Dennis John

Polytechnic Alumni Association - International Board of Directors (Term ending August 31, 2019)

Dennis John currently works on structural acoustics for the Department of the Navy. He has previously worked at Stryker Orthopaedics and General Dynamics Electric Boat. He learned early on that life does not always go as planned. After getting laid off in January 2015, Dennis decided to embrace the opportunity for time off. He spent the rest of the year backpacking through 17 countries in Europe & Asia. It did not stop there! He also visited National Parks through six states out west. The world is a wonderful place and sometimes we forget to embrace and experience life.

As a student researcher, he worked with Dr. Nikhil Gupta at the Composite Materials & Mechanics Laboratory and Dr. Peter S. Walker at the Laboratory for Orthopaedic Implant Design. He benefitted directly from the NYU merger with the opportunity to collaborate between NYU Poly (now NYU Tandon) and the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases. His experience includes: composite material fabrication, materials science, mechanical testing, biomechanics, orthopaedics, and finite element analysis.His method for developing a 3D model of the knee for analysis was published as a textbook chapter.

During his time at NYU Poly, Dennis was very active on campus. He was head teaching assistant for General Engineering, treasurer for Navigators, and executive editor of the Polytechnic Reporter. He was also recognized as the Student Activities Senior of the Year in 2009. While working with the YES Center, he was able to work on a cause he was passionate about. He worked to make engineering education more accessible to women, minorities and the economically challenged of NYC. He engaged with many community groups around Brooklyn to increase interest in engineering.  He hopes to continue to work with other alumni to assure that affordability is not an issue for those who want to pursue a degree at Tandon. He sees it as a mission for Tandon to continue to develop into a research center that provides world class education to all, regardless of economic circumstances.