Kaisers Make Engineering a Family Affair
When four engineers meet for dinner, the conversation may quickly turn to topics of a technical nature. When those four engineers are all members of the same family, that level of technicality is taken to an entirely new level. Welcome to the Kaiser family dinner table, which is occupied by two CSU College of Engineering alumni and two current College of Engineering students.
The story of this unique CSU engineering family begins in a calculus classroom in 1975. Linda (ME 1977) asked Jerry (CE 1977) to fix her car after class. "I dropped a screw and spent an hour trying to retrieve it!" notes Jerry. "We talked while I completed the search, and that was the end of my single life."
Following their 1976 wedding and 1977 graduations, both Jerry and Linda experienced success in their careers. Linda is a licensed Professional Engineer whose career highlights include service with the Idaho National Engineering Lab as a project engineer in a program designed to decontaminate and demolish contaminated facilities; work with the Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) focusing on characterizing former radioactive waste tanks to prepare them for cleanup and removal; leading feasibility studies for environmental cleanup activities at air force bases; service as a project manager in charge of working with the client and government regulators to develop an overall strategy for environmental cleanup of the ORNL main plant area; and work as a project manager in the waste management division at Rocky Flats, helping to support the closure and cleanup of Rocky Flats. She is currently supporting the organization that ships the radioactive and hazardous samples from Rocky Flats to offsite laboratories.
Jerry worked in the civil and structural design field for almost six years while employed with EG&G Idaho. During that time he also obtained his PE license. He entered the construction industry and amassed 21 years of project experience including leading environmental remediations throughout the United States; industrial and commercial facilities construction; and large site preparation construction. He has performed as a field engineer, site manager, project manager, program manager and department manager. He is currently employed as a senior project manager for Innovative Technical Solutions in Denver.
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Amanda Kaiser shows her research at the 2005 Engineering Days student project display. She also helped organize the event as vice president of the Engineering College Council. |
Linda and Jerry have two children, Carl and Amanda. In the fall of 2005 Amanda will begin her junior year as a student in CSU's mechanical engineering department. Her career goals are focused on securing a position that involves product design and management.
Carl earned his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from CSU in 2004; he is currently working on his master's degree here with the goal of becoming a faculty member at a university in the Rocky Mountain region. He shares, "My research interest is in the area of distributed robot control architectures and in moving mobile robot autonomy programming from the art that it is now to a science complete with design methodologies. My long-term goal is to use a modular graphical programming interface to model both the environment and the robot, and in particular, to model the interactive space between the two."
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Carl Kaiser explains his robotics research to visitors in the RamLab at a 2003 College of Engineering Careers Day. As a senior Carl was recognized as a Silver Medal Award Finalist for outstanding undergraduate academic achievement. |
While parental opinions often influence a student's decision where to attend college, Carl and Amanda weighed all of their options before committing to follow their parents' footsteps.
Amanda notes, "I explored different opportunities before I decided to pursue a mechanical engineering education at CSU; I've been thrilled with my decision and can't wait to put my knowledge and skills to work."
Carl shares, "In choosing a school for my undergraduate degree, I badly wanted to go to a big name school like MIT; however, financial constraints made that difficult. Cal Poly was within reach, but when I visited its campus I discovered that its program was no better than CSU's program. I am extremely glad that I chose to attend CSU, because I have had the opportunity to work with Dr. Wade Troxell. As a result, I chose to remain at CSU for a master's degree. Now that schools like MIT and Carnegie are willing to pay me to earn a Ph.D. at their school, I am not sure that I want to leave CSU!"
Reflecting on their time at CSU, Jerry recalls hosting the ASCE student convention during his junior year. He shares, "We built a monster of a concrete canoe using some of the first fibercrete available. Because the canoe was very difficult to turn, one of our teams hit BYU's canoe broadside and broke BYU's canoe in half!" Another unforgettable moment was when Dr. Gessler taught him to examine the path to a solution by very clearly proving to a large class that 0 equals 1. Jerry recalls, "If you examined his work in minute detail and with an open mind, you could spot where he algebraically divided by 0. But the algebra was perfect!" He also notes that working as a survey lab instructor for Dr. Barnes taught him more about surveying than anything else he could have done.
Jerry and Linda Kaiser encourage those who are serious about advancing in the engineering field to pursue a master's degree. Jerry shares, "The extra time spent in school is much faster than working your way up within a company to secure a more senior position." Jerry also encourages those who want to enter the construction field to perform at least four years of design work and obtain their PE license. "You may not use your PE in construction very often," he notes, "but it is a very powerful credential."
The Kaisers sum up their advice to students with this advice: "Enjoy the ride. It is a competitive but rewarding occupation, so relax while you enjoy the challenges."
Jerry and Linda Kaiser reside in Loveland, Colo. Carl and Amanda Kaiser both reside in Fort Collins.
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