UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Alumnus Walter Moorhead, president of Product Evaluation Systems, Inc. (PES), will present the 2023 Richard E. Tressler Lecture at 3:05 p.m. Thursday, March 30, in 111 Wartik Laboratory on the Penn State University Park campus. Moorhead’s lecture is titled “Materials science and engineering — materials lab intern to lab owner.”
“We’ve all heard our parents and college advisers stress the importance of obtaining an internship,” Moorhead said. “Some think it’s a great addition for their resumes, which in turn helps land a job upon graduation. I personally think it’s worth a whole lot more, and I’ll share my journey from intern to company owner. Also, I’ll discuss the ongoing effort of PES to make the world safer for all through materials engineering testing.”
PES is a metallurgical laboratory that provides a full spectrum of testing services and solutions, including machine shop, mechanical, chemical, and nondestructive testing facilities, as well as high-bay and office spaces. PES serves critical testing needs that are specific to major industries such as additive manufacturing, aerospace, oil and gas, mining, power generation and steel manufacturing. The lab supports many Fortune 500 companies for testing including U.S. Steel, Allegheny Ludlum (ATI), Siemens Energy, Westinghouse, and Wabtec Corporation.
Moorhead is a native of Pittsburgh and received a bachelor’s degree in metallurgy from Penn State. He worked for a U.S. Steel division in many capacities and was the vice president of operations when he left to join PES in 2001. At PES, Moorhead was the vice president of operations until 2005 when he took over as president and owner. He is also a member of ASTM and is past chairman of the Pittsburgh Section, National Association of Corrosion Engineering.
The R.E. Tressler Award is named after Richard E. Tressler, an international leader in the development of high temperature materials and the former head of Penn State's Department of Materials Science and Engineering from 1991 to 2001. The award will be presented to Moorhead during the lecture. The award honors the work and contributions of Tressler.
The lecture is open to the public free of charge, and all are invited to attend.