“Since I was very small, I’ve always been driven to learn,” said the Louisville native. “I’ve been analytical, curious, interested in not just why things are the way they are, but how they work.”

The bioengineering sophomore had several obstacles to overcome in life, including the loss of his mother as a young teen, along with mental health difficulties.

Frank, who was homeschooled through most of middle and high school, says “it was mostly just me on my own with the computer, figuring out what I was interested in. Engineering cropped up very early on as a potential choice, and it always appealed to me because it seemed to jive with my personality.”

After high school and a gap year, Frank attended Jefferson Community and Technical College (JCTC) to explore his options, but he kept finding his way back to his dream of engineering. However, in entrance testing at the community college, he discovered he was at a ninth-grade level in math.

“I knew if I wanted to do engineering, I had to get real good at math real quick,” he said.

In those early days, there were times when Frank spent four hours a day on math in addition to everything else, but he eventually got to a point where the concepts just clicked.

Applying to at University of Louisville was a relatively easy decision that felt like fate, said Frank.��Coming from a nontraditional background prompted Frank to encourage other students like himself who might not think they had what it takes to become an engineer. He volunteered with the bioengineering department to give a presentation at Moore High School, near where he grew up.

“I felt like it was important to reach out and speak to them — I was homeschooled, I had behavioral problems, substance abuse issues, but here I am a sophomore and I’m doing advanced calculus now for fun,” he said. “It is not impossible, it is absolutely doable, and they need to hear the message that there is always a way to rise above.”

Frank’s star continues to rise. He discovered his niche working at , an innovation hub sponsored by GE Appliances on the Belknap campus, created as a space for engineers and product developers to dream up new products.

“FirstBuild has been a blessing and an absolutely transformative experience for me,” said Frank.

Early on, he was given the responsibility for designing an assembly line in the manufacturing process for a new product. Within six months, he was promoted to Assembly Lead, and now co-manages and mentors 20 to 30 students.

“Jacob is naturally gifted at being able to solve problems and help people,” said Brenden Hoover, manufacturing engineer at FirstBuild and Frank’s supervisor. “He makes every employee we have a better employee. Engineering school is hard, and I think his story speaks loudly to those students who are struggling.”

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Equal parts street festival, science fair and business networking event, Louisville Maker Faire is billed as “The Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth.” Makers range from tech enthusiasts to crafters to homesteaders to scientists to garage tinkerers, all sharing the Louisville Maker Faire purpose – to entertain, inform, connect and grow the maker community.

Launched in 2006 in the San Francisco Bay Area, Maker Faires have been held in more than 200 cities throughout the world, according to Make:. The Louisville Maker Faire dovetails with UofL’s strategic goals, said UofL Interim President Lori Stewart Gonzalez.

“UofL and Louisville Maker Faire share a common goal: applying creativity and innovation to address needs today and into the future,” Gonzalez said. “At UofL, we concentrate our research and scholarship efforts behind three Grand Challenges – Empowering Our Communities, Advancing Our Health and Engineering Our Future Economy – knowing the solutions we find will make a difference and create a thriving future for Louisville, for Kentucky and for the world. Louisville Maker Faire, and the makers it calls attention to, do likewise. We are proud to again host Louisville Maker Faire and are thrilled that it is returning.”

Sponsors of the event include GE Appliances, a Haier company, and FirstBuild, a co-creation community that is changing the way products come to market backed by GE Appliances and housed on UofL’s Belknap Campus.

“At GE Appliances, we’re always looking for new and better ways to make life easier for our customers, drive change in our communities through opportunity and create possibilities sparked by connection and curiosity,” said Kevin Nolan, president & CEO of GE Appliances. “The Louisville Maker Faire brings our community of makers and creators together driving inspiration, innovation and collaboration. The opportunity for students from kindergarten to college to experience creativity in action helps them see the potential of what can happen when we come together and what can be made from concept to creation.”

Maker Faires contribute greatly to fostering learning and inspiring a love of inventiveness in children and ultimately have a positive economic impact on the cities where they occur.

“Louisville Maker Faire helps us further advance our vision of innovation and lifelong learning for all by showcasing our active maker community, growing tech sector and thriving art scene that is building momentum across our city and the region,” said Grace Simrall, chief of the Office of Civic Innovation and Technology for Louisville Metro Government.

To participate in the 2022 Louisville Maker Faire, go the event’s web page.

See a video from the .

“Honorary degrees salute special achievements and recognize outstanding service to the university and to the community,” said Gonzalez. “I am pleased and proud to confer this degree on such an extraordinary individual.”

Nolan’s leadership and efforts have resulted in $50 million to help support public education initiatives in Louisville to provide equitable access to quality educational opportunities for all students. For Nolan’s commitment to public education, in 2020, he received the Kelly Award from the Kentucky Department of ����ֱ��.

During his time as vice president of technology at GE Appliances, Nolan created FirstBuild, a global maker destination, in partnership with UofL. The partnership continues today, boasting 15 products on the shelf and 454 prototypes created.

Nolan is also a longtime member of UofL’s J.B. Speed School of Engineering’s advisory board. Gonzalez noted that, thanks to Nolan, strong ties between UofL and GE Appliances have been built resulting in the development of scholarships and GE’s participation in student organizations such as Speed Spectrum, Society of Women Engineers, the Women’s Leadership Conference and the Engineering Living Learning Community.

Since 2004, GE Appliances has hosted 575 co-op students from the Speed School, which have completed 1,314 co-op rotations. In 2020, UofL honored GE Appliances as its “Outstanding Corporate Partner of the Year.”

“With Kevin’s leadership, GE Appliances invested in first-generation college students through support of the Speed School’s Brown-Forman Engineering Academy,” said Gonzalez. “Kevin has also invested personally, giving to the Mechanical Engineering Fund in the Speed School.”

In his remarks to the graduating class of 2022, Nolan emphasized the importance of how one’s unique gifts and differences can define character and create future opportunities. Nolan, an honors scholar graduate from the University of Connecticut, where he received a mechanical engineering degree, shared how struggles with dyslexia early in his studies hampered his interest in school. It was one of his professors at the University of Connecticut whose belief and support helped drive and influence Nolan’s success.

“It’s your differences that make you special,” said Nolan. “Leverage those differences to create opportunities for yourself. Don’t try to fit in by becoming something else or someone else. Be who you are and who you want to be. We need all of you with all you have to offer. After all, creativity thrives on the diversity of ideas. And that’s why I have been so committed to this university and why I have appreciated the many partnerships we have built with UofL.”

Nolan’s final word of advice to the 2022 graduates: Stay curious.

“Use your skills and innate curiosity to fuel your passion and discover what you love,” he said. “I have been so fortunate to have my career and passions intersect. It is truly something I wish on all of you. Keep learning. Keep growing. Keeping asking the question, ‘what if’.”

Hear Kevin Nolan’s complete remarks on the UofL YouTube channel .

Last fall, the J.B. Speed School of Engineering partnered with GE Appliances to develop a scholarship for pre-engineering students to pursue their studies in STEM. The GEA Scholars Program is designed for students whose dreams and aspirations centered on becoming an engineer, but who struggled to make that dream a reality because of a lack of opportunity. The program also strengthens the pipeline of minority engineering professionals.

“We know what a Speed School student looks like. You see the 75%, but what about the other 25%?” said Jonathan Hughes, director of admissions and community engagement. “If you look at engineering, that’s a lot when it comes to diversity.”

The GEA Scholars Program aims to redefine student success at the Speed School and what a scholarship means. The scholarship provides pre-engineering students who are taking pre-requisites in the College of Arts & Sciences with tuition assistance as well as tutoring and mentoring opportunities.

“GE is providing other capital that contributes to student success like mentorship, networking, and future career opportunities,” said Hughes. “There’s one thing giving people money, but what about that additional opportunity? There is talent everywhere, but few opportunities.”

With the strenuous workload that comes with following their academic endeavors to the fullest potential, both in the classrooms and through co-ops, GEA and UofL hope the Scholars Program will alleviate some of the hardship of having to work more hours to receive an education.

“This scholarship is not about equality but about equity,” said Hughes. “The scholarship combats the negative connotation of pre-engineering students and better prepares them for all the skills needed to succeed in their career path.”

The first recipient of the scholarship was Sarah Bogan, who received $10,000��– $5,000 per semester��– to pursue her degree in civil engineering. As a first-year Speed School student and second-year UofL student, Bogan found a home in Speed School and plans to pursue a master’s degree in hopes of improving infrastructure after graduation.��

To apply for the GEA scholarship, click .

Alumnus Collie Crawford (BSEE ’18, MEng IE ’19) has the distinction of being the first graduate of GE’s newest workforce development program, Industry 4.0 Development program, or I4DP. The two-year program was created in 2019 to address a growing business need – a stable of technical engineering talent with the depth and breadth of Industry 4.0 skills that can support GEA’s smart factories. The four hands-on rotations for I4DP include highly-specialized, in-class training in industrial controls, robotics, testing and data visualization.

While Crawford had previous co-op and industry experience in controls, he was intrigued by the opportunity to learn more about the other three areas.

“I loved learning from the engineers during my rotations and finding new applications and ways to do things,” he said.

Trenton Ingrim, senior director of Advanced Manufacturing of the program, also a Speed School graduate (EE ’95, MEng EE ’98), said Crawford has been “fantastic.”

“His structured and logical approach to the work is a credit to him – plus he can definitely see the connections between systems,” Ingram said. “Completing the program, we want them to understand how a smart, interconnected factory works, and identify what they like most and feel the strongest about as they look for their first assignment off program.”

For Crawford, that first assignment has been taking a controls engineering position in dishwasher manufacturing and hitting the ground running.

He said Speed School established a solid foundation that helped him to pursue his career goals.��

“I enjoyed the capabilities the co-op program gives you to go out in the field while also learning in school, and applying your problem solving skills while also learning some parts of the trade that are more technical,” he said.

Crawford also cited the Capstone course as a continuing influence.

“It was a really good course that held us to the fire of doing everything properly, and it was a great experience there that I still use frequently,” he said.

In addition to Crawford, the program’s first graduate, two other current I4DP participants, Lana Chausenko (CSE ’17) and Jordan Klotz (EE ’18, MEng EE ’19) are Speed School alumni.

Chausenko said I4DP was an amazing opportunity she couldn’t pass up, and it included robotics, which she said she fell in love with after taking classes with Dan Popa at Speed School. But for her, the program also offered a way to understand operations from a macro view.

“I’ve always thought before you start your main position, that understanding the system and how it all works together is very important, to get all the perspectives,” she said. “That’s what I’m experiencing right now.”

For Jordan Klotz, the master’s program at Speed School was the most valuable experience to prepare him for his future career path.

“The opportunity to work in a lab at UofL was wonderful,” he said. “It was one of the most diverse places I’ve ever worked, with some of the smartest people I’ve ever met from all over the world – China, India, Romania, everywhere. The professors at UofL are top minds in their field and great teachers. That is one of the strengths of Speed School and one of the things that helped me the most – getting involved and asking the right questions.”��

Trent Ingrim said Speed School talent has been instrumental for GE Appliances.

“In the Industry 4.0 program, three of the four assignment leaders for the participants graduated from UofL,” he said.

“It’s easy to get excited about the bells and whistles, the machine learning, the AI,” said Ingram. “But we need people who can understand the fundamental building blocks and different components – what they are – what they do – and how to put them together,” said Ingrim. “It’s a good partnership with Speed School and I look forward to what the future holds.”

After a succession of high-profile growth assignments in technology, manufacturing, lean enterprise, quality and commercial services, Brey’s latest position in distribution is one she is particularly passionate about.

“I’ve worked in almost every function at GE Appliances, and I love distribution,” Brey said. “It’s like problem solving on steroids. This job has a large scope of responsibilities ranging from broad and strategic to figuring how to get an individual in Baltimore their refrigerator today.”��

Foundation for professional development

Starting with her��, these experiences laid the foundation for the mechanical engineer, who did her first two rotations with GE Aircraft engineering and then moved back home to GE Appliances for her final co-op, where she remains today.

A Louisville native who graduated with her master’s in����in 1994, Brey credits her engineering education for her steady career climb and series of professional accomplishments within the company over the last 27 years.

“Speed School teaches you how to learn and think,” said Brey. “You learn how to absorb information quickly, ascertain what you need to solve the problem at hand, and move at a fast pace with logical thinking. It’s something I’ve used in every role that I have had in my professional career and it’s served me very well.”��

Dedicated instructors at Speed School were also key to her development, said Brey.

“I had phenomenal professors who didn’t just teach the material, but developed a relationship with you and challenged your thinking. It went beyond providing just enough information to pass the test. It was about teaching you the mindset of an engineer,” she added.

Brey said her experience at Speed allowed her to compete and win a sought-after entry-level program role as an Edison engineer.

“Where I started as a timid freshman and where I ended up had a lot to do with Speed School. It made all the difference for me,” she said.

Paving the way for women engineers

For Brey, being a woman in a non-traditional career path like mechanical engineering in the 1990s wasn’t always easy or comfortable.

“Back then there weren’t many women. When I went to Speed School, I felt like I went from an all-girls high school (Assumption) to what felt like an all-boy college. It was a cultural difference and I spent a lot of time figuring out how to be one of the guys,” she said.

Brey said she has had the distinction of being the first or second woman in many of the roles along her career path, such as the first female plant manager at the refrigeration factory, and the first female warehouse manager for GE Appliances across the U.S.

Today, diversity in the field is improving, said Brey, thanks in part to her alma mater.

“We recruit co-ops and full-time hires from Speed School, and as one of the largest local employers of engineers, we appreciate the emphasis on diversity,” she said. “We need people behind the scenes designing and building the products that reflect the diversity of our consumer base.”

As the executive co-sponsor of GE Appliances Women’s Network, Brey is strongly committed to paying it forward to support the career development and promotion of other women.

“I love mentoring and talking to young women. We reach back into high schools and all the way into grade schools to start talking to young women about careers in engineering. I had phenomenal mentors and coaches starting in Speed School and continuing throughout my GEA career, and I want to pass it on.”

Through the Women’s Network, she is also deeply involved in outreach to support women in STEM careers, and continuing to look for opportunities to pull women in. Women from Speed School and the Society of Women Engineers are invited to participate with GEA women in leadership forums and networking events.

“If you like a fast-paced, team-oriented environment and you want to build and create things where people are really going to use your designs, technology and manufacturing can be great careers. You can be part of designing something, like appliances, that millions of people use every day in their homes. It can be thrilling,” she said.��

Outside the office, Brey and her husband, an electrical engineer whom she met at Speed School, are raising three boys and continuing on the family tradition, with one son in industrial engineering at the Speed School, and another high school senior planning to study computer engineering at Speed.��

This story was provided by Holly Hinson from the J.B. Speed School of Engineering.��

In the future, your fridge might be able to answer those questions for you, thanks to technology developed by University of Louisville students that uses artificial intelligence software to identify what foods you have and what’s missing.��

The project won second place in FirstBuild’s 2017 MegaHackathon, held at the GE Appliances-backed makerspace and microfactory on UofL’s Belknap campus.��Hundreds of hackers spent September 9-10 trying to “Hack the Home,” with futuristic tech like smart spice cabinets and automated pet-feeders.��

The fridge team — all sophomores at UofL’s J.B. Speed School of Engineering — also considered building a QR-code oven or a wine cooler for your refrigerator. But after those ideas didn’t pan out, they went back to the drawing board and came up with the ‘A.I. Fridge.’��

“The big challenge of the Hackathon was finding something that truly made sense,” said Nico Ferreyra, a member of the team. “In other words, something that the average consumer could use and would want to buy. So, we had to think on a broad scale and come up with certain inefficiencies in the consumer’s lifestyle and solve those inefficiencies.”��

For example, the inefficiency in trying to remember what groceries you need at the store. After scanning what’s inside, the A.I. fridge creates a shopping list based on what you normally buy and syncs with your calendar to make the whole grocery shopping experience more automated and streamlined.��

Ferreyra’s team received $2,000 for their overall second place win. They also won $750 for the winning the GE IDO Best Digital Experience for a Physical Product award, and received the PCI LTD Co. Smart Home Award.��

Larry Portaro, FirstBuild’s director, said the third annual competition allowed FirstBuild to showcase its “model of manufacturing to bring out the best and brightest ideas for the next smart appliance.”��

“The prototypes generated from each team truly illustrate the idea behind our collaborative community and how ideas can come from anywhere and anyone,” he said.

Another UofL team competing at this year’s MegaHackathon made an umbrella stand that tells you the weather. In past FirstBuild contests, UofL teams have designed and that give you step-by-step recipe instructions.��

Aside from just the prizes, Ferreyra said participating in his first hackathon gave him the chance to get some hands-on experience and apply what he learned in class.��

“I do think students benefit from these events,” he said. “Events like these immerse engineering students into these challenges and bring the true engineer out.”

That’s what FirstBuild’s 2017 MegaHackathon is all about. Teams will spend September 9-10 trying to “Hack the Home” at the makerspace and microfactory, on the University of Louisville’s Belknap campus.��

FirstBuild, backed by Haier’s GE Appliances, expects more than 300 participants to help create the next generation of home appliances. Teams will be competing for cash and prizes.

UofL students (wink wink, nudge nudge) have actually made a strong showing in past FirstBuild hackathons. During last year’s event, with the theme “Future of Cooking,” MegaHackathon, a team of students, won Best Simblee Connected project for its cooktop that gives step-by-step recipe instructions.��

“We got to come up with an idea for a product, and then see it through to the end,” said then-senior engineering student and team member Sarah Morris. “UofL is so closely tied with FirstBuild, it’s a great opportunity to continue your hands-on work.”

Larry Portaro, director of FirstBuild, agreed the hackathon gives students a chance to get their hands dirty and apply what they learn in class.��

“It’s a great opportunity to work with other passionate makers and enthusiasts to co-create next generation home appliances with the support of our microfactory and access to our tools,” he said.��

No specific experience or background is required to participate. Hackathon contestants can , and sponsorship information is .

The Kentucky-based home appliances manufacturer enlisted UofL to help develop controls systems for a new compressor that will make its refrigerators more energy efficient. The controls system would allow the compressor to take measurements and optimize automatically.

“They’ve (UofL) been instrumental into the controls side of that project,” said Senior Compressor Engineer, Greg Hahn. “It helps us get an edge on intellectual property, so we’ve got more access to deeper knowledge of controls and cutting-edge techniques.”

UofL J.B. Speed School of Engineering associate professor, Dr. Micheal McIntyre, and his graduate student, Joe Latham, have worked with GE Appliances on the project since its inception in 2012.

“It’ll help their refrigerator products to use less energy,” McIntyre said. That forward-thinking will help the company “stay in the marketplace when energy standards become more challenging and difficult to meet.”

This new technology is expected to help the refrigerators use 10 to 15 percent less energy, saving customers money.

This isn’t the first time GE Appliances and UofL have worked together. The former hosts UofL students for hands-on learning co-ops, and the latter has helped GE Appliances solve problems and create new products.

One notable example is��, a maker space and microfactory on UofL’s Belknap campus, where GE Appliances has used open innovation to create new products such as the Opal Nugget Ice Maker and Paragon Induction Cooktop.

“They (UofL) have quite a few ideas to help us out as a company,” said Power Electronics Engineer, Srujan Kusumba. “Not just that, but the way of thinking helps us to explore more ideas and also learn new things.”

McIntyre said UofL also learns new things when it partners with industry — and it gives students a chance to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom on real-world problems.

“The value of this is really incalculable,” Latham said. “It’s been great getting to bridge between the academic and industrial world.”

Those were a few of the suggestions University of Louisville grad students Ricky Aguiar and Carlos Gonzalez made in their top-10 entry in the Hotel Room of the Future Challenge. The contest was a collaboration between and makerspace and micro-factory at UofL.

Teams were challenged to leverage modern technology, such as voice activation and internet of things, to create a new guest experience.��

“Hotels are a space where people do have baseline expectations of what they need,” said Symon Harrah, community design manager at FirstBuild.��“How do you build something that when people come into this room, they’re just like ‘wow’?”

Harrah said 21C chose to partner with ,��backed by GE Appliances, a Haier company, because of its history developing appliance products with open innovation.

“With FirstBuild, they’re kind of a disrupter in the industry,” said Emily Tucker, senior director of brand services at 21C. “And we find ourselves to be a disrupter in the hospitality industry.”

Tucker said the open innovation is good for 21C, which has hotel-museum hybrids in seven U.S. cities, including Louisville. Because anyone can participate, 21C gets fresh ideas from people who actually visit their hotels.����

“By getting fresh perspective, new eyeballs on things that we look at on a daily basis, that allows us to break through the tunnel vision that we may find ourselves in,” she said.��

As for Aguiar and Gonzalez, they’re excited for the experience. They said working with FirstBuild, both on challenges and in its making community, allows students to get their hands dirty before graduating and applying for jobs.��

“Because it’s partnered with GE, as a student, you’re allowed to work on products that help impact the industry,” Gonzalez said. “FirstBuild’s a really great addition to the University of Louisville because it allows us to prototype and build things that help further our career.”

Check out more about the Hotel Room of the Future Challenge in the video below:��