Eric Kowsikowski, a graduate student studying product lifecycle management, has been pursuing his master’s degree at Purdue since May of 2018. After graduating from Illinois State University with a bachelor’s degree in engineering technology, Kowsikowski wasn’t ready to stop learning. He joined the Purdue family in the Department of Computer Graphics Technology (CGT) a few weeks after leaving his undergraduate university, and immediately starting graduate classes and research alongside CGT Department Head Nathan Hartman at the Product Lifecycle Management Center, located at the Indiana Manufacturing Institute.
Kowsikowski is a Polish-American Chicago native and the first of his family to be born in the United States. Growing up in Illinois, he stayed in the area while he worked his first two internships and attended school. He took on the role of design engineer for Midland Dover in 2015 and worked at Bridgestone Tires as an industrial engineer intern until May of 2018.
Since arriving at Purdue, Kowsikowski has grown to love the campus culture. He has adjusted to the larger-sized student body along with the strong historical traditions that Purdue students embrace. Although Kowsikowski knew nobody on campus when he arrived, the environment in the CGT department promoted relationship building and a culture in which nobody falls behind, and that stuck out to Kowsikowski right away. His favorite aspect of Purdue courses is their ability to introduce industry-level workloads and scenarios to students. Kowsikowski learns best by finding his own way out of problems, and he feels the professors in CGT understand the value of this.
Outside of classes and work, Kowsikowski enjoys spending time with his friends and family. He takes part in anything outdoors, especially winter sports, and is on track to graduate in May of 2020 with his master’s degree in product lifecycle management. His passion and expertise include 3D printing, and Kowsikowski has plans to open a 3D printing business after graduation.