“As a kid, I always enjoyed tinkering with things, building models and anything related to airplanes or rockets.”

David R. Tucholski ’89 always knew someday he’d work in engineering, but choosing MSOE was a last-minute decision.

“I already knew MSOE was great, my dad graduated in 1962 with a degree in mechanical engineering,” he said. But Tucholski wanted to set his own career path and instead planned to enlist in the military after high school. However, during his medical evaluation he discovered he was colorblind, limiting his career options.

“I signed up to attend MSOE at the last possible moment, but in the end it all worked out. I was able to go to the same college as my dad and my best friend,” he said.

Since graduating from MSOE in 1989 with a degree in mechanical engineering, Tucholski’s career has been dedicated to safety. In 1995 he started working for the Institute of Gas Technology where he served as a combustion engineer conducting field tests on industrial gas furnaces. From there he advanced to a senior project engineer at Amana Appliances from 1996–1999.

After Amana Appliances, he decided to leave the private sector and took a position in the federal government with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). As a mechanical engineer, he investigated consumer products that presented a hazard to the public, specifically testing the emissions of carbon monoxide from gas-fired appliances. He conducted laboratory tests to remove unsafe products from the public and examine different techniques to reduce these hazards in future products.

In 2008 he took a position with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) as a fire research engineer. There he works to provide technical assistance to ATF special agents and certified fire investigators (CFI) in support of determining the origin and cause of fires. In 2009 he earned a master’s degree in fire protection engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and has been involved with training ATF CFI candidates and teaches fire dynamics to state and local fire investigators at the National Fire Academy.

Today he remains grateful to be honored as a Wall of Distinction inductee and proud of his decision to come to MSOE.

“Receiving this award confirms what I already knew—MSOE has provided me with the solid foundation to build a fulfilling career as an engineer.”