In honor of National Engineers Week and Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day on Feb. 22, 2018, our mechanical and biomedical engineer Michaelina (Micki) Dupnik shared with Onshape Inc. how memories of her WWII veteran grandfather inspire her work on innovative medical devices here at Vivonics!

Being personally involved in the development of devices that improve the treatment of injured soldiers is deeply meaningful to me. My grandfather, Frank Destito (who our family affectionately called “Puppy”), was on his 23rd mission with a B-17 bomber crew when his plane was hit by enemy fire over Belgium during World War II.
My grandfather was hit by anti-aircraft ammunition that blew out his knee. Because he was at a very high altitude, his blood froze, saving his life. The B-17 crew tried to get back to England in their damaged plane, but could not make it and had to crash land in the English Channel. He and the crew floated for 10 hours waiting for air sea rescue. He was barely 18 years old and spent 18 months in a full body cast.

To read the full blog post visit: Why I Love Engineering.