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The Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology

Industrial Technology Student Spotlight: Fernando Nuño Pulido

 

Fernando Nuño Pulido
 
1) I graduated with my Master's Degree in Industrial Technology in December 2020. 
 
2) My Research project: Due to the ongoing pandemic, Fresno State has had to halt any in-person tours of the campus. This has already led to a decrease in the enrollment of the university because of the inability to interest potential students with our beautiful campus. In order to solve this issue, I began working on a small-scale robot that could show potential students around the campus autonomously. I finished a robot that was able to "walk" (using wheels) to predetermined points. The continuation of the research is being done by my department after I finished the first robot. 
 
3) I've had an interest in robotics and automation since I started college but having the Pandemic begin in my second-to-last semester made me want to solve a problem that was very new to our University. 
 
4) I am working with a professor of the Industrial Technology department, Dr. Zhang. I took several of his robotics classes along with a class based around Artificial Intelligence. Dr. Zhang provided me with a lot of support in many facets of the project since he is very well-versed in computing languages and robotics. 
 
5) From this project I have learned that persistence is very much a key to success. No matter what the problems are in your project or in your life, you must try and try again if necessary. Many times my code did not work, but many times I tried again until I found an acceptable solution. The second thing that this project taught me is that I very much enjoy solving problems that are brand-new or coming up with solutions that are experimental in nature; innovation drives me to shorten words. I hope to use and showcase these skills in my future career. 
 
6) Being graduated, I have begun searching for jobs as an Engineer. I love design so there are many opportunities for me in that field, but I've also had experience in a manufacturing setting which was very enjoyable as well. I would very much like to work for a research company or in a field where innovation is constant. I have applied to jobs in NASA, as well as Tesla, SpaceX, etc. 
 
7) I am hoping that my graduate research will help me stand out in my career search and hopefully land me a job where I can help innovate from current solutions. I will be able to show that I was conscious of new problems that arose due to the pandemic and that I was able to use some of my knowledge to make a positive impact on that problem. 
 
8) I chose to attend Fresno State because I had always thought of Fresno State as a hometown school that I wanted to attend. I was contacted in high school by a representative of Fresno State who helped me in my application process and made it very easy to apply. 
 
9) I do not have any relatives that attended Fresno State but my younger brother has now enrolled in Fresno State. 
 
10) I was selected to receive the William H. Bliss Scholarship in my last year of my graduate program, which was a great honor to me. I was unable to meet the full-time student requirement however since I had already finished everything in my graduate curriculum besides the Master's project. I felt very honored to have been selected, even if I could not receive it. 
 
11) I did not work at any farm units during my collegiate career.
 
12) I have worked for Anlin Industries here in the Central Valley; they are a window manufacturer located in Clovis. I worked there as a Quality Auditor for 2 years during my undergraduate degree. I was able to witness and understand how a manufacturing facility works; which metrics are important to the success and satisfaction of the customer and how engineers and workers contribute to that success and quality. I was able to learn manufacturing principles in my classes and then witness those same manufacturing principles being applied on the factory floor, which made the experience invaluable. 
 
I also worked in an engineering firm during my graduate degree known as Balanced Comfort. I was part of the Mechanical Engineering department, where plans for the HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) systems of buildings were drawn. I was tasked with calculating the heat load of buildings and using those calculations to select systems that would provide comfort for the occupants of those buildings. I spoke with architects, different types of engineers to collaborate and create buildings to be approved by the city and the customer. I was able to acquire the largest contract in our firm's history for a set of as-built plans for 2 hotels in Mariposa. 
 
13) from these two jobs/internships, I learned a lot of valuable business skills and I was able to apply the knowledge that I got from my classes in Fresno State. Manufacturing experience will be necessary for me in the jobs that I hope to get in the future, whether it be in NASA, Tesla or SpaceX because anything manufactured in those jobs will have quality requirements and cost requirements as well. 
 
Being able to design in an engineering firm gave me the confidence of being able to suggest ideas, own them and carry them to completion. As an engineer, I will be able to work in cross-functional teams to understand and solve issues that may come up in design or manufacturing projects. 
 
14) For Balanced Comfort the Engineering firm, I worked with a Fresno State alum of the lyles college of engineering. He graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Mufeed AlShakori. He taught me a great deal about HVAC design and other engineering topics. 
 
15) I was invited to join Alpha Zeta twice, but I was not able to make a time commitment due to being employed. 
 
16) I have no background in AG. My father is an Engineer as well. 
 
17) I was President of the Fresno State Water Polo Club for a year during my undergraduate degree and I was a part of Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity. I was part of the EMP (Entrepreneur Mentor Program) during my last graduate year and my mentor, Claude Laval, was the person who hired my father for a job here in Fresno that brought us to California from Michigan. 
 
18/19) I was born in Mexico and I moved to the US when I was 10 years old. I moved to Detroit, Michigan which was a big culture shock for me. I feel that moving to a new country so young helped shape me into who I am and helped me realize that I can overcome any obstacle that is placed in front of me. At that time, I knew I had received a chance that not many kids like me in Mexico would get and I needed to take full advantage of my opportunity. I decided that I would not only get a college degree but that I would earn an advanced degree in STEM to represent my people.