New Product Development Center adds chemical engineer to the mix

Friday, November 9, 2012

With the hire of Senior Design Engineer Terri Ventress, the Oklahoma State University New Product Development Center has expanded the scope of its operations to include chemical engineering.

Ventress adds 23 years of chemical engineering and manufacturing management experience to the team ofengineers in the NPDC, allowing the center to now offer a wider variety of services to its clients.

“Terri brings a lot of experience to the position and is a great addition to the NPDC,” said NPDC Director Robert Taylor. “Her chemical engineering background will open many doors for us and allow us to make a greater contribution to the Oklahoma manufacturing sector.” 

NPDC Associate Director Dan Tilley said Ventress is the first chemical engineer to work for the NPDC.

“With Terri’s expertise in chemical engineering and in manufacturing management we will be able to offer engineering services to a variety of manufacturers of chemical products, oil and gas products and others that we have previously not the expertise to serve,” Tilley said. 

Ventress received both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in chemical engineering from OSU. She said she is excited about the opportunity to work for her alma mater in a position that will allow her to help Oklahoma’s small- and medium-sized manufacturers and grow the state’s economy. 

“I bleed orange, and I’m very excited about the opportunity to come home to OSU,” Ventress said. “I also look forward to the opportunity to help Oklahoma’s economy grow in a time where the economy is down a little bit.”   

Ventress’s prior experience has allowed her to tie manufacturing with chemical and mechanical engineering and facilities management – leadership that will lend beneficial as she works with the wide range of NPDC clients.

“Her prior experiences with product development and manufacturing will prove beneficial to Oklahoma’s small manufacturers that work with the NPDC,” Taylor said. “Terri has a wide base of knowledge and the ability to communicate and work with many different manufacturing sectors.”

Ventress also has experience working with interns, and she is eager to continue working with students at the NPDC.

“Working with students helps keep a young and fresh prospective on things,” Ventress said. “I have worked with several interns in the past, and I enjoy seeing them grow and progress as they complete complicated projects.”

The New Product Development Center pairs Oklahoma’s small manufacturers with Oklahoma State University faculty, staff and students to help commercialize the manufacturer’s new product concepts. The NPDC focuses on working with established manufacturers to create new jobs and revenues. For more information about the NPDC visit www.npdc.okstate.edu.