Source: Brad Kramer, 785-532-3434, bkramer@amisuccess.com
Website: http://www.amisuccess.com
News release prepared by: Lea Studer, 785-532-7044, lstuder@amisuccess.com

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

K-STATE'S ADVANCED MANUFACTURING INSTITUTE HELPS TO PREVENT BRAIN DRAIN IN KANSAS

MANHATTAN -- The Advanced Manufacturing Institute at Kansas State University is doing its part to prevent brain drain.

According to Brad Kramer, director of the institute and head of K-State's department of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering, a majority of the institute's intern program graduates take their first professional job with a Kansas company.

"Sixty-one percent of our intern program graduates go to work for a Kansas company such as Garmin, Caterpillar and Black and Veatch following graduation, and many of them go to work for our client companies, such as Boeing, Cessna and Moly Manufacturing," Kramer said.

"As Advanced Manufacturing Institute interns, K-State undergraduate and graduate students have the opportunity to work with skilled professionals on client projects," he said. "The training they receive allows them to be more knowledgeable and productive upon graduation, while at the same time, we are supplying Kansas companies with an excellent selection of well-trained and experienced employees."

"My internship at AMI during college exposed me to the real world of engineering, design and manufacturing,” said Aaron Luthi, AMI intern program graduate and product design engineer at Vektek. "The experience gave me a great advantage over my peers when it came time to look for a job. Now, after being out of K-State for almost three years, I still use the professional network I built while at AMI to find the right people and expertise to complete projects at Vektek."

"Working at AMI has been a great experience this past semester and is something I look forward to continuing this summer," said Spencer Kaufman, junior in mechanical engineering, Dodge City. "The knowledge and experience I've gained has given me a competitive advantage and is helping me prepare for life after college."

Other summer 2010 interns at the Advanced Manufacturing Institute include:

Keith Simmons, senior in mechanical engineering, Erie; Chandler Jensik, junior in mechanical engineering, Fredonia; Terrence Reese, senior in chemical engineering, Leavenworth; Liz Sullivan, senior in mass communications, Leawood; Rocky Keyes, senior in mechanical engineering, McLouth; Brian Busenitz, junior in mechanical engineering, Newton; Andrew Doll, senior in chemical engineering, Norwich; Jacob Benteman, senior in mechanical engineering, Waterville; and Katie Cox, senior in Marketing, Wichita.

From out of state: Josh Ogle, junior in biological systems engineering, Hopkins, Mo.

The Advanced Manufacturing Institute is a part of K-State's College of Engineering and a Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation Center of Excellence that provides engineering services. More information on the institute is available online at http://www.amisuccess.com.