Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE - When the mission to Pluto called "New Horizons" launched from Cape Canaveral this January, University of Wisconsin-Platteville alumnus, Craig Dreikosen, knew that his work had a part in getting it off the ground. Dreikosen graduated in May 2005 with an industrial engineering degree and now works in Decatur, Ala., for The Boeing Company in the Delta program. The Delta program is an Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program building rockets for NASA, The National Reconnaissance Office, The Air Force, as well as various commercial companies wanting to put satellites and other instrumentation into outer space.

Most recently a joint mission between Lockheed Martin and Boeing was launched to Pluto using a Lockheed Martin Atlas V Booster Core with a Boeing supplied Second Stage carrying the payload to Pluto. The total trip of the launch vehicle will take nine years to reach Pluto and is the first trip to ever go to the farthest known planet. The mission is a NASA sponsored flight. Dreikosen helped this project by developing labor standards, analyzing program risk, performing what if scenarios, adjusting staffing requirements, and routing production operations. Dreikosen relates, "My job is constantly changing and never boring. The end products that leave our facility are so complex in nature that I can walk to the other side of our production site and feel like I have an entirely different job. The feeling that you get experiencing a rocket lifting off from the launch pad and knowing that you helped that happen is amazing." Before his job at Boeing, Dreikosen worked at Greenheck, in Schofield, as an industrial engineer. At Greenheck, he was responsible for the supervision of 25 hourly employees, management of inventory systems, and design and release of a web-based work instruction manual. However, after three months, he was offered a position with Boeing and jumped at the opportunity.

Dreikosen explained that this particular Boeing facility is the second largest Boeing manufacturing facility. It is second only to the Renton, Wash., commercial aircraft facility, which is the largest building by volume in the world. On the job, Dreikosen said, he often finds ways to apply the education he gained at UW-Platteville. He said, "The education I received at Platteville was directly applicable to real life situations. Platteville focuses less on theory and more on how to actually solve problems in realistic situations." Being able to speak with professors was most significant, he said. "This really showed me that just because someone is your superior, it doesn't mean that you cannot approach them with a question, or question their theory or logic. This really has helped me become a better problem solver, as I am not afraid to approach management on a regular basis to express my ideas or concerns." As far as getting his two jobs since graduation, Dreikosen thanks the UWP Career Center for their help. He said the workers at the center helped "brush up my resume and really make me stand apart." In a recent e-mail to the Career Center, he wrote, "I would also like to thank you, again, for your tremendous job in bringing in new and exciting jobs and companies to campus to meet with students. I must admit that it was most helpful. Keep up the good work." A native of Marathon, Dreikosen now lives in Madison, Ala., with his wife, Sonya, a 2003 UWP graduate originally from Seneca. Sonya works at AEROTEK as a technical recruiter where she recruits engineers for Aerospace and Department of Defense positions.

Contact: Craig Dreikosen, craigdr@gmail.com

Prepared by: Kate McKinney, UWP Public Relations, (608) 342-1194,mckinnka@uwplatt.edu"