Testimonial

Matthew Kontz

[MSME 2002, MSECE 2007, Ph.D. ME 2007]
Engineer
Hydraulics Research, Applied Research
Caterpillar, Inc.
Peoria, Illinois

I have always joked that Georgia Tech was my fall back school because I applied early and was accepted and guaranteed funding long before being accepted into other schools. After visiting Georgia Tech and several other schools, Georgia Tech remained at the top of my list due to the combination of projects, professors and the overall quality of the program. Up to that point, I had also lived in small towns in the Pacific Northwest (Lincoln City, Oregon and Walla Walla, Washington) so moving to the largest city in the Southeast seemed like a good change of pace.

Research at Georgia Tech provided me with the opportunity to gain a rigorous theoretical background in addition to experience working on challenging experimental work. In my current job, I develop electro-hydraulic controls for construction and mining equipment. This has allowed me apply hydraulics and control fundamentals learned during graduate school at Georgia Tech.

By far, the major strength of the graduate program at Georgia Tech is the people. Interacting with top-notch professors and graduate students is a stimulating challenge which translates into confidence after leaving Georgia Tech. All the former Georgia Tech graduates student I work with have a quiet confidence and can do attitude.

The Georgia Tech facilities are top notch. It was always amusing to see professors and students from other top schools visit Georgia Tech to be amazed by the size and quality of the research facilities.

ANECDOTE
Another factor that influenced my decision to come to Georgia Tech and work for Dr. Book was that he was informally recommended as a well liked and well respected member of the controls community by at least one professor at all the other school I visited.