Douglas G. Thorpe

108 Fox Run Trail, Mt. Sterling, KY 40353606-723-2289 cell phone

- Primary

SUMMMARY

  • Highly motivated, highly diverse mechanical, thermo, electrical, & controls engineer with extensive experience taking products from concept to production
  • Unique combination of project management and analytical skills with the ability to assess manufacturing processes and create unique, cost-effective solutions for machine design and resource consumption
  • 20+ year experience in machine & test jig design, fluid flow, heat recovery, and energy resources

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

  • As principal investigator & project manager led several federal government R&D projects from conception to project completion and closeout – Thortek
  • Totally eliminated daily oven failures and extremely costly oven belt tracking failures via maintenance analysis and sensors - Nestle
  • Permanently eliminated condensation issues in large sub-cooled plant which avoided USDA forced plant shutdown - Nestle
  • Totally eliminated quarterly failures of pick-n-place head on automation equipment - Tokico
  • Reduced work-load 13,000% (13 engineers working 2 weeks to 1 engineer working 1 shift) via paperwork reduction initiative – Lockheed NASA-KSC
  • Completed 14 month contract engineering task in 9 weeks – Texas Instruments
  • Converted a ’69 MGB-GT to electric while an undergrad with my own design for DC motor control and battery charger - EKU
  • 3.9 GPA during master’s program focusing on SixSigma, quality engineering, and statistics - MSU
  • 9 technical papers presented and published at AIAA-JPC; written 1 sci-fi novella, and 1 novel
  • 5 US patents

SKILLS & EMPLOYMENT CHARACTERISTICS

  • Experienced moldtooling designer– lost wax investment casting
  • Molding and processing experience – plastic mold injection
  • Highlyknowledgeableof properties and costs of metalsand plastics for component selection
  • Highly skilled at evaluating, selecting,and negotiating with vendors
  • Knowledge of QE part inspection equipment such as Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM), Video measurement equipment (VMM), Height Gages, Optical Comparator, & ASME 14.5
  • GD&T (I actually taught GD&T to all new CAD employees and engineers at Thortek)
  • Part designer using AutoCAD, Solidworks, and standard drafting techniques
  • Program and Project management in a rigid,military-compliance environment
  • Routinely managedcross functional teams
  • Experienced with supervising, encouraging, hiring, and discipling both engineers and technicians
  • Customer focused – made decisions with customer's best interest in mind even at the sacrifice of the budget, but not schedule
  • Continuous communication with suppliersto manage cost expectations schedules between team suppliers
  • Routinely manage multiple priorities and multitasking
  • Willing to travel
  • Knows the absolute necessity of meeting deadlines

EDUCATION

Morehead State University Morehead, KYDecember 2009

MSEngineering Technology,3.91 GPA

Thesis: Design of an Expander Cycle Rocket Engine with J-2 Equivalent Thrust

Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, Kentucky

BS Engineering Physics

BA/Minors Chemistry & Mathematics

EXPERIENCE

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America (TEMA)Project Engineer

Erlanger, KYFEB2014 to Present

TEMA is the engineering arm of the world’s largest automotive manufacturer.

Responsibilities include: project manager/controls engineer of PLC instrumentation system for 6 new catalytic converter based dynamometer systems. System based upon Patent Application number: 20110283676.

Commercial Energy Solutions, Inc.Chief Engineer

Akron, OHJAN2010 to JAN2014

CESi is a developer and provider of energy recovery systems for industry; redirecting waste energy from exhaust stacks to useful work in the factory.

Responsibilities include: all technical aspects of company by leading group of engineers and CAD technicians. Perform energy analysis to one of the largest automotive plastic mold injectors in the USA.Please see website for examples of my projects and designs:

Nestle USA Project Engineer

Mount Sterling, KYFEB2008 to AUG2009

Nestle bakery in Mt Sterling is a $1Billion per year facility.

Responsibilities include:maintaining operation and modification of factory’s six multi-zone ovens (150,000 lb – 8000 tons of refrigeration) ammonia-based HVAC systems as well as streamline production equipment

Project management includes the installation of: emergency generator, water filters and flow monitoring, isolation of QA lab from main office HVAC system. Other projects include: halon system certification, product transfer conveyor, and design of new single, integrated product conveyor that replaced 5 individual conveyors, 2 pumps, and 2 storage tanks.

Thortek Laboratories, Inc.Principal Investigator & Project Manager

Irvine, KY FEB1993 to FEB2008

Thortek Labs is a research & development company that produces energy efficient and environmentally friendly products via grants from the federal government.

Responsibilities include: project manager and principal investigator in charge of all aspects of projects from conception to delivery; supervising a department of 8 engineers and technicians; responsible for conceiving technical solutions, writing technical proposals & contracts, creating budgets & Gantt charts, directing CAD modelings, estimating project and tooling costs, and negotiating contracts. Projects include DD&T of:electric motors, internal combustion engines, rocket engines, cryogenic valves, magnetic bearings, flywheels, linear actuators, and concrete blocks.

Wildcat Heating & Air, Inc HVAC Engineer & Manager (part-time)

Irvine, KYJAN05 to JUL07

Responsibilities include: handling the day-to-day engineering & managerial duties of a small HVAC company; determining a company daily burn rate so an accurate overhead cost can be factored into each bid and created a project cost matrix so that a quick and accurate quote can be given for residential projects.

Tenn-R Labs (which became Thortek Laboratories, Inc)Quality ENG & Designer

Knoxville, TNFEB1993 to FEB1996

Tenn-R Labs was a tool & die machine shop that also produced molds for the Ceramic Shell Lost-Wax Investment Casting process.

Responsibilities include: Create technical drawings and properly identify Datums as well as GD&T call-outs; operate metal lathes and milling machines; and verify parts met tolerances down to +/- 0.0001 inch.

Lockheed Space Operations Co. Mechanical Engineer

NASA-KSC AUG87-FEB93

Responsibilities include: Processing Space Shuttle External Tank within the ET-Mechanical Department.

Member of the Space Shuttle Launch Team within the KSC Firing Room via the Ice/Frost Debris Assessment.

PERSONAL

A skilled machinist on both the Bridgeport vertical mill & Monarch 10EE engine lathe

Confidential Security Clearance -Department of Defense

Eagle Scout;Scout Master;20 years scouting service,Kentucky Colonel

Member of IET Advisory Board and Adjunct Professor (taught DC circuits, motor controls, Rocket Science 101) at Morehead State University

Member AIAA and the Space Propulsion Synergy Team (SPST); Webmaster:

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Doug Thorpe resume – FEB2015