2023 graduates of Florida Atlantic’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, twins Travis Nykanen and Trevor Nykanen, have put their degrees to quick use. The two both work locally at Aerospace Technologies Group (ATG). Located at the Research Park at Florida Atlantic University, ATG is one of the premier developers and suppliers of electromechanical window shade systems for private and commercial aviation. Travis graduated with a degree in electrical engineering, while Trevor graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering.
The two briefly spoke about their experiences, and how Florida Atlantic has helped guide the way for their success.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How did your time at Florida Atlantic shape your career path and prepare you for your role at ATG?
Trevor: From my experience with mechanical engineering at Florida Atlantic, [the university] really has great courses and fantastic professors.
I always knew I wanted to go into manufacturing engineering and process design, designing fixtures and implementing those processes. For my senior design project, we focused on an automation concept where we did an automated picking machine for mechanical engineering.
In mechanical engineering, and by extension manufacturing engineering, you basically isolate a problem in the industry, and then you just look at it from many different perspectives, trying to see how you could approach the problem and bring it to a resolution that would make it easier to assemble or simplify the operation.
I enjoyed it all. The classes are good, the culture, the people, and then the fact that ATG is just right off the Florida Atlantic campus. You never actually leave that culture behind. You’re still part of it.
Travis: For me, I would give a big shoutout to the 3D Design and Modeling class. That’s been a big help as I use a lot of 3D printing at ATG. The engineering design team here at ATG also uses it for research and development parts in creating new shade systems.
We have a few interns with Florida Atlantic, and it’s great being able to help them in the same way that students before us helped with our coursework.
What was your favorite memory at Florida Atlantic?
Travis: The senior year design project was a highlight of the journey at Florida Atlantic because you got to combine all the different things you’ve learned in your classes, culminating up through your experience at Florida Atlantic and utilizing the knowledge gained from all your coursework.
You get to work very much in a setting like you would in the real world, in an actual engineering position, where you have a team. Everyone may have different skills or very similar skills, and you get to start with the problem and then work all the way through the process of coming up with a design, testing your design, making any kind of changes or fixes that you would need to along the way. Then actually being able to demonstrate the solutions in your project you were able to come up with at the senior design showcase. That was really fun to do.
Trevor: I would have to agree with Travis. You basically apply everything that you’ve learned in your entire engineering program, and then you design the concept and actually bring that vision to life. I really enjoyed the professor I had for senior design, Oscar Curet. He did a really good job of having you sit down, focus on an idea, and go through the steps and bring your project to fruition.
It was just a really good experience to work with your peers through the entire project and being part of Florida Atlantic University.
What advice would you give to a current Florida Atlantic student who is looking to transition from an internship to a full-time role, especially at a company like ATG?
Travis: Always be willing and open to trying new projects and stuff, because it never hurts to gain new skills, and they’ll only help you as you go forward in your career. With that in mind, I’d also say try to utilize as many of the resources as Florida Atlantic provides, because they’ll only help you, so take advantage of them while you’re there.
Trevor: To add to that, I would say for anybody interning somewhere, don’t be afraid to ask questions. The easiest way to learn anything is making mistakes yourself, because the moment you make one mistake, you’re going to learn from that experience more than anything anyone can teach you. It’s one of those life lessons that if you make one mistake, you always learn from it.
