In celebration of its 25 years at Michigan Technological University, the Enterprise Program has awarded eight inaugural Enterprise Distinguished Service Awards to recognize the dedication and exceptional contributions of advisors and champions who have played pivotal roles in shaping the program’s success. The recipients of the Enterprise Distinguished Service Award are Brett Hamlin, Glen Archer, Rick Berkey, Jason Blough, Brad King, Robert Pastel, Tony Rogers, and Christopher “Kit” Cischke.
Each of the award winners has more than 15 years of service within Enterprise, dedicating their time and expertise to guide teams, ensure student success, and advance the program’s discovery-based learning mission. The eight advisors have also fostered industry collaborations and strengthened the bridge between academia and industry.
This eight-part series highlights the contributions of each award recipient.
Brett Hamlin has been with Enterprise since the beginning. The program officially launched during the 1999-2000 academic year with just three teams, one of which was the Baja SAE Enterprise, a student-led team that designs, builds, and tests a single-seat off-road vehicle to compete in a national competition.
“The University was looking for ways to support multi-year project teams on campus, and Baja was one of the teams identified,” Hamlin explains. “I was already advising the team, and one of the things that students had to do was fundraising. This often took the students’ time and attention away from what they were working on. Creating the Enterprise umbrella was so important for many reasons, one of which is that it gave multi-year projects a centrally funded model, which allowed us to shift our focus back to education and the real-world experience.”
Fifteen years later, Hamlin stepped away from Baja and began advising the General and Expedition Adventure Research (GEAR) Enterprise. GEAR focuses on goods and equipment used in recreational outdoor and commercial expedition endeavors, and has worked on soft and hard goods related to backpacking, camping, climbing, snowshoeing, kayaking, canoeing, mountaineering, and military applications.
“My best part of Enterprise for me as an advisor is watching students take on very open-ended challenges, not knowing if there is a way to do what they are being asked to do.”
“GEAR has taken on some challenging projects. We worked with the Department of Defense to design devices intended for downed pilots in desert environments,” Hamlin says. “We were asked to design a device that can extract a liter of water per day from desert air, and the students were able to do it! They came up with a device that could do it. They also worked on an invisibility cloak that would help downed pilots stay hidden in desert environments.”
Hamlin notes that Enterprise also lets students bring their own passions on board. “They’re given enough room and time to try out their ideas. They’re successful in some and fail in others, but they’re always able to reflect on the learning experience. Being part of an Enterprise team also helps students become comfortable with ambiguity and take on a project that they don’t know the solution to when they start it.”
One of the highlights of Hamlin’s time with Enterprise was starting the winter baja competition and hosting it at Michigan Tech. “Very few Baja SAE teams have to both organize a tremendously large event as well as design and fabricate a racecar. Most just work on the racecar. We did both, and seeing what students gain from doing these events has been wonderful.”
Another highlight for Hamlin was watching GEAR students design a steerable Nordic sit-ski for adaptive athletes. “Typically, a sit-ski has been a rigid chair bolted to cross-country skis. The skis stay flat and the athlete has to double pull. It’s really hard to turn — it calls on a lot of abdominal strength and it’s just hard to steer in general. The GEAR students worked with a bunch of skiers and interviewed adaptive athletes, and they were able to design a sit-ski that would steer the way alpine skis steer, which is more parallel, back and forth.”
When thinking back on his 25 years with Enterprise, Hamlin says he reflects on what made it possible. “What makes it possible is everyone who works behind the scenes: the people who identify resources and projects, then go out and solicit funds. The people who are willing to help write proposals and help us purchase equipment. The only reason I’ve achieved a modicum of success in this program is due to its leadership and support staff. I lean heavily on those who work in the background and are sometimes overlooked — all the people who help make it possible.”
About the Enterprise Program
Michigan Tech’s Enterprise Program offers students a unique, hands-on learning experience that goes beyond the classroom. With more than 25+ Enterprise teams spanning disciplines such as engineering, business, computing, and science, students collaborate on real-world projects sponsored by industry and government partners. Enterprise students develop technical expertise, leadership skills, and teamwork experience—preparing them for success in their careers. Many teams work on cutting-edge innovations, from automotive and aerospace to sustainability and emerging technologies.
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