FACES IN THE CROWD


METALCASTING TAKES CAREER TO TESLA


David Redick’s interest in metalcasting took him to the West Coast. It also took him to a pretty cool job.


Redick joined Tesla Motors (Palo Alto, California) as an associate product excellence engineer after graduating from Pittsburg State University (Pittsburg, Kansas). Product excellence engineers help Tesla improve the


production process of its vehicles. Redick’s duty is to make sure the die castings in the vehicles are up to a certain standard, along with monitoring the processes. Redick was a manufacturing engineering technology major at PSU and, according to a school news release, found an intellectual challenge he was looking for in the school’s metalcasting courses.


It came from an interest he’s had since he was a youngster. “I really enjoyed the coursework,” he said. “Metalcasting is something that had interested me since eighth grade, and PSU has one of the best facilities for this in the nation. I didn’t come in with any real expectations other than wanting to learn as much as possible, and I certainly accomplished that.”


Redick had owned his own auto body business but decided to enroll in classes at PSU. “I was 30 at the time, and the thought of going back to school was a little scary,” he said. “I just knew that I wanted to do something with my life that required me to use my mind as much as my body. I needed a new challenge. I loved working on cars, but I wanted a clean slate.” Getting a “clean slate” wasn’t too easy. Redick, who works in Lathrop, California, and his wife ŎŸɚs_ ǼÌsÞNj ǼɠŸ yŸȖض OÌÞĶ_NjsŘ ONjŸǣǣ ǼÌs OŸȖŘǼNjy ¯ŸNj ǼÌÞǣ ŸƼƼŸNjǼȖŘÞǼy. Ǽ fiNjǣǼʰ ÞǼ ɠ ǣ OÌ ŸǼÞO experience, but things have settled down and Redick couldn’t sound much happier. ˆǻÌs ɠÌŸĶs sɮƼsNjÞsŘOs Ì ǣ _sfiŘÞǼsĶy EssŘ ɠŸNjǼÌ ÞǼʰˇ NJs_ÞOĨ ǣ Þ_.


4 MELTING POINT


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