Kansas State University

MANHATTAN -- Two area residents have joined the staff of industry-experienced professionals at Kansas State University's Advanced Manufacturing Institute.

Dennis Clasen, Wamego, joins the institute as a mechanical design engineer and Bryan Merritt, Alma, is serving as a machinist.

Clasen is responsible for designing, building and testing products and machines for the agriculture, off-highway and railroad industries, and Merritt is responsible for operating CNC machinery, sheet metal fabrication and welding to fabricate precision parts, devices and machines in support of research and development projects.

"We are extremely pleased with these two new additions to our staff," said Jeff Tucker, executive director of the Advanced Manufacturing Institute. "This expansion of resources and knowledge will allow us to better serve our industrial clients as well as improve our ability to respond to inquiries from faculty and students who may need assistance with their research."

Clasen has more than 25 years of mechanical engineering experience in the off-highway industry, with expertise in machine design, design of weldments and mobile hydraulics. He comes to the Advanced Manufacturing Institute after serving as the engineering manager at Dymax Inc. in Wamego. Clasen received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Kansas State University.

Merritt has more than 20 years of experience as a machinist with expertise in the operation of CNC machinery and a range of additional fabrication equipment. Prior to his new position he was a research technologist in the physics department at Kansas State University.

The Advanced Manufacturing Institute at Kansas State University provides a broad range of services and project management resources to both private industry and university researchers to advance the commercial readiness of new products or technologies. More information is available at http://www.k-state.edu/ami/.