New Faces in Fluid Power—Kyle Merrill

I’ve written before about the Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP)—the network of fluid power research laboratories, academic faculty, graduate and undergraduate students at seven universities—that is making a difference when it comes to preparing a better educated workforce for the fluid power industry.

The CCEFP has created a 500% increase in the number of fluid power focused advanced degrees awarded in the United States, with almost half of its graduates going on to work in the fluid power industry.

One of those graduates is Kyle Merrill, a former PhD student at Purdue University, and now a Senior Project Engineer at Parker Hannifin.

Kyle already had his Master’s Degree and was working in the fluid power industry when he decided to pursue his PhD at one of the CCEFP schools. According to a recent presentation I saw given by the chair of the CCEFP’s Student Leadership Council, Kyle said it was one of the best things he has ever done.

“Because of the CCEFP I was able to meet and interact with many of the engineering managers of the fluid power companies. I had their contact information, and I personally passed my resume out to them at CCEFP meetings. I had informal job interviews at dinners.”

Kyle is just one of the many new faces in the fluid power industry who is better able to hit the ground running because of his research and education experiences within the CCEFP.

Want to learn more? Visit www.ccefp.org.