Anita Rebarchak Wins ASME Old Guard Early Career Award

Pratt & Whitney Military Engines employee Anita Rebarchak was recently selected as winner of the American Society Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Old Guard Early Career Award. The award, established in 1994, is to help young engineers bridge the gap between college and professional life.

Rebarchak began her career at P&W in July 2006 after graduating from Drexel University. In her current position, Rebarchak supports Pratt & Whitney's fifth-generation engine programs. As team lead, she works closely with the U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin. Previously, Rebarchak was a coatings manufacturing process engineer in Pratt & Whitney's Turbine Module Center. Her responsibilities included developing and standardizing processes for coatings on turbine blades, day-to-day production support and implementation of process certification initiatives to improve quality and operational efficiency. While in this position, she completed her Six Sigma Black Belt certification and filed a patent application for tooling used in the coating process.

"Pratt & Whitney was an easy selection for me coming out of college," said Rebarchak. "Our company not only uses some of the coolest and most advanced technology in the world, we also support one of the noblest causes, our military and ultimately the warfighter."

As a member of the ASME, Rebarchak has been actively involved in the organization since she was a student. ASME provides mechanical engineers with the opportunity to foster development and knowledge sharing, collaborating across all disciplines. Rebarchak was recognized for continuous dedication and service to ASME, from college freshman through professional member, including numerous section, district and Society-level positions; for remarkable technical and professional achievements; and for mentoring students and early career engineers, and inspiring engineers and volunteers of all ages.

"My membership allows me to network across various industries to problem solve, further my education and provides an opportunity to fine tune my leadership skills before bringing them into the workplace," she said.

Influenced by the support of her ASME and professional mentors throughout her career, Rebarchak plans to continue to provide the same mentoring to students and young engineers in the future.

"Without the support of a professional association such as ASME, I would not be where I am today," said Rebarchak. "I encourage all young engineers to partake in a professional organization as the experience has been invaluable to me as a person and a professional."

Click here to read the ASME press release about Anita Rebarchak's award.