Kyle Mathis is Caloris Engineering’s newest process engineer. Get to know Kyle here.
Caloris: How did you get involved in engineering?
Kyle: Engineering as a career isn’t well known in the rural part of Illinois where I grew up, but I credit the late Allen Burbank, who was my first chemistry professor at Chester High School in Illinois. I grew up excelling at math but didn’t know how to apply it to a career. Surprisingly, chemistry was quite easy for me, and Professor Burbank asked me one day after class what I wanted to do in the future. I told him perhaps architecture, but he suggested to consider chemical engineering. I didn’t know what this chemical engineering was, but figured I should strongly consider the thoughts of someone who knows more than I. Hence, I studied chemical engineering at the University of Illinois.
Kyle Mathis and his wife, Megan.
Caloris: What do you enjoy most about your work?
Kyle: Like many engineers, solving complex problems without a defined solution is entertaining and challenging. I enjoy working with several different unit operations applied to a variety of chemicals – food, pharma, specialty, etc.
Caloris: You are based in New Jersey. What do you like most about living/working there?
Kyle: Contrary to popular belief, The Garden State has much farmland, which is where my wife and I reside. However, there is also easy access to several cities and the shore, which my wife highly enjoys.
Caloris: What are your hobbies? Anything else fun you’d like to share?
Kyle: Baseball, basketball, volleyball, wakeboarding, felling trees, and moving dirt.
Caloris: What’s your favorite cheese?
Kyle: Mozzarella, especially as part of Chicago-style deep dish pizza.
Caloris: What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Kyle: Toss up between strawberry cheesecake/double fudge brownie/chocolate chip cookie dough.
Caloris: Anything else you’d like to share about yourself?
Kyle: I’ll share two: 1) It’s taken a decade, but I’ve read 67% of Perry’s Chemical Engineers’ Handbook, 8th Ed. 2) I have an MBA from the University of Delaware..