Hongsun Park Engineering Institute

Hongsun Park Engineering Institute was founded in 2419 in Phoenixport on Biesel and is dedicated to education. Its early mission was to educate engineering students on the emergent applications of the phoron present in Tau Ceti. Two years after its discovery, phoron's promising potential for use as an energy source prompted founder Park Seong-ja to establish the institution, with the expectation that the excitement surrounding the resource would make securing investment and donations for the school a simple matter. This hope was quickly fulfilled, as private and government interests combined to fund what they believed would prove to be an important piece of the puzzle to solve the Alliance's energy crisis. Park and her trustees have since striven to stay at the forefront of applied phoron technologies, using the relevance of the field to survive the century's economic and political crises. When NanoTrasen effectively bought the system in 2452, the board moved quickly to closely integrate itself with the megacorporation.

Park Min-soo, Seong-ja's son, currently presides as Dean of the university's College of Engineering, which encompasses the vast majority of its programs. While his aging and functionally-retired mother remains the figurative leader of the institute, Min-soo has taken the majority of administrative responsibilities for himself.

Academics
Though young by the measure of more prestigious universities, HPEI sets itself apart on Biesel for its aggressive marketing and pursuit of emerging, high-risk fields. In no small part thanks to a close partnership with NanoTrasen, they are one of the few educational institutions in Tau Ceti to participate in the megacorporation's Bluespace, xenobiology and exotic particle research programs, offering invaluable experience to their most promising students.

The university caters to job fields entirely dominated by NanoTrasen within Tau Ceti, limiting students' employment prospects within Tau Ceti to the megacorporation, making the students highly competitive.

The campus itself is notable for being a sprawling locale on the southern edge of Phoenixport, accommodating a network of lecture halls, dormitories, service buildings, a retail outlet, a recreational complex, and multiple laboratory complexes. While there is no accredited athletics program, the school hosts several recreational leagues for activities ranging from association football to e-sports.

The school's mascot is a friendly, fictional, labcoat-clad IPC named QUARK, but the recent political climate has prompted a review to potentially replace it.

Relevant Jobs
The primary focus of the University remains a robust engineering curriculum. The majority of graduates go off to become engineers, atmospheric technicians, and predominately chosen to become Chief Engineers. The campus also strives to have graduates that are brilliant scientists, roboticists, or even Research Directors for various institutions.

Famous Graduates
Rick James, the current Chief Engineering Director of NanoTrasen.