Collin York (Omega 1800) has been named as a Pi Kappa Phi’s 30 Under 30 for 2021.
He is the ninth chapter member to be part of the distinguished group established by the national fraternity in 2014. Omega is tied for second all-time in the number of men from the 101 chapters that have received such recognition.
Alumni are nominated by their peers, older brothers or friends of the fraternity, according to the national website. Nominees are reviewed by a selection committee based on their “impact, leadership and service.”
York, who graduated with a BS in aeronautic and astronautical engineering from Purdue 2013, was a product engineering intern for Cummins in Columbus, Indiana as a student. After graduating he started as a product engineer for more than three years at Cummins where he “designed and launched a new generation of turbochargers to increase the power and sustainability of future diesel engines.”
Then he earned a master’s degree in the same field completing that coursework in 2018.
“I found that my passion was putting people into space,” which sent him back to Purdue for advanced degrees.
Over the course of the next four years plus he was a graduate teaching assistant and research assistant at Purdue and was held a guidance and targeting internship with NASA in Houston.
In 2018, he continued work as a NASA Pathways graduate student and began work on PhD also in aero at Purdue.
“I have worked in engineering developing flight software for Artemis (NASA’s latest moon mission) and in Mission Control producing software for flight controllers in the upcoming Boeing commercial missions to the International Space Station,” York said.
His work with NASA also entails spacecraft trajectory planning space travel to Mars.
He credits his fraternity experience – surrounding himself with high achievers – as paramount to his professional and personal development.
“I am fortunate that many of my fraternity brothers shared a drive to succeed and be a positive influence,” he said. “These bonds have helped me find the courage to change my career and follow my passion.”
As an undergraduate, York served the chapter as recruitment and academic chairman. The chapter’s commitment to service made an impact on him, too.
While at Cummins he worked with United Way “creating volunteer opportunities and raising funds for local non-profit organizations.” Nowadays he works on civic engagement initiatives, including voter registration.
“Pi Kappa Phi taught me the value of leadership through service,” he said.
He and his wife, Caroline whom he met while working at Cummins, are the parents of twin boys.