BSCI Alum, Faculty Member Brings Professionalism Back to the Trades

Following in his grandparents’, parents’ and cousins’ footsteps, Conradi enrolled in Auburn after graduating high school in 2002, but he quickly realized that a traditional academic path wasn’t for him.

He left engineering school and went to work for an electrical subcontractor, soon earning his electrical license. In 2007, Conradi opened a small electrical company, Thalamus, taking on solo cabling jobs and building his business.

In his 30s—with encouragement from his family, Conradi decided to return to school, enrolling in the McWhorter School of Building Science (BSCI). While he was in the thesis program, Thalamus took off, challenging Conradi to draw on both his field experience and education to maintain the growing business.

“The Building Science program has given me the tools I need to operate as an entrepreneur, where my electrical license gave me the tools I need to operate as a technician,” he said.

Now, the company boasts nearly 50 employees and specializes in integrated electrical systems like networking, lighting controls, traffic signals and access control. Named for the brain’s thalamus that translates sensory input, the company simplifies complex electrical and data systems for homes, businesses and municipalities.

Thalamus’ project list ranges from restroom renovations at Jordan-Hare Stadium to high-voltage upgrades tied to Auburn’s new football scoreboard. Off campus, the company has modernized Opelika’s traffic signal network and helped with an RV park at Wind Creek State Park.

Conradi often partners with other contractors rather than competing, filling a specialty niche in heavy civil electrical work. The company’s core mission is bringing up the next generation of professional electrical tradespeople. Unlike other companies that silo workers into repetitive tasks, Thalamus cross-trains employees across commercial, residential and civil projects, offering executive coaching for managers and apprenticeships for technicians.

“If we invest in our people and in bringing professionalism back to the trades and to our technicians, quality and consistency happens,” Conradi said.

After graduating, Conradi didn’t move on from Auburn—he has taught in the BSCI program as an adjunct faculty member since 2018 and mentors the School’s electrical competition team.

Whether it’s electrical work, teaching, running a business or raising his family, Conradi is committed to learning.

“If there’s one thing that being an entrepreneur has taught me, it is that you can’t be afraid to try new things and fail or to try new things and possibly succeed,” he said. “College is not the end of learning. It teaches you how to teach yourself.”