Eric Brizes launches career at NASA as Aerospace Materials Engineer

Eric Brizes was attracted to welding engineering because of the hands-on approach it required. As the country's only ABET-accredited BS WE program, it has produced many successful welding engineers who work in a variety of industries ranging from automotive, energy, marine, and defense. "Upon completion of the program, it is not unheard of to have your pick of career opportunities in a variety of industrial sectors across the US and even internationally," shared Brizes.

Eric Brizes is a doctoral student in the welding engineering program who qualifies as a soon-to-be successful engineer. He experienced real-world applied learning throughout his career as a student at Ohio State - first as an undergraduate student intern with Lincoln Electric in 2017, then as a graduate student intern with Honda in 2019.

Some of the benefits of being in the country's sole ABET-accredited welding engineering program are access to opportunities rich with research and plenty of opportunities to collaborate with industry. The combination exposes students to career options while industry is introduced to a career-ready population whose skills are in high demand. Beyond the required capstone for WE students and abundant internships in a market starved for welding engineers, the Manufacturing & Materials Joining Innovations Center (Ma2JIC) offers students a unique opportunity to participate in projects submitted by its members.

An Industry and University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC), Ma2JIC operates using a project-based model sustained by a $5.3M annual research investment from member companies. Projects at Ma2JIC provide students at Ohio State and partner institutions with opportunities to perform critical industry research. Eric cited interaction and mentorship with Ma2JIC industry members as providing challenging, real-world research in joining. It was through these critical projects that Eric's experience with advanced materials joining processes was amplified. He credits the projects with exposing him to modern metal additive manufacturing which made him desirable by cutting-edge research institutions like NASA.  

Upon graduating with his PhD in welding engineering, Eric will start his career as an Aerospace Materials Engineer with NASA where he will design and develop advanced materials for deep space exploration. Brizes collaborated with the them as a student by assisting with alloy development and studying additively manufactured materials.

Eric chose the BS/MS welding engineering track, graduating with his BS in 2018 and MS in 2020. The journey led him to ultimately earn his PhD in welding engineering, which he will complete this month.

Dr. Eric Brizes will relocate to Cleveland and work at NASA Glenn Research Center beginning in June.

Libby Culley   |   Senior Communications Specialist   |   culley.36@osu.edu