Keith Striby confirms proper placement of monitoring equipment and data loggers during a recent OSU IAC assessment.

Navy Veteran Moves from Submarines to Small Manufacturers Keith Striby, a first-year Oregon State University engineering student, is accustomed to working with advanced electrical systems. A recently retired electrician – EM1(SS) – serving primarily aboard U.S. Navy nuclear submarines, Keith is now helping small and medium sized manufacturers, ranging from forest products to metal fabrication facilities, save energy and increase productivity.

“I was thrilled to find out that I would be applying a lot of my past experience with the Navy while attending classes at Oregon State University. The Navy Nuclear Power and Propulsion program provided me with a lot of useful knowledge on engineering principles that are applied here daily. Coming from a submarine and learning various systems and their components, it's always awesome to see similar systems and have a background knowledge on it.”

Keith immediately hit the ground running, taking a full load of courses during both the summer and regular sessions, as well as serving as the OSU IAC equipment manager. “It has been a challenge to come from being an operator and technician on a submarine to breaking down systems from a design aspect. I've enjoyed the learning experience so far, and look forward to fine tuning and expanding my engineering background. The Center has been a great place to work, and I'm excited about the opportunities that may come from my time here.”