Reuter-Stokes Collaborates with Colleges Nationwide on Inspirational Capstone Projects

The current students are the industry’s future leaders. So why not build relationships now? At Reuter-Stokes, a Baker Hughes business, we’ve taken an essential step in nurturing these future engineers and scientists – partnering with Penn State and John Carroll universities on some exciting projects.

The 2022-2023 school year is in full swing. And professors want their students to explore real problems that they might face in the corporate world – something that reaches beyond textbook readings. Capstone projects are a great solution.

These experiences give students the chance to apply classroom learning to real-life situations and can get even quieter students excited and engaged. And it helps them understand what they hear in the classroom will help them in their careers after graduation.

But jumping into real-world applications can be challenging. That’s why we’re stepping in to mentor these students as they navigate their projects from start to finish. We’ll help them understand why these projects are important, how to explore the industry market and understand the ultimate value of all this hard work.

Some of our team members already have joined a capstone team. Engineering Manager Eugene Yamamoto is guiding a project called “In the Cloud: Reducing Intensive Simulation Runtime via Cloud Computing Resources” with students from Penn State University. The students will develop tools to help expand Reuter-Stokes’ current computational capabilities. During their research period, they’ll look for ways to simplify our model-based design tools, which help us design and manufacture our ground-breaking sensor technology.

“The meeting was great,” Eugene said of his first touch base with his team. “The students asked insightful questions and seemed eager to start working on this project. I am excited to see what they accomplish!”

Not only is Eugene working with students this year, but Reuter-Stokes’ Marketing Manager, Angela Brown, is too. Her capstone leadership draws on a 2020 partnership with students studying Applied Marketing Research and Analysis at John Carroll University, where students undertook some Reuter-Stokes marketing survey analysis alongside Angela’s team. Now she’s ready to dive into a new capstone project this semester.

“I got some really insightful feedback and recommendations from that first partnership. It really has helped us shape Reuter-Stokes’ marketing strategy,” Angela says. “This year, I’m partnering with students to better understand how our technology can adapt to a new market -- one that could have a positive impact on how the world grows crops using certain sustainability methods. These students bring a unique perspective to the way we do market research, and it also allows the business to receive an outside view of how our technology can play in our world; sometimes in ways we may never have thought of.”

For this John Carroll capstone project, Angela and her team will focus on data-driven decision making which is a core learning objective from the capstone class. They’ll use quantitative and qualitative research methods grounded in the voice of the potential customer as they plan marketing strategy and tactics.

“This will be incredibly helpful because we don’t always have the time or budget to execute this internally – and they need firsthand experience on a real marketing campaign,” Angela says. “It’s a win-win for both parties. I’m looking forward to working with the students and seeing the end results.”

Reuter-Stokes wants to thank the students that are working with us, and we extend our best wishes to the entire graduating class of 2023 at Penn State University and John Carroll University as they begin their capstone projects. Contact angela.brown@bakerhughes.com or eugene.yamamoto@bakerhughes.com to learn how your school can partner with us or more!