It's Better in Baton Rouge: Integer-LSU Partnership, Defense Contract Bring LSU Grad Home

Zachary Burchfield’s return to Baton Rouge began with homesickness. Eight years ago, the LSU electrical engineering graduate left for a job at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Lab.

Baltimore had been good to Zachary and his wife, Jean. His work on Navy radar, air, and missile defense systems took him to Southern California and Hawaii, and three times to the Arctic. Along the way, he earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering.

“We had a lot of great experiences. We made a few friends. Jean and I had two kids,” Burchfield said. “But it was just us up there, and we really missed our family back home.”

Then in March 2025, Burchfield’s brother-in-law David Wascome passed away unexpectedly.

“That was kind of a trigger for us to move back home, to be close to family and to help my sister with things,” Burchfield said. “I started looking for job opportunities.”

Unfortunately, the number of defense jobs in Baton Rouge used to be limited.  

So, Burchfield reached out to his LSU connections, Electrical and Computer Engineering Division Chair Shuangqing Wei, and Chemical Engineering Professor and Associate Vice President John Flake, Burchfield’s senior project advisor.

Wei looked at teaching and research positions for Burchfield, but an LSU hiring freeze and a significant pay cut made those options less attractive.

Flake didn’t think any of the jobs would challenge Burchfield. He knew firsthand what Burchfield could do, impressing Flake with his work on LSU’s Chem-E Car team, where students build shoebox-sized cars powered by chemical reactions. Burchfield’s work on the reaction that controlled when the car stopped helped LSU win the Southern regional contest and place 10th nationally.

Flake couldn’t come up with a better landing spot. However, he worked next door to LSU Strategic Research Partnerships Assistant Vice President Greg Trahan, who had just helped LSU and Integer Technologies, a South Carolina-based defense tech company, land a $9.8 million contract to develop software and decision-making systems for unmanned Naval vehicles. Integer had already established offices at LSU, including a lease at LSU Innovation Park, and hired four LSU engineering graduates.

Trahan and Wei recommended Integer make Burchfield the fifth. A few weeks later, Integer made it official. Burchfield became Integer’s newest Senior Communications Systems Engineer.

Trahan low-keyed the news to Flake: “Hey, remember that kid Zach Burchfield? Yeah, he’s going to come work for Integer.”

For Burchfield, everything fell into place. He and Jean bought a house in Kenilworth – the neighborhood where he grew up – just a few doors up from his parents.

“When my aunt and uncle heard we were moving down here, they said, ‘Well, would you like to buy our house? We’re moving to Shreveport to be near our daughter,’” Burchfield said. “My wife and I said, ‘Heck, yeah.’”

Trahan said Burchfield’s return is exactly the kind of outcome LSU hopes for in its partnerships.

 “Integer gets a top engineer. LSU strengthens its ties to a leading defense contractor. Zack gets to be back with his family. Our graduates see there are opportunities at home, ” Trahan said.