David Bouthillier

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I am currently employed as a Mechanical Design Engineer for a company called Hypertherm, located in the Hanover & Lebanon NH area. Here I design and test plasma cutting torches and consumables for use in the heavy equipment industry. These companies include many shipyards, rail cars manufacturers, and automotive plants, just to name a few. I started with this company at the beginning of 1999 and have been in my current position since 2001. The position requires a combination of both spatial analysis and statistical data analysis which are necessary to develop the engineering drawings for each part in the systems. While here, I have been fortunate enough to have worked on projects that led to being named a co-inventor on three U.S. issued patents and have just recently filed another.

My journey at St. Michael’s was much different than the one most students take. I actually entered SMC in the Fall of 1987 as a Pre-Engineering major, but did not complete my degree while there at that time. However, the strong science and mathematics course load that was required while I was there afforded me the opportunity to start working for my present company. After many years here, I was presented with the chance to return to St. Mike’s to finish my degree. Upon returning, I decided to change to Mathematics for two reasons. First, a significant amount of my job responsibilities revolves around numerical analysis and number calculation. Second, this would allow me to finish at SMC, while the Engineering track requires a transfer of schools to complete.

My experience upon returning was better than I had expected, and I am thankful to the professors for their time, willingness, and assistance. Upon graduation, I was asked how much of what I learned could be applied to my job. My answer is this: although some of the material in and of itself may or may not always be applicable to some jobs, the critical thinking and problem solving skills learned while on the mathematics track are invaluable.