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Projects with PurposeAs an instructor, Nye says his most rewarding moments are when he’s connecting students to problem-solving engineering tools and, ultimately, to employment.One way he does this is through his role as director of the Professional Practice Program – a capstone, three- quarter class students take before they graduate and enter the workforce.“There is no textbook because each year we work on real engineering problems sponsored by industry,” says Nye. “With no easy answers, the students learn to work in small teams – just like they will in the industry – and learn to apply an industry engineering methodology that delivers good results for hard work. Most years, we have a few more than 100 electrical engineering and mechanical engineering students and about 25 senior design projects in biomedical, automotive, aerospace, energy, and electrical power areas.”Additionally, Nye has advised the Engineers for a Sustainable World student group that was founded last year.“We created this group here after it became apparent that some of our students’ sole purpose in attending college was to bring electrical power back to their towns in Mexico,”explains Nye. “It’s much more impactful if students can do a project that will change people’s lives as opposed to just helping the bottom line of a for-proit corporation.”The group’s pilot project, to be deployed this summer, will bring electrical power and new computers to two schools in Teitipac, Mexico. This will provide Internet andcomputing to more than 500 elementary and intermediate school students.When he’s not teaching, advising, and guiding students through their projects, Nye continues to research satellite rendezvous and proximity operations technology on his own and at Northrop part-time. Though his commitments to the campus and Northrop keep him busy, Nye does ind time to travel with his wife Ann – a Cal State L.A. and Northrop alumna – usually to at least two different countries per year.“We just returned from Morocco,” he shares. “We’ve been fortunate to visit all the major continents. But we still have a lot of Africa and South America to explore.” •“As long as they are willing to work hard and do their best, I’ll do the same to help them.”InSights | 13ECOCAR 2 TEAM BUILDS HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLECal State L.A.’s EcoCAR 2 team participated in the Year Three Competition last June. EcoCAR 2 is sponsored by General Motors and the U.S. Department of Energy. The competition challenges 15 teams of engineering and business students in North America to design and build advanced vehicles that demonstrate cutting-edge automotive technologies.