Dennis Nelson Class of 1972

Immediately after graduation was employed in my hometown as a mechanical drafter at an agricultural company, where I continued to work for 7 years while being promoted to engineering supervisor and watched the growth of the company from 50 employees to over 500. When the agricultural market collapsed in the late 1970's I took a job as Manager of Engineering & Manufacturing at PenTech, owned by Houdaille Industries with its division located in Cedar Falls, IA and specialized in biological treatment systems using jet aeration technologies. When that division was sold to its only competitor, myself and 4 other individuals started our own company in 1981 called Jet Tech, Inc., located in Olathe, KS, where I was a founding partner and over the 7 years as a privately held company I served as VP, Engineering & Manufacturing and then VP Operations. Jet Tech was sold to a public company called USFilter in 1998 and I stayed on with that division group as VP & General Manager for 2 years. During that time my family and I decided to buy and operate a bowling center where we turned it from an archaic losing bowling alley to a prosperous family bowling and entertainment center. I then sold the facility due to family members health issues and semi-retired for 2 years while doing some consulting. In 2006 I wanted to get back active in business and took a position with a public company, Layne Christensen Company, as Assembly Manager to setup and operate an assembly and manufacturing facility at its district office in Kansas City, KS which that division specialized in water wells and water treatment technology, equipment and systems. Over the next 3 years I was promoted to Market Manager of the Midwest Group for Water & Wastewater Treatment and then as the Water Treatment Group Manager over the locations in Kansas City, KS and Bridgewater, NJ. In 2011 I accepted a position of Engineering Manager of Water Technologies in the Water Resources Division and moved to the new engineering center and regeneration facility in Phoenix, AZ. to establish the company's national location for marketing & sales, engineering, application engineering, procurement and all operations., After completing what needed to be accomplished there the family had a desire to move back to the Midwest and I took a position as VP Engineering and Operations for Fluidyne Corporation, where I remain employed today.

I remember that though the technology may be different than what is available today the faculty was excellent, the ratio of students to faculty was low and I received an outstanding education that jump started my career. The fundamentals with communication and other skills along with the specialization in applied engineering education that focused on mechanical design and manufacturing was outstanding. It was a hands-on experience and I was provided with excellent career placement opportunities. I do remember the double wide trailer dorms and the portable building that hosted the classrooms, but we still enjoyed campus life, the other amenities offered and the presence of the City of Morrison.

All the companies I have worked for were global companies specializing in the water and wastewater technolgy associated with municipalities, industrial clients and private. With that I have been able to travel to most of the world. I was fortunate to lead the execution of the design, testing and development of equipment and systems for wastewater including (SBR) Sequencing Batch Reactor treatment systems, (ATAD) Auto-thermal Thermophilic Aerboic Digestion systems and MBR Bio ReactorTechnology using membranes. In various water treatment projects I was fortunate to be involved in technology including ion exchange, coagulation filtration, adsorption, media filters, ultra filtration, micro-filtration, reverse osmosis and other technologies and equipment for industrial and municipal water applications and systems. I was inventor and/or co-inventor of 7 US & International Patents on wastewater or sludge treatment processes and SBR processes and/or equipment as well as wrote several research & pilot studies, design and policy manuals, materials and safety publications, and internal training manuals as well as presented several classes and seminars.

Major duties and responsibilities involve management of contracts, contract negotiation and acceptance, requiring execution from order through final design, equipment submit and engineering approval, fabrication and assembly, installation and facility startup, O&M, technical assistance and final acceptance. I also provide and coordinate with other personnel in review of bid design specifications, prepare designs, project estimates and application, proposal and bid documents.