Photography courtesy of Chip Stranahan

Interviewed by Sally Credille

Darrell Krueger
'05, '07, Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical Engineer
TUV - Rail Sciences
Atlanta, Ga.

Typical day . . . problem solving for railroads: everything from track geometry issues, fuel conservation and train handling to rail car engineering and derailment investigation.

Engineering challenge. . . finding the root cause of a derailment for concerned customers and helping them fix their problem; answering questions like, "What were the key influences?" and "Was it train operation? A bad track? Worn out rail cars?"

My Auburn Engineering . . . helped me get a handle on practical, real-world problems and solutions, not just the theoretical ones. Society of Automotive Engineers teams taught me about effective communication and project
management.

Geek moment . . . every time I’m stopped by a train at a railroad crossing, I look at each rail car for possible problems.

Turning point . . . after a difficult sophomore year at Auburn, someone told me, "Maybe you're not cut out to be an engineer." That wasn’t easy to hear, but I used that energy to my advantage and earned two degrees.

Sense of pride . . . being a part of the greatest railroad system anywhere in the world; having a railroad take your work and apply it system wide to be safer and more efficient.