July 18, 2007

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology students, faculty and staff members are receiving valuable expert advice about entrepreneurship, management and quality control practices from business and technology leaders during a weekly Summer Speakers Series organized by Rose-Hulman Ventures (RHV).

The weekly 30-minute sessions give students an opportunity to learn current business practices, future market challenges and the role engineering and technology in today’s economy, according to Bill Kline, associate dean for professional experiences and associate professor of engineering management. Each session is followed by a luncheon where RHV interns continue their discussions with guest speakers.

“The speaker series brings to RHV very insightful and intelligent speakers with knowledge in their respective fields,” stated Kline.

Kline said he made an effort to find featured speakers who were leaders from the world of business to academia, and weren’t necessarily engineers. Speakers discussed relevant topics in the field of engineering and aimed to incorporate general themes of leadership and success.

Participating in the series are Rose-Hulman President Gerald Jakubowski; Gary Morris, president of Clabber Girl Company, Terre Haute; Jim Russler, president of Bemis Company’s Terre Haute polyethylene packaging division; George Strodtbeck, executive director of quality control for Cummins Inc., Columbus, Ind.; and Peter Yonkman, vice president and chief corporate counsel for Cook Medical, Bloomington, Ind.

Others on the speakers’ list include Dr. Peter Woodbridge, ambulatory care executive at the Roudebush Veterans Administration Medical Center in Indianapolis; Gerry Dick, president and managing editor of Grow Indiana Media Ventures, Indianapolis; Bill Fenoglio, retired corporate executive, from Indianapolis; and Guille Cox, senior partner in the Terre Haute law firm of Cox, Zwerner, Gambill & Sullivan.

Peter Yonkman, vice president and chief corporate counsel for Cook Medical explains this long list of tasks required by engineers to perform before a medical device hits the market.

A total of 72 students are currently applying their engineering skills at Rose-Hulman Ventures to solve real-world technical problems that lead to new products and services. Eighteen technology-driven companies are being assisted on a variety of projects. The internship process is based on a collaborative approach with a RHV’s project manager leading multidisciplinary teams of students from a combination of Rose-Hulman’s 15 academic programs.

Jama Johnson, a senior mechanical engineering major from Monon, Ind., reflects on the recommendations of the speakers in the series. “It was a great opportunity to hear career advice, possibly network. It’s not something you would encounter at a typical internship,” Johnson said.

Since its inception in 2000, Rose-Hulman Ventures has offered over 1,572 internships to 575 students, accounting for over 219,684 hours of student professional practice experience.