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Kristal Fears is a manufacturing engineer at FCA US LLC. She earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from historically black Tennessee State University.
FCA US is an automaker with a new name and a long history.
FCA is building on the foundations of Chrysler, the American automaker first established by Walter P. Chrysler in 1925; and Fiat, founded in Italy in 1899 by pioneering entrepreneurs, including Giovanni Agnelli.
Headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, FCA US designs, engineers, manufactures and sells vehicles under the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, and Fiat brands.
In 2011, Kristal became responsible for a manufacturing program. She led a new generation of compact sport utility vehicles or C-SUVs. Kristal also led a team of managers and engineers making body shop, paint and assembly line changes to the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango products.
Her project was the first of its kind in the company, and the transmission flash system is now used in all FCA assembly plants and vehicle lines.
Kristal's knowledge of manufacturing principles saved FCA US $2 million every year.
Mechanical engineers use principles such as heat, force, and the conservation of mass and energy to analyze static and dynamic physical systems, in contributing to the design of things.
"Our programs complement the student learning experience with research initiatives in areas such as intelligent sensors, robotics, manufacturing, environmental issues, data fusion, and signal/image processing," says S. Keith Hargrove, Dean, and Professor of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering at Tennessee State.
The College provides Bachelor of Science degrees in Architectural, Civil, Electrical, and Mechanical Engineering, with majors in manufacturing, environmental, facilities, and computer engineering.
The College also awards degrees in Aeronautical & Industrial Technology, Computer Science, Master of Engineering, and MS and Ph.D. in Computer and Information Systems Engineering. Click here to learn more about Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at Tennessee State University.