Steve Roper
In the late 1990s, shortly after Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando opened Animal Kingdom, its largest and newest theme park, an unanticipated problem developed with a major attraction - Kali River Rapids. At the end of the water-ride attraction the 12-passenger rafts would bump together and interlock as passengers tried to unload, causing the ride to shut down almost every day.
To solve this problem, Walt Disney's Animal Kingdom turned to Steven G. Roper, a mechanical engineer and Beaufort County Community College graduate, who designed a guide wall of stainless steel rollers in the water, known to Disney insiders as the “roller wall.” Thanks to Roper's design, the rubber rafts no longer jam up and the ride no longer shuts down.
Designing solutions to mechanical problems at Walt Disney World Resort is all in a day's work for Roper who received his advanced machinist diploma from BCCC in 1984 before going on to N.C. State University where he earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 1989. He credits his machinist diploma from BCCC – his hands-on experience manufacturing parts - with giving him the skills needed to design parts that are cost-effective to make.
“I chose BCCC since it was local, which allowed me to live at home and attend school,” he said. “The program offered at BCCC was very good and there was no reason to move or look elsewhere.”
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Thursday, April 01, 2010 06:43:56 AM
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