It’s National Engineers Week—a time to recognize those creating today’s newest life changing innovations, and help students understand that their current school subjects can help solve real problems. Engineering might be the career they love, but haven’t yet discovered. Bishop-Wisecarver supports numerous STEM-based programs that inspire students to see their potential with science, technology, engineering and math. From on-site tours to mentoring programs and conferences, we show students what real life engineering looks like and how it plays an important role in changing our everyday lives.

In honor of this week’s focus on engineers, we are highlighting one of Bishop-Wisecarver’s long-term team members, Brian Burke, engineer extraordinaire and vital customer connection. Bishop-Wisecarver has earned the reputation of providing unmatched quality, reliability, service and engineering support for every stage of a customer’s design cycle. From product design to completion, Bishop-Wisecarver team members like Brian, work with customers to ensure we have solved their problem in the best way possible, and on time and on budget.

About Brian Burke
Brian joined Bishop-Wisecarver in 2003, holds a bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing Technology and a minor in Production and Operations and Management from California State University, Chico and an associate’s degree in Computer Aided Drafting and Design from Bakersfield College in California. Brian has completed several professional development courses as well earning a Certified Six Sigma Black Belt from Villanova University, and a Certified Product Marketing Manager from the Association of International Product Marketing Managers.

Q: What is your job function at Bishop-Wisecarver?
BB: I explain that my job role is to take challenging and complex engineering documentation and interpret it into content that everyone can understand. I communicate in images, videos, written documents, and webinar events.

Q: What do you enjoy most about your job?
BB: I enjoy the learning opportunities and evolving challenges in my job. I have worked on many projects which have tested my knowledge and extended my capabilities and confidence. In my current marketing-based role I’ve learned new software tools including video production, document authoring, website design, image modification, and e-commerce platforms.

Q: What has been one of your most challenging projects at Bishop-Wisecarver and what was the outcome?
BB: I worked on a very technically challenging application to produce underwater lithium ion battery technology where our customer wanted to scale their production methods from single unit R&D level capacity to low level batch production. I worked closely with one of our talented mechanical engineers to develop new production tooling and processes. We learned about new materials, vacuum chamber environments, and chemistry during our project. We designed, built, and tested many new prototype tools to enable more consistent production of the lithium ion cells.

Q: Who is your mentor and how did they best help you?
BB: I’m a lifelong learner and take inspiration from everywhere, but I’ve not worked with a mentor. I always learn many new things from my experiences and have enjoyed opportunities to teach and help others.

Q: Why did you choose a career in engineering?
BB: I’ve always been curious about how things work and how things are made. How do they make glass windows? How do they cut steel? Where did the tires on my bicycle come from? How long does it take to build a house? I became interested in engineering and manufacturing when I began to find some of the answers to my curiosity.

Q: What advice would you give students interested in engineering and/or manufacturing?
BB: It’s a big world out there! There are so many areas and technologies to focus on. You can spend an entire career in one specialty, or you can touch on several different areas. Keep learning. Adopt the mindset of a lifelong learner and you will be more engaged with your career.

Q: What do you consider the best attribute of the manufacturing industry?
BB: Manufacturing is full of leading-edge technology. Innovations come rapidly and frequently and new ideas are generated, tested, and optimized in quick succession. The changes and improvements in manufacturing are widely experienced by everyone. One example is the pace of new cell phone product releases. Entire new production methods and materials are implemented each year.

Q: What are your interests outside of work?
BB: I enjoy woodworking and fabrication projects in my home workshop. I recently completed a custom water-cooled PC build that I use for photo and video editing. I also enjoy hiking, fishing, kayaking, and cycling.