Grad Profile: Eli Tormes, E’25
Growing up in Kansas City, Missouri, Eli Tormes always imagined sports would shape his future. Baseball, in particular, was the center of his plans – so much so that he started his college career at a community college and later at Pittsburg State University, both places where he could pursue the sport he loved. But life had different plans. An injury forced him to re-evaluate not only his athletic career, but also what he wanted his life to look like moving forward.
“I was a pitcher and I tore my labrum in my shoulder,” Tormes explained. “I had surgery to fix it and tried to come back and do rehab and everything, but it just kept flaring up. When I realized I couldn’t pitch anymore, I decided to go to KU to get my engineering degree.”
The setback wasn’t easy, but it opened a door to something new – architectural engineering, a field still aligned with his passion for sports, even if he couldn’t be on the field anymore.
“I wanted to do something with sports stadiums,” he said. “I thought the easiest way to get into that would be architectural engineering because I could either go structural or electrical or HVAC systems within sports stadiums.”
That focus paid off early. This past summer, Tormes completed an internship where he had the chance to work directly on sports facilities, including a project at Southern Methodist University’s Moody Coliseum.
“Getting to work on stadiums was exactly what I hoped architectural engineering could lead me to,” he said.
Still, his path to KU has been shaped by more than just athletics. While considering both KU and K-State for their programs, the deciding factor came down to Tormes’ wife, who is majoring in aerospace engineering.
“K-State didn’t have an aerospace program, so we decided to go to KU,” said Tormes. “I was excited about it. It’s about a 50-minute drive to both of our families’ homes in Kansas City.”
Once he arrived at KU, Tormes immersed himself in his program and student organizations. He served as the engineering representative for the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), a small but active group focused on lighting design and innovation. He’s also enjoyed the time he’s spent in the ARCE senior lab, citing the collaboration as one of the highlights of his educational career here.
“Especially as the projects get closer to submittal, the lab will be packed,” he said. “Sometimes there aren’t enough computers for everyone, but people are still working together. It’s nice. You’re able to bounce ideas off of each other while you’re working on projects.”
Faculty have also made a significant impact on his time at KU. Tormes is especially grateful for the guidance of Hongyi Cai, who taught his lighting design course and helped him receive the Besal Fund Scholarship for both 2024 and 2025.
“Working with Dr. Cai was a lot of fun,” he said. “It was really cool designing and using the lighting program.”
He also appreciated the teaching style of Will Lindquist, a new professor for the department who started teaching this year.
“He’s a cool guy who knows exactly what he’s talking about,” said Tormes. “You can tell he’s a father because of his understanding of what his students’ needs are.”
After his graduation this past weekend, Tormes is stepping into a role unlike any architecturally trained engineering student before him at Kiewit.
“I’m going in as a full electrical engineer,” he said. “Kiewit has actually never had an architectural engineer go straight electrical. Starting in January, I’ll be working on power plants and I’m pretty excited about it.”
The transition feels natural given the interests he developed in his coursework.
“One of my favorite classes was thermodynamics, which was basically a big overview of how power plants are run and the whole process behind it,” he said.
His internship at Kiewit last summer also helped shape this direction.
“I started last summer as an intern in overhead transmission line engineering, which is actually a civil engineering role,” Tormes said. “Going through the summer, I made connections with people and talked to the electrical engineering department heads and they ended up taking me in as a full electrical engineer.”
Looking ahead, Tormes hopes to explore where electrical engineering can take him, though stadium work may still be in his future.
“I could still see working on stadiums, but definitely not any time soon,” he said. “I think it would be cool to design the new Royals stadium coming somewhere in Kansas City.”
For incoming students, his advice is simple and steady.
“Put your head down and get to work,” Tormes said. “It’s not supposed to be easy.” And for those entering his own program, he adds with a laugh, “Survive studio and the rest should be fine.”