That Phenomenal Feeling by Nicholas Borgerding

Since joining MTS one and one half years ago, I have worked on many projects, including noise path analysis, modal testing and production line system development. Without a doubt my favorite to date has been heading up the software development for an impedance tube (a test bench used to measure the acoustic absorption of a material) application.

I was assigned this project because I was familiar with National Instruments LabVIEW, a programming platform I had used for my thesis work at Kettering University. When writing my thesis, deadlines were set, but weren't necessarily carved in stone. At Kettering, the student is given a total of three, three-month work rotations to fully finish his/her thesis. For most people, including myself, this would be more than enough time to complete a project (even with a little procrastination). For the impedance tube project however, well, let's just say that I had neither the same time allotted, nor the relaxed schedule to which I had become accustomed. But, it was the first major task I had been assigned, and I was determined to make it. I pushed myself through a few all-nighters, many late nights, a few weekends (I became of course great friends with the pizza delivery guy) and in the end, I made it. I have to be honest and add that I received a great deal of help and support from my project supervisor, Mr. Glen Grenier. Glen stayed with me on many late nights to assist with the programming and the vision of the end product.

What were the differences? First, when writing a thesis you don't have to give customers and managers constant updates on the state of the project. For projects and product development however, this is a necessary evil to maintain focus and schedule. Another challenge I faced was that my customers' native language wasn't English; this and the 14-hour time difference, did not help our communication.

In retrospect, this was a great learning experience for me. It made me fully understand the meaning of hard work and dedication, but perhaps more importantly, it gave me the opportunity to experience that phenomenal feeling of seeing a project from birth to completion.

In case some of you wonder what an impedance tube looks like: