Mark Durham
Industrial Engineering Technology
Mechanical Product Support Engineer at SMC Corporation
Describe your potential job duties
AEG is the primary contact for all incoming technical inquiries to the United States Technical Center. Provide engineering solutions to sizing, troubleshooting, and product selection requests. Acting as an internal engineering resource for SMC sales personnel and select distributors. Respond to Application and Product Inquiries
In what ways did the Polytechnic and/or Purdue help make you uniquely qualified for your new job?
For me I was asked during the interview what "hands-on" experience I had and also about how much work I did with machinery and CNC machines. Setting me apart from Engineering 鶹Ʒ I was able to explain how I had done labs that were hands on and allowed me to learn milling and other operations that I will do at my new job.
How has the college or someone in the college helped you achieve your goals?
Personally, someone who has helped me a lot was Dr. Gaurav Nanda. He has been my professor for a few classes and always a pleasure to have as a professor and answered all my questions. I was never afraid to ask him any kind of questions.
What specific classes helped prepare you for your new job?
- Facilities Planning and Management
- Manufacturing Systems
- Materials and Processes
- Human Factors for Technology
- Statistical Quality Control
If you had a favorite class, project, experience, or professor, what/who was it, and why?
My favorite class was ENGT 480. I loved doing my capstone and having the freedom to work with my team and put all my skills together to help create something to solve a problem. I also really enjoyed working with Dr. Leon-Salas as my project sponsor for my capstone.
I was asked during the interview about my hands-on experience, which set me apart from engineering majors. I explained how I had done labs that were hands-on, learning milling and other operations that I will do at my new job. Dr. Gaurav Nanda helped me a lot as a professor—he always answered my questions and made me feel comfortable asking anything."