River Falls student named ASABE Ag Engineering Technology Student of the Year

University of Wisconsin-River Falls student Dylan Heimmermann has been named the Agricultural Engineering Technology Student of the Year by the Wisconsin chapter of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.

Heimmermann, a junior majoring in agricultural engineering technology, grew up on a small beef and goat farm in Hortonville. He received the award at the ASABE spring meeting on March 30 in Oshkosh.

Heimmermann returned to campus this semester following a six-month internship with MacDon Industries in Winnipeg, Canada. MacDon is a leader in harvesting equipment and technology with sales in 40 countries around the globe. At MacDon, Heimmermann interned as a field test technician, designing and performing field tests of new equipment. His role included preparing daily and summary reports and working with the design engineers to address design issues. With a better understanding of engineering testing gained through his internship experience, Heimmermann hopes to pursue a position as a product specialist or field test engineer following graduation.

At UW-River Falls, Heimmermann enjoys being part of the ASABE International ¼-Scale Tractor Student Design Team. He enjoys the opportunity to design, build and test a real product, including using his CAD skills to create the virtual machine.

This year he is serving as the X-team captain and will be heading to the international competition in June. Heimmermann is also a member of the Ag Industries Club and enjoys their industry tours.

The club raises funds to support their travels through their annual lawnmower and snow blower tune-ups. Heimmermann is in charge of the lawnmower tune-up this spring. This summer he will be employed as an equipment operator for Van De Loo Farms in Kaukauna.

The agricultural engineering technology major at UW-River Falls currently has 87 students enrolled in the program. It is the only program of its kind in the state of Wisconsin. Beginning in fall 2016, UW-River Falls will also offer a professional agricultural engineering program in which students will be eligible to take the Fundamentals of Engineering exam, leading to licensing as a Professional Engineer (PE) later in their career.