Student Profile
Joe Fleck

Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering '10

A second-year Aeronautical and Mechanical engineering student, Joe Fleck is only just beginning to discover the endless possibilities of the engineering world. Fleck is a self-proclaimed “born-engineer.” Whether playing with Lego bricks or tinkering in his family’s workshop, Fleck grew up with a passion for creating and designing. 

Though Fleck arrived at UC Davis fully confident that he was meant to spend his life designing airplanes, it only took him a short time to begin discovering a much broader world of possibility for an engineer. Eager to take advantage of the College of Engineering’s many opportunities for student involvement, Fleck got to work early. Beginning in the spring of his freshman year, Fleck began working in the Northern California Nanotechnology Center on the Davis campus and joined the nationally recognized, student-run Steel Bridge Team.

He now spends his afternoons welding and puzzle-solving, putting theory into action as he works with other engineers to put his classroom knowledge into practice. Whether collaborating with civil engineers to create an effective bridge design or exploring the world of nanoscale devices with his teacher and mentor, Bob Prohaska of the Nanotechnology Center, Fleck continues to explore his prospects as a mechanical engineer.

Though now unsure of exactly where he wants his engineering degree to take him, Fleck is confident in his future. While some might find such an extensive range of possibilities to be daunting, Fleck is open to the challenge. In fact, he says his favorite part of being an engineer is that “you never do the same thing twice. In engineering, there is always something new to discover.”

As he continues to explore the broad horizons that engineering at UC Davis has to offer, Fleck only sees his future becoming brighter. His advice to future students? “Get involved. Everything makes more sense when you can see it in application.”