Thomas P. Hosmer ’58 Design Engineering Center

At the University of Maine’s Crosby Laboratory every year, seniors pursuing degrees in Mechanical Engineering are required to participate in the Thomas P. Hosmer ’58 Design Engineering Center. The Workshop exemplifies UMaine Engineering’s commitment to ensure that undergraduate education include extensive “hands-on” experience. Seniors are required to participate as the culmination of engineering principles learned in the first three years of the curriculum. The Thomas P. Hosmer ’58 Design Engineering Center not only focuses on designing and building projects, but also on testing, critiquing and comparing the results of the efforts with other students from the top engineering programs in North America.

Tom Hosmer, a mechanical engineer from the Class of 1958, has been intimately aware of the needs of the Thomas P. Hosmer ’58 Design Engineering Center for many years. Every fall he drives to the campus from his home in Concord, Massachusetts to speak with first-year students as well as the members of the senior Thomas P. Hosmer ’58 Design Engineering Center class. He imparts the perspective of someone who was, until very recently, an active mechanical engineer, and the students, in turn, share with Tom their plans, goals and questions, as they relate to careers in mechanical engineering. In addition to his trip to campus to visit with students, Tom also regularly comes to campus to attend meetings as a member of the University of Maine Mechanical Engineering Department’s External Advisory Committee.

Having worked as a consulting engineer for Arthur D. Little, Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts from 1965 to 2000, and as a senior Mechanical Engineer for Nuvera Fuel Cells, Inc., in Cambridge, Massachusetts until 2004, Tom knows how important it is for engineering students to gain hands-on experience using modern equipment to construct real projects. According to Tom, “It’s essential that a mechanical design engineer have a working knowledge of manufacturing processes and equipment. If it cannot reasonably be made, the most ingenious design in the world is useless.”

Tom’s extensive work experience, combined with his strong awareness of the needs of the fourth year Mechanical Engineering students at the University of Maine, led him to establish the Thomas P. Hosmer ’58 Design Engineering Center Fund in the fall of 2004. This endowed fund will provide annual financial support to the Department of Mechanical Engineering so that it can:

The connection that Tom made and continues to develop with current students at the University of Maine is invaluable to those students. Likewise, Tom admits to getting a charge from hearing student questions and learning about their projects.

Endowed support for equipment and other supplies is extremely valuable, especially during times of Legislative budget constraints. To learn more about how you might establish a fund like Tom’s, please don’t hesitate to contact the Planned Giving Staff of the University of Maine Foundation.