From making renewable energy more affordable for consumers to medical imaging that makes accurate medical diagnoses faster and more cost effective, the 51ÁÔÆæ College of Engineering and Applied Science leads in research that improves lives and innovates industry.<\/p>\n
Groundbreaking work in data encryption in the late 1960s helped the computer science program establish an international reputation, and a 1990 graduate of the master\u2019s program may be one of the best-known computer scientists in the world. Today, Satya Nadella works in Seattle as CEO of Microsoft.<\/p>\n
As the college celebrates its 50th<\/sup> anniversary, here\u2019s a look at its rich research history and potential for the future.<\/p>\n Years before the phrase \u201cdata security\u201d worried the world, 51ÁÔÆæ researchers were pre-emptively attacking the problem.<\/p>\n George Davida, an electrical engineer who\u2019s now an emeritus professor, was one of about a dozen faculty hired in the late 1960s for the newly created 51ÁÔÆæ College of Engineering and Applied Science. He delved into unbreakable codes that can hide information, quickly becoming one of the foremost leaders in the field and creating 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s Center for Cryptography, Computer and Network Security.<\/p>\n \u201cDavida was way ahead of his time,\u201d said K. Vairavan, hired in 1968 and now an emeritus professor of electrical engineering and computer science. \u201cIt was cutting-edge research in a developing field.\u201d<\/p>\n Leonard Levine, also hired in the late 1960s, had a doctorate in physics but learned electrical engineering doing work for the space program and nuclear submarines during the Cold War. He said research was critical to the success of the new college. \u201cWe had to develop as a research institution, or no one would come.\u201d<\/p>\n The college now enrolls more than 2,000 students, including more than 400 in graduate programs, has more than 9,000 alums, and is set to soon open a biomedical engineering program. Almost a quarter of current students attend part time, more than 20 percent of the college\u2019s enrollment is made up of international students and 13 percent of its students are women.<\/p>\n As part of its mission, the college continues to build partnerships with industry, adjusting its curriculum to provide employers with the workforce they need and giving students hands-on engineering experience to supplement their coursework and build resumes.<\/p>\n Jane Miceli chose 51ÁÔÆæ after hearing a talk by Levine in 2003 that emphasized the university\u2019s industry connections.<\/p>\n \u201cHe talked about how it would be easier to find an internship and a job here,\u201d said Miceli, now an Idaho-based consultant for Hewlett Packard and a mentor for women in IT. \u201cI got an internship with Rockwell Automation and worked there for five years.\u201d<\/p>\n Joint research by the university and industry drives the Center for Advanced Computational Imaging, created in 2014 in partnership with GE Healthcare to improve medical care by advancing 3-D imaging capabilities and reducing costs associated with powerful diagnostic tools like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Computer science Professor Ethan Munson directs the center, working with four professors who were awarded research grants by GE and a number of GE employees.<\/p>\n \u201c51ÁÔÆæ is located in the economic center of the state,\u201d said Munson, who also serves as associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Engineering and Applied Science. \u201cThat proximity means that engineers (in the private sector) can do continuing education more easily and students can work directly with these companies.\u201d<\/p>\n GE and Munson\u2019s team also designed a 15-credit graduate certificate program around continuing education in computerized imaging. Paul Cunningham, a manufacturing engineering team leader at GE, combined the certificate program with other classwork and recently received his master\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n \u201cIt grew my experience faster than if I had just been working,\u201d Cunningham said of the program, adding that the mix of traditional professors and adjuncts working in the field was particularly helpful.<\/p>\n Jeffrey Kautzer, a 51ÁÔÆæ engineering graduate and now GE chief engineer and 51ÁÔÆæ adjunct professor, said the collaboration benefitting the university and GE also has a broader impact.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of the work being done in the research projects has the potential to really make a big difference in the technology of our product, specifically reducing the cost of production,\u201d Kautzer said. \u201cThis is broadly relevant considering health care costs today.\u201d<\/p>\n Munson said there\u2019s potential for collaborating with a number of major companies in the region on other uses of embedded systems \u2013 distinct, built-in computer systems that perform dedicated functions within a larger device or technology, powering everything from hybrid vehicles to digital watches.<\/p>\n \u201cWith local and global demand for engineers strong, our way forward for the next 50 years is to continue the tradition of excellence in areas of highest demand,\u201d said Brett Peters, the college\u2019s dean.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Faculty and alumni look at how the College of Engineering & Applied Science\u2019s partnerships have led to 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s impressive research reputation in disciplines from encryption to computation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":486,"featured_media":32162,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[174,175],"tags":[],"section":[142,139],"display_categories":[115],"related-coverage":[],"uwmnews-feed":[149],"class_list":["post-32159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-research","section-computer-science-technology","section-science-technology","display_categories-top-story-secondary","uwmnews-feed-engineering-applied-science"],"yoast_head":"\nA program ahead of its time<\/h3>\n
Industry partnerships boost resumes, accelerate research, improve care<\/h3>\n