The annual Walla Walla University School of Engineering banquet will take place Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 6:30 p.m. at the Walla Walla Country Club. Featured speaker, WWU alumnus Tom Hamel, will present “Creating Leaders in Innovation Through Revelation,” which will highlight his journey as an engineer and business professional and will share innovative communication methods that can enhance careers in engineering.
Hamel graduated from WWU with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering. He also did graduate work in business at the University of Colorado. Hamel returned to WWU to teach engineering economics as an adjunct professor.
He began his engineering career with Lockheed Martin and then moved to the engineering firm Booz Allen Hamilton where he was lead test engineer and program test director. In 2004, Hamel helped found Apogee Engineering, LLC, where he is chief operating officer for the firm that provides technical engineering solutions and advisory support to multiple United States federal organizations.
“Perhaps the greatest challenge for engineers is the understanding and appreciation for the human factor. Engineers tend to be intelligent, insightful, creative, and detailed; however, application of effective and professional communication is often discounted,” says Hamel regarding the subject of his talk for the engineering banquet. “What I have found in more than 20 years in working with people, the brilliant and the difficult, is that success is easier than we realize.”
The banquet is now sold out, but watch for a full report on the WWU newsfeed later this week.
Posted February 21, 2017
