The Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology
| Picture |
|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Industrial Technology Student Spotlight: Fernando Nuño
Recent graduate Fernando Nuño Pulido is a great example of the wide variety of Jordan College students whose skills get
utilized in other areas, too.
The road to his undergraduate and graduate degrees in industrial technology has put
him on a successful path that follows in the footsteps of his father who is also an
engineer.
He has been devoted to the university in other ways, and even dedicated his master's
project to helping create an automated robot that could be used to give campus tours.
Learn more about this accomplished student, who is currently working locally with
Wawona Foods as an operations engineer, in this recent interview.
Q: Describe your graduate program research project and why you picked that area?
Nuño: "Due to the pandemic, Fresno State had to halt any in-person campus tours. This
affected university enrollment because of the inability to interest potential students
with our beautiful campus. I wanted to use some of my knowledge to make a positive
impact on that problem, so 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."
Nuño: "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. I worked with a professor, Dr. Zhang, from the
Industrial Technology department. I took several of his robotics classes along with
a class based around artificial intelligence. He provided me with a lot of support
in many facets of the project since he is very well-versed in computing languages
and robotics."
Q: What are some of the most important things you've learned from this research?
Nuño: "One of the most important things that I have learned is that the road to innovation
is long and difficult but an engineer must be able to persevere through the hardest
problems in order to achieve success. Confidence in your abilities is essential because there will be times when problems
might seem too complex to solve but we must continue to strive in order to achieve
solutions. An engineer's drive should not be to make solutions that are so complex that only
they can understand, but to make solutions so simple that everyone can understand.
These solutions are simple, but not easy."
Q: Why did you choose to attend Fresno State?
Nuño: "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."
Q: Did you receive any Jordan College scholarships?
Nuño: "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."
Q: Talk about any internships or part-time jobs you had while at Fresno State?
Nuño: "I worked for Anlin Industries, a window manufacturer located in Clovis, as
a quality auditor for two 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."
Nuño: "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 two hotels in Mariposa."
Q: What skills or experiences did you gain from the internship that they can apply
to your potential career options?
Nuño: "From these jobs and 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. After I graduated I applied to jobs with NASA, Tesla and SpaceX, because anything manufactured in those jobs will have quality requirements and cost requirements as well."
Nuño: "Being able to design in an engineering firm also 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."
Q: Do you have any other Fresno State ties or activities to mention?
Nuño: "I worked with Mufeed AlShakori, a Fresno State mechanical engineering alum from the Lyles College of Engineering, at the Balanced Comfort engineering firm. He taught me a great deal about HVAC design and other engineering topics. My younger brother is enrolled in Fresno State."
Nuño: "I worked with Mufeed AlShakori, a Fresno State mechanical engineering alum from the Lyles College of Engineering, at the Balanced Comfort engineering firm. He taught me a great deal about HVAC design and other engineering topics. My younger brother is enrolled in Fresno State."
Nuño: "I was also 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 also
fortunate to be part of the EMP (Entrepreneur Mentor Program) during my last graduate
year. My mentor, Claude Laval, was the person who hired my father, who is an engineer
as well, for a job here in Fresno that brought us to California from Michigan."
Q: Are they any other noteworthy events that have shaped your life?
Nuño: "I was born in Mexico, and I moved to the U.S. when I was 10 years old. When
I moved to Detroit, Michigan it was a big culture shock for me. Moving when I was
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."
Q: What's your potential next career step?
Nuño: "After graduation, I was hired full-time by Wawona Frozen Foods for an Operations Engineer position. I was emailed about the opening by the Department of Industrial Technology, so I am very grateful to the department for making me aware of the opening."
Nuño: "In this position I am driving continuous improvement for the facility and implementing different lean principles and methodologies to try to reduce cost and increase yield. I am also analyzing production performance and doing root-cause analysis to correct and improve the production process. I am also ensuring that the quality of the product is excellent and meets all HACCP and SQF standards for food safety."
Nuño: "I am very happy in this position since I feel that I am able to use everything that I learned in my Bachelor's classes, as well as my more in-depth Master's classes. I also feel that I am very prepared to take on this role because of my decision to get my Master's degree and because of the excellent classes that were offered by my department."