Utah Tech University

Russel Reid

The majority of my childhood was spent in Twin Falls, Idaho but my family moved to the Salt Lake City area when I was in high school. I attended Brigham Young University, Provo, and obtained a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. At that point, I decided to try something new and went to the University of Virginia to get a master’s degree in systems engineering. Upon graduating, I returned to Utah and began working for an engineering consulting company called Precision Systems Engineering where I spent two years sizing dust collection systems, specifying pipe supports, and other things for heavy industrial applications. I worked for 5+ years at Wencor, a manufacturer of aftermarket commercial aircraft parts located in Springville, Utah. I felt the urge, however, to dig deeper into engineering fundamentals and so I returned to school to pursue a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at the University of Utah. My research there was spent at the intersection of engineering and chemistry because I developed wearable, self-powered electrochemical biosensors and biofuel cells. Next, I did postdoctoral work at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. working on electrowetting applications. I got a job as an assistant professor at the University of North Texas for two years before coming to Dixie State University in 2019. My wife and I, along with our two daughters, love spending time hiking in Southern Utah and exploring other new places.


Education

PhD | Mechanical Engineering | University of Utah | 2016

MS | Systems Engineering | University of Virginia | 2005

BS | Mechanical Engineering | Brigham Young University | 2003

Courses

MECH 1000/05 – Intro Design & Rapid Prototyping

MECH 1100 – Manufacturing Processes

MECH 3600/05 – Thermodynamics

MECH 3650/55 – Heat Transfer

MECH 4520 – Optimization