About

North Iron Engineering (NIE) is an Alaskan owned and operated engineering firm specializing in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering. NIE operates the states only commercial metallurgical and welding test lab.

As our lab grows new process and test methods are implemented regularly. Test procedures that cannot be conducted in house are subcontracted to other local businesses, as well as our out-of-state partners as necessary. Our partners include:

  • University of Alaska Fairbanks Analytical Instrumentation Laboratory (UAF AIL) (Fairbanks, Alaska)
  • Kent Engineering (Seattle, WA)
  • North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC)
Location

At our one-of-a-kind Anchorage based lab, we provide a variety of services. Local laboratory services include, Charpy impact testing, advanced metallurgical analysis studies (grain structure, metallography, inclusion mappings ect,), hardness testing. North Iron Engineering has an in-house machine shop capable of manufacturing laboratory test coupons including Charpy bars, tensile bars, bend test, calibration samples and nick-break tests. Vertically integrated services and coupled with in-state engineering knowledge enable faster turnaround times.

Our People

Joseph Shepherd is the owner and principle engineer at North Iron Engineering, started in 2017. He is a stamped professional engineer (P.E) in Alaska, North Carolina, and Louisiana. He holds an AWS CWI stamp, and is ASNT Level II certified in UT Shearwave, Mag-particle testing, Penetrant testing, Leak testing, and Visual Testing. Joseph is a certified technical diver and has over 100 logged dives. He lives in Anchorage with his wife and kids. He loves to cook with local ingredients including salmon, Alaska spot prawn, halibut and moose. If you ask nicely he may give you some samples!

Zachery Boyden is an Engineer in Training who has his Bachelor’s of Science in Materials Science and Engineering from Michigan Technological University. He does a great deal of literature review and background research before conducting tests and analyzing the results. Zachery got into engineering because he wanted a life long learning experience, and that is what he has found. Every project teaches him to look at something in a new way or shown him a pattern that he hadn’t been expecting to find. Insects, specifically true bugs and beetles, bring a smile to his face. When he sees them he always scoops them up and admires them for a moment before gently setting them outside.

Jordyn Therriault is our jack of all trades here in the shop. She is a welder, fabricator, machinist and more. She finished her Associates of Applied Sciences in Welding and Nondestructive Testing from UAA in 2020 after earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis on Metal Sculpture and Ceramics from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2018. She is also a Certified Welding Inspector and is well on her way to becoming a level II NDT Technician in UT, PT, MT. Jordyn’s background in art makes it easy for her to see innovative solutions that when combined with the technical skills she has in the shop, she is a force to be reckoned with. Her favorite kinds of projects include welding, especially TIG welding, or running the mill, because she enjoys feeling like she’s part of the machine.