{"682012":{"#nid":"682012","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Engineering a Day at the (Theme) Park  ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs a member of a military family, Dennis Velez moved a lot throughout his childhood, but no matter where they lived, whether it was Jacksonville, Florida, or Yokosuka, Japan, the nearest theme park always felt like home. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EVelez never tired of the thrill of a roller coaster and other attractions, but the more parks he visited, the more interested he became in their design and operation \u2014 most memorably as an elementary school student during a trip to Tokyo Disneyland. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The more I learned, the more I realized that it\u0027s one of the craziest engineering problems you can have. Sending people on these attractions that go for hours on end every single day of the year, they have to be perfectly safe and perfectly designed to make sure they can run efficiently and give the same experience to every guest every day,\u0022 he said. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EVelez arrived at Georgia Tech in 2021 as a mechanical engineering student. He quickly earned the nickname \u0022safety guy\u0022 in the Theme Park Engineering Design Club, as he continued to narrow his focus and determine how to use his major in the industry. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022There are insane ideas for rides and how they are supposed to make you feel \u2014 like you\u0027re flying on a broomstick or traveling through space,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, how can we leverage technology that exists to reflect that idea, make sure it works as intended, and run it safely?\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EVelez became Georgia Tech\u0027s first student representative on the ASTM Committee F24 on Amusement Rides and Devices \u2014 a global organization that develops standards and best practices for theme park attractions. Completing internships with Oceaneering\u0027s entertainment systems division and Universal Studios, he learned the project management skills to see an idea come to fruition and better understand the teamwork required to execute its delivery. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022When you\u0027re an engineer, you\u0027re never working on your own. You\u0027re always working with a lot of people, and you have to make sure that you can work well with others and integrate your skills with your team,\u201d he said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EVelez sees that same principle of interconnectedness in his role as a trumpet player in the Yellow Jacket Marching Band. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022If you mess up as one of 40 trumpets, people may not notice because other members are there to hold you up. It\u0027s another aspect of uniformity and connectedness in a group, and it starts with having a strong connection. For the band, that comes from doing something we love for our school and getting in the heads of the opposing teams at the same time,\u0022 he said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHis extracurricular activities and internships took him to new places during his undergraduate degree program, but Velez calls the trip to Ireland to kick off the 2024 college football season his \u0022magnum opus\u0022 and an experience he\u0027ll remember for a lifetime.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EVelez will return to campus in the fall to pursue a master\u0027s in mechanical engineering before entering the industry. While he admits there were stressful days along the way, he never viewed his time as an undergraduate as a roller coaster, but rather a day at the park. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Theme parks were always our happy place because we were together as a family, and I\u0027m just excited to one day see the reactions of kids and their families experiencing a ride that I worked on, and giving them that same sense of wonder,\u0022 he said. \u201cThis industry is all about bringing joy to others, and I want to do my part in creating this outlet for all to enjoy.\u0022\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Theme parks have always felt like home to Dennis Velez. He wants to recreate that feeling for people around the world.  "}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETheme parks have always felt like home to Dennis Velez. He wants to recreate that feeling for people around the world. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Theme parks have always felt like home to Dennis Velez. He wants to recreate that feeling for people around the world.  "}],"uid":"36418","created_gmt":"2025-04-24 20:54:15","changed_gmt":"2025-04-25 13:40:40","author":"sgagliano3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-04-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-04-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"676934":{"id":"676934","type":"image","title":"Dennis Velez","body":null,"created":"1745528233","gmt_created":"2025-04-24 20:57:13","changed":"1745528233","gmt_changed":"2025-04-24 20:57:13","alt":"Dennis Velez","file":{"fid":"260785","name":"IMG_4999.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/04\/24\/IMG_4999.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/04\/24\/IMG_4999.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2234786,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/04\/24\/IMG_4999.jpg?itok=YAxT4pxq"}}},"media_ids":["676934"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"98751","name":"College of Engineering; George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering"},{"id":"167101","name":"Spring Commencement"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39541","name":"Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:steven.gagliano@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESteven Gagliano\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013\u0026nbsp;Institute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}