From Grocery Store To Engineering Pioneer: Michael Burger’s Story

Long before computer simulations could predict how a car crumples in a crash, Michael Burger was learning precision the old-fashioned way — behind a meat counter in a small Wyoming grocery store.

Now, decades after that first job and a career spent solving some of engineering’s most complex problems, Burger has been named the 2026 Casper College Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, honoring a lifetime of work that helped shape modern safety technology used around the world.

Burger’s story begins in Casper, where he grew up and attended Natrona County High School. As a sophomore, he took a job at the Roundup store in Mountain View — now part of Mills — starting as a stock boy before quickly moving into the meat department.

“I started as a stock boy and quickly went to the meat market, where Henry Washut, also the store owner, taught me how to cut meat,” Burger recalled.

That early job helped instill the work ethic that would carry him through a winding path to higher education. After high school, Burger did not have enough money saved to attend college, so in 1957 he enlisted in the U.S. Army. He was accepted into Officer Candidate School and served as a second lieutenant, training recruits for two years.

When he returned to Casper in 1960, he turned his focus to education, enrolling at Casper College. Two years later, he graduated with an associate degree in engineering — the first step in a career that would span more than half a century.

Burger continued his studies at the University of Wyoming, earning both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mechanical engineering. Soon after, he joined Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, where he would spend 27 years working in computer applications and structural analysis.

At the time, the field of engineering was undergoing a technological shift.

“Most of the engineering analysis was still done using slide rules,” Burger said. “This changed to computer programs running on large mainframe computers, such as the IBM 360. Personal computers were still in the future.”

Burger found himself at the forefront of that transition. While still a student at the University of Wyoming, he developed a beam-structure application program — software that could analyze how structures respond to stress. At Livermore, he used that program to model buildings, airplanes, and missiles during the early days of computer-based engineering.

Over the course of his career, Burger became an expert in the finite element method, or FEM — a mathematical technique used to approximate solutions to complex physical problems. The method allows engineers to simulate how materials and structures behave under real-world conditions, from heat transfer to fluid flow to mechanical stress.

Today, FEM is widely used in industries ranging from aerospace to manufacturing. One of its most visible applications is in automotive safety, where simulations help engineers design safer vehicles.

Burger later worked at Sandia National Laboratories and Livermore Software Technology Corporation, where he contributed to the development and use of LS-DYNA, a powerful simulation program used worldwide to model crashes, impacts, and other high-stress events.

The software plays a key role in testing vehicle safety systems — including the development of crash dummies equipped with impact sensors.

According to Ansys, the company that acquired Livermore Software Technology Corporation in 2019, LS-DYNA is used globally for automotive crash and pedestrian safety testing, as well as aerospace applications such as bird strikes and jet engine safety.

Casper College Criminal Justice Instructor Art Washut nominated Burger for the award, recalling his early years working for Washut’s father at the Round Up Market.

“I was a small boy when Mike Burger came to work for my dad,” Washut said. “Mike was a personable, hard-working, and dependable fellow. Those traits made him popular with my dad.”

Years later, Washut said he was surprised to learn just how far Burger’s career had taken him — and how many lives his work may have helped protect.

“I learned about Mike’s career as well and the many things that he and his team had accomplished, most importantly in the automotive safety industry with their development of the first crash dummies with impact sensors,” Washut said.

Despite his global impact, Burger remains focused on the message he hopes his recognition sends to students starting where he once did.

“I feel honored to be recognized by Casper College as its 2026 Distinguished Alumni,” he said. “I hope my story will incentivize others to pursue a college degree, and Casper College is a great place to discover and begin a career.”

The Distinguished Alumni Award is presented annually to graduates nominated by their peers and selected by the Casper College Alumni Association board of directors — recognizing individuals whose careers reflect both professional achievement and lasting impact.

For Burger, that journey began with a part-time job in a small-town grocery store — and grew into a career that helped make modern transportation safer for millions of people.