Brenda Autry Journalism Blog

  Non-Destructive Testing Program is Alive Emily Whittier helping NDT student John Lopez There is no doubt that your life has been saved not once, not twice, but hundreds of times because of non-destructive testing. When you get on a plane, the engines that propel it are tested using NDT methods. The parts that make up your car’s brake system, the welds on the bridges you drive over, and even the parts in your cell phone, were tested using NDT.  NDT is a wide variety of testing methods used to evaluate engineering materials and their properties without causing damage to them. These tests ensure a product's integrity and reliability. They help to avoid failures, prevent accidents and to save human lives.  Xray equipment in the NDT lab Formerly known as the Metallurgy program, NDT has been a staple at LBCC for decades. The department has two full-time instructors, Scott Ballard and Zachary Milligan, and one Instructional Assist faculty member, Emily Whittier. Milligan, who ...

Emily Whittier was hired last term as a part-time instructional specialist in the non-destructive testing program at LBCC. She began working in the industry about 15 years ago when she found that her job as a hairdresser just wasn’t paying the bills. Emily Whittier prepares a part for testing “I had to figure something else out,” Whittier said. “I got a job at Selmet through a temp agency. I started out as an entry-level darkroom attendant and I really liked it. It was easy, fun and even though I initially made less money per hour, I was making more because I always got 40 or more hours a week.” Whittier, who also works as a level II radiographer with Pacific Cast Technologies, makes about $29 an hour now. She worked at Selmet for 11 years and received on-the-job training that enabled her to move forward in the field and obtain her level I and level II radiographer certifications. Currently Whittier is one of only two females employed in academic roles in LBCC's A...