Hello! My name is Robert Shock. I'm a Packaging Engineer graduating from Virginia Tech in May 2017.
Academic History
I started my academic journey to become a packaging engineer in high school where I participated in two programs, the F.I.R.S.T. Robotics Competition (a program designed to introduce students to engineering and design principles) and an Independent Research Project. During my two years in F.I.R.S.T. Robotics, I captained two subteams. First, the Promotions and Marketing subteam, which was responsible for advertising and branding the team. Second, I captained the Programming and Electronics subteam which was focused on the hardware design and implementation of the robot’s brain.
For the Independent Research Project, I led a small group of students in the design, fabrication and testing of a powered wheelchair capable of direct lateral motion (we took this wheelchair to competition at the Virginia Junior Academy of Science and placed 1st in the engineering category). These two programs are largely responsible for sparking my interest in engineering and design.
As a freshman at Virginia Tech, I pursued my interest in engineering by attempting to become a mechanical engineer. After six semesters, I transferred into the Packaging Systems and Design for one primary reason; I wanted more involvement and more control of the design process. A long time professional in mechanical engineering shared with me a small secret, that for the next 10 to 15 years after I graduate I would be working on other people’s ideas and concepts, perfecting their designs and not my own, working on parts smaller than my thumb for weeks at a time and I didn’t want that...so I transferred out. I’m now graduating with a B.S. in Packaging Systems and Design in May 2017.
Statement of Purpose
I love puzzles. More specifically I enjoy finding clever and efficient solutions to problems. I want to design useful, innovative packaging. I want to be the intellect responsible for the next Heinz Dip & Squeeze package. I believe that packaging should be harmonious with and provide functionality for the product that it contains and protects while maintain or being more efficient then the previous effort.
The global population of humans is growing at an impressive rate, creating a huge amount of pressure and demand for natural resources around the world. As the demand grows and the rate of consumption increases, we as a species are racing towards the critical point population pressure where resource scarcity forces change in our species. This raises a few fairly important question, at what point will consumption outpace resource generation? What happens when the oil reserves run out? When are we going to hit this “critical point”? As a Packaging Engineer, I have a unique opportunity to interact with this rampant force of consumption, specifically in extending the resources that we have. Nothing in the modern human’s day-to-day life has avoided packaging, everything that we interact with has seen a form of packaging at one point or another. Recycling and reuse are the common poster points in the discussion of “green packaging”. I believe that intelligent design is more critical to process of efficiency and effectiveness. Engineering a package that just uses less material in the first place is a far more elegant solution, especially when that package can then be integrated into the recycling stream.
I see this impending resource crisis as a giant puzzle of innumerable parts, a problem that has many potential solutions and avenues of approach that no-one has been able to solve. I probably won’t be the key to solving this crisis, but I believe that packaging, specifically better, greener, more intelligent packaging, will be a critical contribution to the solution. And that, that packaging, that better, greener, more intelligent package is a puzzle that I can solve.
