April 27, 2025

Tanner Juch has spent 10 years in the Navy, the last few as a student in Mizzou’s NROTC program. Learn more about his campus experience and what he has planned after graduation.

Tanner Juch, a St. Louis native, chose to attend Mizzou after serving more than five years in the Navy and being selected for a commissioning program. It was a perfect match — his grandfather had graduated from Mizzou and inspired a family legacy.

Now, he’s weeks away from graduating with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.

“I have wanted to get into mechanical and aerospace engineering since I was a junior in high school,” Juch said. “I grew up literally walking the halls of Boeing’s St. Louis offices, my grandfather was also a design engineer there, and I have always wanted to go back. I found a love for fluid flow and heat transfer during my naval nuclear power training and Mizzou has allowed me to explore that field.”

Juch, his wife and three children have been in Columbia, Missouri, for the last three years, and he’s excited to continue his career as a naval officer after graduation. Learn more about his undergraduate experience and advice for future Mizzou Engineers.

I started a study at the beginning of my senior year on the heat transfer capabilities of the space shuttle.

When NASA designed the space shuttle, they had to figure out how to build it to withstand the heat it would experience during reentry. They used iterative methods, by hand or rudimentary computing, to develop empirical equations that they used for the shuttle’s thermal protection system.

Today, we can use simulation software to estimate the heating and manipulate the aircraft to change how the heat transfer affects it. My study is doing that, looking at the validity of the empirical equations, comparing the software’s estimation to those equations, and developing a model for how we can better dissipate the heat experienced by reentry vehicles.

I love the freedom of the Mizzou Engineering education.

I’ve enjoyed exploring minors as well as the high quality of the electives we can choose. It really helped me narrow down exactly what I wanted to focus on in industry or furthering my education.

It has also helped me develop an invaluable network of friends, colleagues and professors. I’m sure having as many knowledgeable professionals in my contacts list as I do will help me down the road.

I will be reporting to the USS Farragut (DDG-99) to continue my naval career as an officer.

I’m proud to be a Tiger because of the rich history of Mizzou, the beautiful campus and the knowledgeable and helpful faculty and staff. I want everyone at Mizzou to have the kind of experiences I had.

Take advantage of opportunities to enjoy all of Mizzou.

Go to football games, basketball games, gymnastics. Walk the miles of trails in Columbia. Join clubs that you enjoy, but also that will test your knowledge and develop your character. Speak with the people who set up tables at Speakers Circle. Engage with your professors in a professional and personal sense. It goes by quick, so seize it!

Earn a degree while gaining life-changing experiences. Choose Mizzou Mechanical Engineering!