
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