At a glance
“An engineer has worked on everything that you see. If you want to make a difference in some way, small or large, or you want to help create things that are going to improve people’s lives, engineering is that position for you.”
Aric Bryant
This feature story was originally published for the Fall Alumni and Friends Magazine - read more from the latest edition of the alumni magazine by visiting: https://www.alfredstate.edu/alumni-magazine-fall2024
Rollercoasters and amusement parks drew Aric Bryant, ’06, to study engineering. His experiences as a student Alfred State led him back to his alma mater to teach the next generation of engineers.
“They are all electrical engineers on my mom’s side of the family and my dad’s side was more laborers that worked on factory lines. My original inspiration for going into engineering was focused more on wanting to work at amusement parks and work on park ride development and design.”
Aric Bryant - Engineering the next generation
After applying to many schools across the state, a scholarship kept Aric close to home. He earned both his AAS in Mechanical Design Engineering Technology and his BS in Mechanical Engineering Technology while at ASC before finishing his educational path with a master’s in mechanical engineering at Binghamton University.
“I enjoyed being in the labs and being able to do experiments and work with the trainers and seeing the applications of what we were learning. Professor Chris Tomassi was a big part of my experience, and he really solidified to me that at some point in my life I would be a teacher.”
Work with material science and looking at micro and nano scale particles and technologies at Binghamton led him to a job at Corning, Incorporated. “It was a really good experience from the technical aspects of what I was doing working in glass development.”
At Corning, Aric worked on projects relating to advanced glass technologies. “I worked on a lot of projects that were associated with current technologies. I worked on the glass that is internal to your cellphone and then I worked on the glass that is external to your phone.”
Around year six of working at Corning, Aric noticed job opportunities at Alfred State and at the end of the summer was offered a position. In 2016, Aric started his teaching career and has moved up the ranks. Currently he is an Associate Professor and the Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Technology Department Chair.
“Teaching was supposed to be my retirement goal. I was going to work for like 20-30 years and then retire into a teaching position. Quickly that goal turned into my five- or six-year goal. I always intended to teach, it just happened sooner than later.”
Aric has taught a wide variety of classes during his time at Alfred State. “Now I focus on our design course work, our process engineering work, and facilities management. All things I did when I worked in the industry.”
Incorporating projects into his classroom has been key to Aric’s teaching style.
In one class this semester his students are working on developing toys that are accessible and could be used in developing nations. “The students are doing research, talking to toy manufacturers, and we hope to talk to the Humphrey Fellows when they are on campus. All in the hope to make their designs even better.”
Students in another class work with areas around campus that need assistance with facility or process improvements. “Students get to apply what we do in class to create a benefit for the college. In a small way they are trying to improve the college and make process improvements.”
Aric enjoys that the students are more personable and bring their own personality to his classes. “It is such a change from when I was a student. It is really rewarding for me because I see them blossom and turn into an engineer but at the same time, they are learning more about who they are.”
Watching students grow and graduate into the work field is rewarding. “When career fair time comes around there are usually more employers on campus looking for employees than there are students in the program. We almost have all our student employed by the time they graduate.”
Careers in engineering are not going away. “An engineer has worked on everything that you see. If you want to make a difference in some way, small or large, or you want to help create things that are going to improve people’s lives, engineering is that position for you.”
Aric is excited about the growth of engineering programs at ASC. “We are seeing a lot of investment into the program. There is this energy for updating and modernizing what we have, and we have seen changes in the department. We are getting new equipment and providing more relevant experience for the students.”
Aric encourages alumni to visit campus and see the updates for themselves. Past Pioneers can serve on advisory boards, mentor current students, and can provide invaluable insights and connections.
Alfred State has and continues to be a special place for Aric. “There is more of a community sense here. We hire faculty that are interested in the education of our students, and that creates a unique bond with the classes. The whole campus cares about the student and the education of the student.”
Aric believes in what Alfred State does. “I can thrive as a faculty member and help improve the life of students. The big thing that keeps me coming back is knowing that I can be a difference and knowing that Alfred is making a difference.”
Aric might have dreamed of working on rollercoasters but today he enjoys the ups and downs and twists and turns of educating and guiding students toward successful careers in the engineering world.