Val Williams
Program Coordinator / Clinical Instructor
Professional Work Experience
- Controls Technician and Developer – Lamb Weston - 25 years
- PLC Training Course Instructor – ISU – 10 years
- Instructor – Electrical Engineering Technology Program – 6 years
Career Highlights
- Upgrading a PLC cabinet and while making over 1000 wire terminations only two wires were landed incorrectly.
- Designing and programming the PLC system for a raw potato processing area that unloads over 4,000,000 pounds of potatoes each day.
- Relocating the main control panels for the processing facility within a two week period of time. When it was time to test the equipment everything operated as needed.
One of My Favorite Professional Experiences
Due to the various job assignments I worked over the years I have gained experience in several different fields of automation and controls. This experience included development, installation, operation and data transfer. It has been enjoyable for me to take a project from just being an idea and working it through the entire process of designing the control system, installing or overseeing the installation of the equipment, programming the controller and data historian, and putting the information on the plant managers desktop.
Me Personally
I enjoy being in the outdoors in the solitude of the hills. I like to go cycling, mountain biking, ATV riding, or even hiking. I have raised five children here in the Pocatello area and hope to spend many more years here.
Mike Tauscher
Clinical Instructor
Professional Work Experience
- Service Technician, GT Graphics/Ink Well - 3 years
- Line Maintenance Technician, AMI Semiconductor - 10 years
- Instruction Assistant, College of Technology Electronics Program - 2 1/2 years
- Instructor, College of Technology IET/EET Program’s - 7 years
Career Highlights
- 1994/95 VICA (Now SkillsUSA) State Competition Gold Medal Winner
- 1994/95 VICA National Competition Bronze Medal Winner
- 2008 Started working at the College of Technology in the laser lab
One of Your Favorite Professional Experiences
I don’t have just one favorite experience. My favorite experiences are getting up in the morning and getting to play with electricity and electronics! I love the challenge of repairing things that are broken or modifying something to make it better. I am one of the lucky ones that look at work as getting to play with neat things. When it comes to teaching I feel the same way. I get to teach students how to have fun with something.
I work with a group of fantastic people here at ESTEC and they make getting out of bed and coming to work a lot of fun and this spills over into the classroom where the students also have fun while learning. I would like to invite you to join us at the Energy Systems Technology & Education Center (ESTEC). We will prepare you for a great job in many different fields related to electrical, electronics, power generation, food processing manufacturing and more.