It is not only Brian Elliott’s engineering degree that has had a positive impact on his career, but also his education from the University of Iowa as a whole.  He has three degrees from the university in finance, mathematics and mechanical engineering.

Brian’s dream was always to operate his own engineering company, and the combination of business degree and mechanical engineering degrees gave him the foundation to pursue this opportunity, now as president of Brown Engineering in Des Moines, Iowa. “Although my current focus is structural engineering, the mechanical engineering program at Iowa provided me with a solid background,” he said.  “Thus, the transition from mechanical to structural engineering was an easy one.” 

Engineering consulting demands knowledge of a variety of engineering disciplines in order to solve a wide array of engineering challenges.  Brown Engineering is a multidisciplinary firm encompassing mechanical, electrical, civil, electrical, and structural design services.  Brian’s mechanical engineering degree gave him the fundamentals needed to convey engineering problems to other engineers in the company with other engineering disciplines.

“The relationships and friendships I developed while in the engineering program at Iowa continue to this day in the engineering consulting community,” he added.  “They have provided not only great business relationships for collaboration but also lifelong friendships as well.”