Thomas A. Teramura: Academy of Distinguished Engineers - 2014

Vice President of Technology and Innovations, PCC Structurals Portland, Ore.One of Thomas Teramura’s fondest memories as a student at Oregon State is racing a derby car made from old bicycle parts and junkyard metals during a competition for Engineering Day. He was the driver and won first place.

“It was a little scary because we didn’t have the best materials,” he recalled.After 30 years in the casting industry, Teramura has worked with some of the most high-performing materials in the world, and in diverse roles, including product engineering, engineering management, and plant management.

Today, he serves as vice president of technology and innovations for PCC Structurals, a division of Precision Castparts Corporation. His contributions have been integral to the development and industrialization of some of the largest, most sophisticated, and complex investment castings in exotic titanium and superalloy materials in the world.

He holds a patent in ceramics materials and is accomplished in developing new processes.As a leader in a cutting-edge industry, Teramura stresses the fundamental value of people in business and engineering.“Connect with people,” he said. “Even though we talk about automation as a result of new technologies, it still takes people to build, service, sell, and buy these things.”