Five Questions With…

John Dreger is a senior instrumentation specialist at the Wisconsin Structural and Materials Testing Labs in the College of Engineering, where he’s worked for more than 41 years.

1. Describe your job. I am involved with design and fabrication of specialized sensors for structural and materials testing. I also manage and lecture in the instructional labs.

2. What made you want to work at UW–Madison? What has made you want to continue working here? After being a student here and working in industry and the military, I thought the academic world would be worth trying as a vocation. It turned out be the best decision I could have made, since working here is a continual learning process. It’s like I never left school. Every day presents a new challenge in this high-tech world, and being part of it is very rewarding.

3. What is your favorite memory of the university? The memories are numerous and always come back when I meet past students at conferences and learn of their endeavors and accomplishments — again, part of the rewards of the academic world. And, of course, those great basketball games!

4. What has surprised you most or challenged you most as you have continued your career at UW–Madison? Probably the advancement and respect that the field of engineering has made in our society in the time I have been here. That has personally been both very satisfying and challenging to be involved in, particularly working with students and projects pertaining to biomedical and aerospace research.

5. If you could ask anyone on campus any question, who and what would it be? Do we really have to change Memorial Union?