Tyler Hayes

Tyler Hayes has always been a hands-on learner, so the programs on the Polytechnic campus were enticing to him. The smaller class sizes with the same advantages of a larger university drew him to the engineering program in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, part of Arizona State University.

In addition, Hayes appreciated opportunities such as Barrett, The Honors College at ASU as he was interested in the freedom to shape his learning experience. He chose the mechanical engineering systems concentration because he wanted to build a solid foundation to be able to pursue manufacturing engineering.

Hayes also wanted to help others. He became an Honors Devil peer mentor to incoming students and volunteered at the annual Barrett retreat. He also started working at the Innovation Hub as a technician and, most recently, a research assistant with 3DX research group and becoming involved with the ASU chapter of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers.

In looking at who made an impact on his time at  ASU, Hayes says that Scott Hillery, a faculty associate in the engineering program, was a positive influence, inspiring his drive to design and build things better. Learning dimensioning and tolerancing practices to design parts that are guaranteed to fit together changed the way he thought through the production process.

“Mr. Hillery sparked my interest and passion in computer*aided design and geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, which ended up being the topic of my honors thesis,” Hayes says.

His favorite project that he worked on was a fully functional desktop taco-making machine that was designed as a team project. This design was required to tie to one of the United Nations sustainability goals, and their group was assigned quality education. The team concluded that food insecurity is a major disruption to obtaining a good education. Their idea was to feed students in the classroom, and that was when the automated taco machine was born.

“The prototype dispensed a tortilla onto a conveyor belt where it received a serving of meat, cheese, onions and cilantro before getting dispensed on a plate,” Hayes said. “It was brilliant!”

Upon graduation, Hayes will pursue his master’s degree in manufacturing engineering at ASU and will stay in Arizona to take advantage of the expanding manufacturing footprint. Another goal is to look into fast food automation and revolutionize how companies can deliver safe, fast, healthy and affordable nutrition solutions.

Read about other exceptional graduates of the Fulton Schools’ spring 2025 class here.