SUNY Reconnect Faculty Highlight

Reconnect Faculty Highlight: Dan Moretti

Meet Dan Moretti, Assistant Professor of Machine Tool Technology at SUNY Corning Community College.  Dan helps adult learners master the skills needed for successful careers in advanced manufacturing.
The Machine Tool Tech. AAS is a SUNY Reconnect funding eligible program! 

What should interested learners know about Machining and SUNY Reconnect?

Job opportunity is strong in the manufacturing sector in the Southern Tier, and in New York State. Manufacturing companies have a desperate need for skilled machinists and programmers, and are increasingly losing their current workforce to retirements. Now is an excellent time to learn new skills to take advantage of well-paying job openings!

Students do not need experience with machining to start the Machine Tool Technology AAS and gain extremely marketable skills at a manageable learning pace, with support available in and beyond the classroom. Many local companies hire students in our program before they graduate, and promote them upon degree completion!

For those with machining experience, upskilling and earning a degree is a solid career plan to improve earnings and advancement.  Talk to us about credit for prior learning.

If you like making things and making money, check out SUNY Reconnect and the Machine Tool Tech. program at CCC.

How does your program benefit SUNY Reconnect students?

The Machine Tool Tech. program provides a great path for people who would like to enter the manufacturing industry, or who have been working in industry and want to advance their role and pay.

Someone who works in the stockroom or as an entry-level machine operator can attend the Machine Tool Tech. program for free with SUNY Reconnect funding; learn at a manageable pace, typically while still working; and engage with excellent faculty and supportive student services..

Once they complete the program, they will be well-equipped to move into more significant machining, CNC programming, manufacturing engineering, and supervisory roles. These roles are often more stable, and significantly higher paying.

When did you begin working at SUNY CCC, and why/how did you end up here?

I began working at CCC when I was a student at the college a decade ago. I served as an AutoCAD and Solidworks tutor while I earned my Manufacturing Technology AAS.

Fast forward to 2021 and I worked as an adjunct, teaching a section of TECH 1080 Manufacturing Methods Lab for a semester while I was working full-time as a CNC programmer and machinist at Service Machine and Tool.

I suppose I got good reviews from students because about 8 months later I was asked to join the faculty for the Fall 2022 semester!

I joined CCC as a full-time faculty member to rebuild and modernize the machining program with new equipment and curriculum to provide students a high-quality education at an affordable price. My work experience and interest in teaching and life-long learning is valuable in designing engaging classes for students. My goal is to prepare graduates for good jobs and help keep our local manufacturing base in the Southern Tier vibrant. I am happy to say program graduates are doing just that!

What classes do you teach at SUNY CCC?

• TECH 1080 Manufacturing Methods Lab
• MACH 1040 Precision Machining 1
• MACH 1540 Precision Machining 2
• MECH 1560 CNC Mill Programming
• MACH 2510 CNC Lathe Programming
• MACH 2380 Mastercam
• MACH 2400 CNC Machining
• MACH 2410 Tooling Technology
• MACH 2350 Machine Tool Co-Op

What's your favorite part about being a faculty member at SUNY CCC?

Getting to teach people about machining - perhaps my primary interest and passion - and seeing them develop into highly capable machinists and programmers.

What's been the best part of your professional career?

Having former students and recent graduates email me or visit and thank me for how well-prepared they were for their new careers, and show me (when not under NDA of course) all of the cool projects they've been working on in "the real world."

What do you like to do during your free time/time outside of the classroom?

I enjoy building and repairing things in my home workshop, hiking, and history.

What are some of the companies where Machine Tool Technology graduates work?

Our graduates work for companies including:

• The Hilliard Corporation
• Corning, Inc.
• Siemens Energy
• Forkhardt Hardinge
• Cameron Manufacturing & Design
• Service Machine & Tool Co.
• Kennedy Valve
• Victaulic
• Howell Packaging
• Tobeyco
• EL Manufacturing
• Lockheed Martin
• Jabil, Inc.
• ...and many others.