We at IMR Test Labs rely on our engineers daily for their unique set of testing and analytical skills. To celebrate “National Engineers Week”, and the tremendous contributions our engineers make to our customers understanding of their materials characterization challenges, IMR is featuring some important members of our engineering team.
Chase Yurga-Bell is a Sr. Engineer at IMR’s Portland lab. We recently talked about what drew him into engineering in the first place, how he 
applies his knowledge to his role at IMR, and what advice he’d have for someone thinking about going into the field.
What got you interested in engineering?
“Both my parents were analytical chemists, so there was always talk about applying science to solving problems. I thought it was more interesting to take science out of the abstract world, and apply it to solve real world problems. I felt materials engineering gave me the flexibility to go into many different areas of specialty. The challenge of figuring out problems of material characterization and failure analysis is a lot of fun, and metallurgy gives me the opportunity to not only identify the source of the problems, but also what corrective measures should be taken to avoid failures and cleanliness issues.”
What do you enjoy most about your engineering role at IMR?
“It’s never the same day to day. I really enjoy solving the customers puzzle, whether it’s a product failure or a material’s unusual reactions to various environmental, temperature or stress exposures in their operating environment. Thinking through what testing approach to take to get to the failure’s root cause or what pre-failure symptoms might indicate is fun. And I really enjoy being able to help our customers find out what has caused their problem, as well as sharing knowledge about how to mitigate those problems in the future. Having that contact with the customer gives me a great feeling when I have been able to help them solve an important problem.”
Advice to someone thinking about a career in Engineering?
“Don’t get frustrated with how hard college is. Once you get past the papers, homework, tests, quizzes, projects, etc. you’ll find you already had all the skills you need to do the job. And don’t be afraid to switch what areas you like to work in. For example, I did a lot of work detecting impurities on circuit boards. After a time, I discovered that I preferred working with metal and I made the switch.”
To talk with one of IMR's world-class engineers, scientists or lab technicians, call 888-464-8422 or contact us here.
