Carl Byington is the President and Chief Executive Officer at PHM Design, LLC, in Ellijay GA. With a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering, Carl Byington joined NASA’s Langley Research Center where he performed hypersonic propulsion research. After working in several technical areas and growing his engineering and program management skills, Carl became a Department Head at The Pennsylvania State University Applied Research Laboratory (Penn State ARL).

The Penn State Applied Research Laboratory provides several work opportunities to budding scientists and researchers. Its Open Diversity Outreach Opportunities in Research (D.O.O.R.) internship program was created in 1997 to help minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. The internship opportunities at Penn State ARL cover a range of possible areas, including laser technologies, propulsion systems, acoustics, and autonomous vehicles. Carl mentored many younger engineers through this D.O.O.R. and similar student intern programs in his field of engineering related to propulsion and drive systems design and ultimately modeling and diagnostics for Condition-based Maintenance (CBM+).

Successful applicants secure their spot in the program where they work on summer projects with professional mentors, attend development seminars, and receive hourly payment for their research work. In addition to the unique learning experiences offered, a major advantage of the program is its resume-boosting potential. Upon completion of the program, many D.O.O.R. interns succeed in landing full-time employment. Carl Byington hired several excellent engineers after completion of the program while at Penn State ARL and during his subsequent leadership at Impact Technologies, LLC.