Getting to know Randy Bowman

摘要

We are pleased to feature. AREMA's 2014-2015 president, Randy Bowman, as the September spotlight. AREMA: Why did you decide to choose a career in railway engineering? BOWMAN: I'd have to say my path into railway engineering is probably different than most. When I was in high school, several of my teachers suggested that I go into engineering because my strengths were in math and science. It was in my first year of college that I chose to major in materials engineering. I was more interested in how things were affected by the make-up and properties of a material than actually building things. I especially liked doing lab work and figuring out how things worked, why they failed and how to improve them. I never really thought about working in the railroad industry. However, after graduation, the opportunity presented itself to work in the Research and Tests Laboratory at Norfolk Southern. As you've probably heard many times, "railroading gets in your blood." It definitely got into mine. I spent more than 18 years in the Research and Test Laboratory before moving to the Engineering Department almost 11 years ago. I've had a rewarding career thus far and look forward to continuing it. It's a great time to be in the railroad industry.