Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, Virginia) has been an FEF school since 1957. Students graduate with a BS, MS or PhD in Materials Science & Engineering or Mechanical Engineering. But the education and experiences the students receive is far more expansive than just books and lectures.

The AFS Student Chapter members at Virginia Tech participate in many different activities. Not only do they hold their own chapter meetings—inviting special speakers to talk about the industry, visiting area foundries, and opening up their foundry for other students to make their own castings—they also host special events.

In July, they hosted TechGirls which is an international summer exchange program designed to inspire young women from the U.S., Central Asia, Middle East, and North Africa to pursue careers in science and technology.

The students also hosted C-TECH^2 (Computers and Technology) which targets rising junior and senior high school girls giving them the opportunity to explore engineering and to interact with other girls interested in engineering. They also hosted 10 additional outreach events this past summer.

And wanting to make sure the students in the program have a safe work environment this fall, two students helped Key Professor Alan Druschitz repaint several plates and the floor in their foundry this summer. They used “shark grip” gray for the plates and “traffic yellow” paint for the floors.

Virginia Tech Hokies take great pride in their school, in their work, and in their association with FEF. Last November, when FEF held its first Giving Tuesday School Competition, it was the Hokies who won: 21% of FEF grads from Virginia Tech gave a gift on that day. Now they proudly own the Giving Tuesday trophy.

Click here to see this story as it appears in the October 2019 issue of Modern Casting.