December 10, 2003

Fornaro Brothers Join Forces at NC State

Gene Fornaro takes the wheel in a 5/8 scale race car at the 1998 Industrial Extension Service meeting held at the 600 Racing company in Harrisburg, North Carolina. (Photo: Ruthann Cage)

It all began with a family vacation at the North Carolina coast in the mid-1980s. The Fornaro family members were scattered up and down the East coast. Gene F. Fornaro was living with his family in Alabama, his parents lived in Pennsylvania and Gene’s brother Bob lived in Raleigh, North Carolina. They all converged on coastal beaches for family reunions.

	Robert Fornaro

During one such vacation, the Fornaro brothers began talking about Raleigh. Robert J. (Bob) Fornaro, professor of computer science, director of the Senior Design Center and director of undergraduate programs at NC State University, had been teaching at NC State since 1969. Gene F. Fornaro, now director of business development for the Industrial Extension Service (IES) at NC State’s College of Engineering, was ready for a move from his position in Alabama in industry, where he worked on advanced composite materials evaluation, product design and stress analysis. Bob Fornaro introduced his brother to some administrators in the Industrial Extension Service at NC State, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Although their job duties vary, the brothers interact in a unique way that greatly benefits the students in the College of Engineering. As director of the Senior Design Center, Bob Fornaro works with students who are taking their senior design course, a semester-long experience during which students tackle real-world projects. Gene Fornaro’s work at IES provides an essential connection for finding projects for the students to work on. “IES has a long history of working with industry — we have one foot in the industrial world and one foot in academia,” says Gene Fornaro.

These close ties with industry are invaluable when it comes to matching students with senior design projects. Each semester the Fornaros work together to place about 90 students, usually in teams, with appropriate companies whose leaders have expressed a desire to participate.

The program has been extremely rewarding — a “win-win” situation for students and industry. A client from the Charlotte area was so satisfied with the result of the students’ project that the company funded additional work for NC State senior design students over the next two semesters. In that case, after two teams of students completed a software prototype for the client, he decided he wanted it developed further. The students continued to work on the development phase over the summer.

— rudd —