Alumni, you made a commitment to Northern Michigan University when you were a student, and as faculty, staff and administrators, we made a commitment to you – one that remains strong long after you cross the commencement stage. 

How can we help you continue to engage in lifelong learning, reach the next level of your professional career, and remain connected to your alma mater?  We’d love to hear from you. Send your stories, questions and ideas to engtech@nmu.edu. And, drop your former professors a line when you have the time to update them on what’s been happening with you; you can quickly find all their contact information on the about us page.

As Northern Michigan University and the Engineering Technology Department strive for continuous improvement, we’d be very interested to know what aspects of your NMU education have served you best in your career endeavors and what areas of weakness you had when you entered your professional field.

We strongly encourage you to keep your alumni information up to date so that we can let you know about what’s happening at NMU, especially for such things as alumni gatherings and reunions. The Alumni Web site has an online update form for your convenience.

We hope to see you back on campus for a visit, but if that’s not possible, stay connected virtually.  Welcome back to NMU!

Give to the Department of Engineering Technology

For those interested in donating to the Department of Engineering Technology, visit the link below or by contacting the NMU Foundation for more ways to give. 

Alumni Spotlights

The Engineering Technology Department graduates many successful students each year who go on to have fulfilling careers in various industry positions. If you know of a good spotlight story idea, please e-mail engtech@nmu.edu.

Motorsports can be dangerous, but since 1984 the accident injury rate has dropped almost 95 % in auto racing.  One Northern Michigan alumnus has been working hard to keep racers safe.

Curt Tucker (NMU 1982, 2008) is the president and founder of TEAMTECH Motorsports Safety, Inc., based in Saginaw, Michigan.  The company specializes in safety equipment ranging from patented increased visibility window nets, to patented seatbelt harnesses and hardware and the Tucker Head and Neck Restraint (patent pending), similar in function to the HANS device.  Tucker has also gone beyond making auto, boat and aircraft safety equipment to writing a race driver evacuation procedure manual and safety product test specifications.  He has also authored SAE technical papers and provided specialized services such as expert witness testimony and product failure investigation, solving numerous cases.  The company has also made specially designed emergency rescue air, radio and harness disconnect device for rapid egress for boat racers, and is working with NASA to provide seat and seat harnesses for the new version of the Apollo space capsule slated for manned travel to the Moon and then to Mars in the near future.

Tucker believes his success started at NMU’s Industrial Technology program where he learned technical report writing as well as gaining important basic fundamentals of mechanical and industrial engineering knowledge.

(Going to Northern) was a huge benefit right out of the box, because it taught me the foundations for everything I needed to know, and as the need to concentrate my efforts increased I had different professionals, scientists and engineers willing to mentor me along the way,” Tucker said.

Even though the specialists he learned from ranged from drivers to safety engineers and scientists, Tucker also called on NMU’s Professor Tom Meravi, one of the then (82’) “fearsome foursome” (Meravi, Hicks, Rigby and Cauley) of the Industrial Technology (now Engineering Technology) department.

“It seemed like once a month since 1982 I was in contact with Professor Meravi with different issues and he was an excellent mentor for me.  Meravi always found the answers to difficult manufacturing problems even when the engineers and scientists could not!” Tucker said.

Tucker now helps Northern Michigan University as a member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors, NMU Engineering Technology Department’s Advisory Board and mentors members of the NMU Baja racing team.

“I’ve had an exciting journey and especially since I’m giving back to the place that has given me the most, being connected with NMU is a great reward,” Tucker said.  “I’m still working and looking forward to the journeys ahead.

Although he has gone on to a high-profile business career, Joe Evans (1981, 1983) has never forgotten the role Northern Michigan University has played in his success.

In his current position as vice president of defense programs for SAAB Technologies in Washington, D.C., Evans continues to draw on the technical and practical experience he gained in his education at Northern.

“A technical foundation allows you to participate in discussions with customers and product developers within your company,” Evans said in a recent campus visit. “If you have strictly a business education, you’re not conversant in that discussion.”

Evans also said he gained confidence and a strong work ethic at Northern.

“It was a small university, which is exactly what I needed,” he said. “I wasn’t all that studious when I came in. I’m sure if I went to a large place, I would have been lost. It’s small enough that you can find friends and be removed from the big-city urban distractions. I didn’t realize when I came here how right a decision that was. It’s a friendly place. It wraps its arms around you if you let it, and gives you a lot of growth potential. I think I took that confidence with me to the workplace.”

As president of the Alumni Association, Evans hopes that current Northern students will find similar benefits from their education.

“The willingness to follow new opportunities when they come up has led me to where I’m t now, which I’m very happy with,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to take risk. You have to decide what you want to do, and then you have to be willing to pursue it in all earnest.

“Find a way in this difficult economy to continue to invest in your education. It may sound old-fashioned, but it couldn’t be more modern, more relevant. Find a way to continue on and finish.”

 Evans also said he hopes future alumni will remember Northern as well, and find a way to give back to the University.

“Stay plugged in with the university one way or another,” he said. “And the Alumni Association is a great way to do that.”