FA L L / W I N T E R I
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COVER STORY
Shaping the Future of Applied A.I.
New Co-Op Program 6 Rosie Gets an Update 11 Kern Conservatory of Music 22
STAY COOL Moira Reardon (left) and Tramyqua Allen cool off with a popsicle from Pete’s Pops during residence hall movein. This year’s Welcome Week was jam packed with a cARRRnival, bingo, diverse eats, ice skating, soccer games, a bonfire and more to introduce students to their new home at MSOE.
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Dear Alumni and Friends, Artificial Intelligence. Machine Learning. These technologies are cutting-edge and exciting, but at the same time can make many feel apprehensive. At MSOE we are leveraging our collective expertise to shape the future of A.I. in a way that aligns with our commitment to knowledge, innovation, ethical leadership, and meeting the needs of business and industry. Hiring for machine learning skills is up 417% from 2015, according to Bain’s “2021 Technology Report.” Employers need professionals with machine learning and artificial intelligence experience to process data, make predictions, inform critical decisions, and lead adoption of new technologies. We are working to incorporate A.I. topics into every undergraduate degree program we offer. The transformative potential of A.I. is evident in its applications across various fields. There’s no doubt our students will be using A.I. on a daily basis as they advance in their careers—and we need them to be prepared to hit the ground running. We also recognize that for the majority of our readers, A.I. topics were not part of their undergraduate education or careers until recently. To help with career development needs, we have added two online graduate certificates in machine learning and an online Master of Science in Machine Learning, and we are planning several professional education courses in A.I.-related topics. Hands-on, real-world experience is still a distinction of an MSOE education. And to ensure our students graduate armed with knowledge and hands-on experience using up-to-date technology, we recently installed two NVIDIA DGX H100s to expand Rosie, our supercomputer. Beyond the classroom, our students are also having fun with A.I. With groups like the A.I. Club, Game Development Club, Society of Software Engineers, and Robotic Surgery Club (to name a few), they are finding new ways to apply their learnings while exploring their passions. This is all part of developing the MSOE Mindset in which we strive for our students to be leaders of character, responsible professionals, passionate learners and value creators when they graduate. MSOE is leading applied artificial intelligence education. You can read more about our work in this space throughout this edition of Dimensions and at msoe.edu/ai-and-msoe. Sincerely,
JOHN Y. WALZ, Ph.D. President
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IN THIS ISSUE OVERHEARD ...
“ With electricity, we began to make machines that can solve problems for us in the way that computers do today, even without A.I. Imagine medicine without electricity—it’s not possible today. We are going to be doing things with A.I. that have never been possible before. I’m really excited about generative A.I.” — D R. BRYAN CATANZARO, VICE PRESIDENT OF APPLIED DEEP LEARNING RESEARCH, NVIDIA
FEATURES
DEPARTMENTS
6 A Path to Professionalism MSOE’s new Co-op Program provides students with full-time, real-world experience.
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14 Shaping the Future of Innovation with Applied A.I. Artificial intelligence is changing the way humans work—and MSOE is preparing our students for the future.
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President’s Message At the Forefront Around Campus In the Community Raiders Wrap-Up Impact Class Notes From the Archives
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With state-of-the art facilities, expert faculty and innovative programs, MSOE is staying at the forefront of A.I. education. ON THE COVER: The cover image was created using Adobe Firefly, a generative-A.I. tool that creates imagery using text prompts.
Jonathan Worm, mechanical engineering student, gains hands-on experience at his co-op at The Vollrath Company in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
AT THE FOREFRONT
The flagship publication of Milwaukee School of Engineering. With stories inspired by our mission and vision, Dimensions shines a light on our students, faculty, alumni and campus events, all while highlighting the values that unite us.
Editor JoEllen Burdue
Managing Editor Annette Pirrung
Creative Director Kristin Dunn
Graphic Designers Peg Houghton, Tyler Beaver
Contributing Writers Seth Corrigan, Jillian Kokott, Rachel Schmidt, Dr. John Walz
Images Kylie Bridenhagen/MSOE Athletics, Front Room Photography, MSOE Archives, Bryan Pechacek, Emily Vogel Use, reproduction or storage of the name, address or other information about any individual identified within this magazine is strictly prohibited and constitutes misappropriation of corporate property.
Address correspondence to Dimensions Magazine 1025 N. Broadway Milwaukee, WI 53202 marketing@msoe.edu or (414) 277-7117
FALL/WINTER 2023–24 Volume 38, No. 1
GET AHEAD
New Machine Learning graduate program Hiring for machine learning skills is up 417% from 2015, according to Bain’s “2021 Technology Report.” Employers need professionals with machine learning and artificial intelligence experience to process data, make predictions, inform critical decisions, and lead adoption of new technologies. MSOE has expanded its graduate-level offerings to help meet this demand. The university’s new M.S. in Machine Learning is organized around “stackable” certificates: the Applied Machine Learning Graduate Certificate and the Machine Learning Engineering Graduate Certificate. Students may start with the certificates or earn them along the way as they pursue their M.S. in Machine Learning. These programs prepare students to leverage A.I. and machine learning domains to create innovative, data-driven solutions to problems. Students learn directly from MSOE’s expert, industry-experienced faculty in online, synchronous, evening classes that don’t interrupt full-time work schedules. A hallmark of these programs is the one-on-one mentoring students receive from faculty. Additionally, students will focus on domains of their choosing, allowing them to apply the skills they learn in class to their current professional work. Examples of projects include visualization and analysis of geospatial distributions of real estate, engineering new features to improve machine learning model prediction performance, object detection and segmentation with deep neural networks and A.I. agents for video games.
msoe.edu/ai-and-msoe
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AT THE FOREFRONT
U.S. News & World Report ranks MSOE #2 in Midwest Milwaukee School of Engineering was named 2nd best in the Regional Universities Midwest category of the 2024 U.S. News Best Colleges Rankings. The university’s educational programs, innovation and commitment to student success were ranked in several categories, firmly placing MSOE among the best educational institutions in the United States. The rankings evaluate 1,500 colleges and universities on up to 19 measures of academic quality. MSOE’s engineering programs were named among the best in the United States: • 1 1th Best Engineering Programs overall in the U.S. among engineering schools whose highest degree is a bachelor’s or master’s •4 th Best Computer Engineering Program in the U.S. •6 th Best Electrical Engineering Program in the U.S. •9 th Best Mechanical Engineering Program in the U.S. For the third year, U.S. News ranked the top undergraduate nursing programs and MSOE’s nursing program was named 228th Best Undergraduate Nursing Program in the U.S. (tie) out of 656 schools. The university also received the following U.S. News & World Report rankings: • 2nd Best University in the Midwest • 2 1st Best University in the Midwest for Veterans • 1 3th Best Value University in the Midwest • 11th Most Innovative University in the Midwest (tie) • 3 7th Top Performer in Social Mobility (a measure of how well schools graduated federal Pell Grant recipients) (tie) This year, U.S. News made refinements to their rankings, and details of how they calculated rankings are available on their
website. Key changes include a greater emphasis on social mobility and outcomes for graduating college students. Several other organizations also rank colleges and universities. Here are some recent honors recognizing MSOE’s commitment to providing students an exceptional educational experience with a high value proposition: • Top 20 University for Fostering Diversity & Inclusion, Minority Engineer Magazine, Woman Engineer Magazine and STEM Workforce Diversity Magazine •B est University in the Midwest, The Princeton Review (every year since 2003) •A merica’s Top Colleges, Forbes (#336 out of 500 ranked schools in the U.S.) • 1 4th Best Bang for the Buck Midwest College and 68th Best Master’s University, Washington Monthly • Best Colleges in America, ranked by value, Money Magazine MSOE.EDU/RANKINGS
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IN DEMAND
Record-setting recruitment
LEARNING AT THE MOLECULAR LEVEL
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Undergraduate students can now earn a Bachelor of Science in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CBE) at MSOE. Since 2009, the university has offered a B.S. in BioMolecular Engineering. Over time the program’s curriculum has expanded and evolved to continually meet the changing needs of business and industry. Effective with the 2023–24 academic year, the name of the B.S. in BioMolecular Engineering has changed to B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. At its core, the program’s curriculum is founded in chemical engineering and the name change better reflects what the program has always been. Students learn at the interface of engineering and biomolecular science and technology and work at the molecular level of cellular and microorganism systems. Chemical engineers are in growing demand according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, with projected employment growth to increase 14% from 2021 to 2031. At MSOE, the CBE class of 2021–22 reported a 100% Graduate Outcomes Rate. Four state-of-the-art laboratories were built in 2010 for the program thanks to a multimillion-dollar gift from Drs. Robert and Patricia Kern. They include a molecular biology and biotechnology lab, instrumentation lab, a BSL-2 cell culture facility and a senior design lab. The storeroom and laboratories are equipped with -20ºF and -80°F freezers; a two-way autoclave, biosafety cabinets and double-jacketed incubators for mammalian cell culture; inverted (fluorescent) microscopes; an encapsulator, an electrospinning setup, bioprinters, microplate readers, a bioreactor, freeze-driers, an FT-IR, a GC/MS system, a DNA sequencer, an AFM, in addition to all the essential lab equipment. Multiple experimental set-ups emulating real chemical and bioengineering processes are also available. Equipment is continuously upgraded and added to meet the constantly evolving modern industry. MSOE.EDU/CBE
MSOE’s 2022–23 graduating class enjoyed a 99% graduate outcomes rate and average starting salary of $76,647 and the demand isn’t slowing down for current students. The Fall Career Fair was the largest ever at MSOE. More than 400 companies attended the fair over the course of two days to recruit students and alumni for internships, co-ops and full-time employment opportunities. MSOE’s Career Connections Center holds events and offers services throughout the year to help students create a resume, prepare for career fairs and interviews, and evaluate job offers. The Spring Career Fair will be Thursday, Feb. 15.
99% MSOECAREERCONNECTIONS.COM
graduate outcomes rate class of 2022–23
$76,647 average starting salary class of 2022–23
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FEATURE STORY
A Path to Professionalism New Co-op Program provides students with real-world experience It’s no secret MSOE students are in high demand. Graduates of the class of 2022–23 saw a 99% graduate outcomes rate and $76,647 average starting salary. A new program at MSOE is making students even more prepared to hit the ground running: the Co-op Program. The Co-op Program is a full-time employment opportunity that takes place for 16 weeks during the Fall or Spring Semester plus 13 weeks during summer. Students work 40 hours per week in a professional setting, learn about the industry, make valuable connections with their employer as well as sharpen their skills and gain valuable real-world experience. This opportunity became available thanks to MSOE’s transition to the semester calendar. “It’s a great advantage for both the students and the companies,” said Julie Way, director of the Career Connections Center. “Employers like that students can be with them for an extended period of time, and the longer experience allows students a greater opportunity to increase both their technical and professional skills. Our co-op employers tell us that their MSOE co-op students continually exceed their expectations.” Jonathan Worm, mechanical engineering major, is a design engineer co-op at The Vollrath Company in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. He works on design and drafting projects, engineering change requests, and completes analysis warranty of returned units. He enjoys advancing his skills in mechanics, heat transfer, drafting and electronics that he learned at MSOE and applying them in a professional environment. Not only is Worm gaining valuable experience on the technical side of things, he’s also experiencing what it’s like to work in an office and how different departments collaborate. “I was surprised to see how much engineering works with other departments of the company,” said Worm. He explained each project has a goal, and decisions are a collaborative effort across the company. “This includes work with salespeople, quality, manufacturing, marketing and businesspeople. They all have an interest in the work you are doing since it’s all part of the same company working together.”
“ I definitely recommend a co-op because it adds a lot to your resume. Doing a co-op along with an MSOE education sets you up for success.” EDDIE RABIDEAUX, ME
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Because the Co-op Program requires students to miss a semester of school while they’re working, it sets back the student’s anticipated graduation date. But students agree it’s well worth the wait. “Although a co-op might push back graduation a bit, it’s still worth it,” said Worm. “Companies like to look for experience when they are considering applicants. I think I will be more prepared to hit the ground running in my first full-time position after graduation because of this experience.” “I definitely recommend a co-op because it adds a lot to your resume,” said Rabideaux. “Doing a co-op along with an MSOE education sets you up for success.”
Jonathan Worm works on design and drafting projects at his co-op at The Vollrath Company.
Every student has the potential to participate in the Co-op Program and can meet with their academic advisor to determine if a co-op is right for them. The Career Connections Center helps students find co-ops, prep for interviews and negotiate job offers.
Eddie Rabideaux, mechanical engineering major, is an advanced manufacturing engineering co-op at Modine Manufacturing in Racine, Wisconsin. Modine Manufacturing designs and manufactures thermal dynamic equipment for agricultural, mining and construction equipment. Rabideaux supports the advanced manufacturing and process development team by working on designing CAD solutions, software-based projects, and performing analyses on production and plant processes to identify trends. “My favorite part is the diversity in projects that I work on,” said Rabideaux. “I am not tied down to just one thing. Working in process development, I am always set to improve the various aspects of the manufacturing process, so I am always getting a new, interesting project.” Rabideaux is able to take on this diversity of projects thanks to his MSOE education. “MSOE prepared me for juggling many projects at once and being able to prioritize which project needs to be done immediately and which can be pushed to lower priority,” said Rabideaux. Many students find internship, co-op and full-time job opportunities at the annual Fall Career Fair. This year’s Career Fair had more than 400 employers and 2,389 students in attendance. The new Co-op Program was of special interest for many employers. “Some companies previously didn’t want to attend the Career Fair because MSOE didn’t offer a co-op program,” said Way. “The extended time really allows students to be able to dig in and get involved in projects, which brings significant value to employers.”
Is your company interesting in hosting MSOE students for co-ops or internships? Learn more at msoecareerconnections.com or contact Julie Way, director of the Career Connections Center, at way@msoe.edu.
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HOME SWEET HOME
New Nursing Living Learning Community The first cohort of freshman nursing students participating in the Nursing Living Learning Community (LLC) moved into the Grohmann Tower this past fall. The Nursing LLC promotes student engagement and development in their academic focus and provides exclusive opportunities for students to explore MSOE’s campus and community as they learn about their future profession. Benefits of this LLC include an early move-in date and retreat with professional staff at the beginning of the school year. Students have regular access to a nursing faculty advisor and residence life staff for tutoring, weekly study nights and access to study materials right in the Grohmann Tower. They also enjoy social outings, professional development and volunteer opportunities. In alignment with MSOE’s strong tradition of applied education, the floor hosts a live-in, young professional who assists students in navigating nursing course work and professional skillsets.
Homecoming happiness Students, parents, families and alumni came together on a beautiful fall day for Homecoming at MSOE. In addition to cheering on MSOE’s soccer and lacrosse teams, everyone enjoyed activities such as pumpkin carving, face painting, an Oktoberfest beer garden, a Masskrugstemmen (stein-holding competition), ComedySportz, caricatures and more.
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Dr. Sudhir Kaul and Dr. DeAnna Leitzke named department chairs The Mechanical Engineering Department (ME) and the Civil and Architectural Engineering and Construction Management Department (CAECM) are under the leadership of new chairpersons. Dr. Sudhir Kaul joined the faculty to lead ME and Dr. DeAnna Leitzke ’00, ’08 was promoted to the role in CAECM, both effective for the 2023–24 academic year. Kaul comes to MSOE from Western Carolina University in North Carolina where he served as a professor in WCU’s School of Engineering and Technology and program director of the school’s engineering program. He began his teaching career at the University of Pretoria in South Africa and then the University of Mount Union in Ohio where he served as an assistant professor and interim department chair. Kaul is no stranger to Milwaukee: he earned his Ph.D. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from UW-Milwaukee and has extensive industry experience working at Hero, Briggs & Stratton Corporation and Harley-Davidson Motor Company. He earned a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani, India. In 2022, Kaul was one of 17 recipients of the University of North Carolina system’s top awards: the UNC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching. His industry experiences include development of vibration isolation
systems, motorcycle powertrains, and hydraulic systems. Additionally, he has published more than 75 articles in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings and authored “Modeling and Analysis of Passive Vibration Isolation Systems.” In 2023, he served as a Fulbright Specialist in Indonesia. Leitzke most recently served as the university’s associate vice president of academic excellence and founding director of the CREATE Institute. Prior, she taught as an associate professor in CAECM, and was the Pieper Family Endowed Chair for Servant-Leadership. With the recent announcement of the new Kendall Breunig Center for the Built Environment at MSOE, this is an exciting time for the CAECM Department. The new facility will be home for the department and Leitzke will help guide the renovation and build-out of classrooms and laboratories to ensure they meet the needs of students today and in the future. Leitzke earned her undergraduate degree in architectural engineering from MSOE and went on to earn her M.S. in Engineering Management from MSOE. She holds a Ph.D. in Leadership for the Advancement of Learning and Service in Higher Education from Cardinal Stritch University. She has industrial experience as an architectural engineer with Reserve Advisors Inc. and with Affiliated Engineers. She is a board member of SHARP Literacy Inc., program quality committee member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, and committee member of the Wisconsin Servant-Leader Group.
FLYING HIGH
Students place second with hybrid propulsion system design Mechanical engineering students Cade Beckman, Izaiah Dietrich, Michael Gavin, Devon Lallensack and Mia Mattingly took second place at the AIAA Engine Design Competition for their proposal, Dream Steam Propulsion System. The competition required students to design a hybrid-electric air-breathing propulsion system using fuselage boundary layer ingestion for a single-aisle commercial aircraft. A total of 13 teams from around the world submitted
proposals to the competition and three finalists were then invited to present their work to a panel of academic and industry experts at the AIAA Aviation and Aeronautics Forum and Exposition. “Our students only encountered the background technical content for the project through elective courses they took in the same year that they embarked on the project, whereas students coming from aerospace engineering programs encounter the material well before their fourth years,” said Dr. Prabhakar Venkateswaran, associate professor and the team’s faculty mentor. “As a result, placing second is a remarkable achievement that is a testament to the students’ hard work and ability to learn and apply new knowledge quickly.”
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PAGE TITLE AROUND CAMPUS WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Dr. George Kroeninger appointed executive director of professional education
MSOE welcomes Dr. George Kroeninger as its inaugural executive director of professional education. In this new role, he will lead the development of MSOE’s Center for Professional Development. He plans to expand industryinformed, need-based outreach education programs, leveraging the abundant resources and expertise available at the university to support the business and engineering workforce within the state and region. His vision includes providing support to MSOE alumni and other professionals, ensuring they have access
to the high-quality continuing education and training they need to excel and advance in their careers and to support the workforce development needs of industry partners. Kroeninger comes to MSOE from the University of Wisconsin System where he served as chief academic officer for the UW Extended Campus—the statewide office for continuing and professional education and online learning. While there, he provided leadership and supported the continuing education operations at all 13 UW campuses and led the development, implementation, and ongoing management of over 40 fully online, industryinformed degree and certificate programs, skills-based training programs, technology bootcamps, and self-paced learning opportunities across multiple learning platforms serving working adults and employers throughout the state and region. Prior to joining the UW Extended Campus, Kroeninger served as director of continuing education and regional workforce development at UW-Eau Claire. Kroeninger holds a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) from Edgewood College, a Master of Public Health from the University of Northern Colorado and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Additionally, he holds several certifications, including Certified Contract Trainer (CCT) through the Learning Resources Network and Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) through the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing.
NACME : Empowering a diverse American workforce A group of MSOE students and staff attended the 2023 National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) Gala and Conference in Washington, D.C. and participated in a national conversation on how leading companies and universities can ensure all U.S. talent has access to a career in engineering or computer science. This year’s theme, “Elevate. Empower. Excel.”, was conceived to honor NACME’s University Partners and their commitment to its mission. While there, industrial engineering major Benjamin Grossman participated in NACME’s first-ever hackathon with students from other universities. He and his team took second place.
From left: MSOE students Kristof Gandy, Tyler Salina, Benjamin Grossman, Jacob Hamilton, Emilio Diaz-Granillo and Griffin Wilson attended the NACME Gala and Conference in Washington, D.C.
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New study abroad programs MSOE’s longstanding partnership with the Lübeck University of Applied Sciences (THL), in Lübeck, Germany has expanded to include a biomedical engineering study abroad program in addition to the existing mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and business programs. “Germany is at the forefront for medical device innovation, and THL is known for its excellent biomedical engineering education with a curriculum that aligns closely with ours, so it is a win-win all around,” said Dr. Olga Imas ’99, biomedical engineering professor. The semester-long program occurs during students’ junior year. THL students attend MSOE during the Fall Semester, and then MSOE students attend THL during the Spring Semester. In addition to the exchange program,
the biomedical engineering program initiated an annual summer trip to Germany which includes a visit to THL and various medical device companies. New this year, MSOE added Monash University Malaysia as a partner institution, giving all undergraduates (except nursing students) the opportunity to study at one of the world’s top 50 universities. This university, located in Sunway City just outside of Kuala Lumpur, offers a wide range of undergraduate programs through its faculties of Arts and Social Sciences, Business, Engineering and Information Technology.
Rosie, MSOE’s supercomputer, gets major update The rise of generative A.I. has driven a major update of Rosie, MSOE’s supercomputer, with two DGX H100s. The DGX H100 is NVIDIA’s newest supercomputing hardware—and MSOE is the first in Wisconsin to deploy it. The DGX H100 systems deliver the scale demanded to meet the massive compute requirements of generative A.I. including large language models, recommender systems, health care research and climate science. Packing eight NVIDIA H100 GPUs per system, connected as one by NVIDIA NVLink®, each DGX H100 provides 32 petaflops of A.I. performance. MSOE has installed two DGX H100s as well as ultra-high bandwidth InfiniBand networking to enable linking of the systems. The DGX H100s are the core computing engines behind the vast majority of headline grabbing A.I. advancement in the past 12 months. They represent the latest advancements MSOE has implemented as a leader in artificial intelligence education. Prior to this installation, students and faculty were using Rosie to develop increasingly complex and sophisticated deep learning models for a wide variety of domains including both traditional deep learning use cases as well as the new era of generative A.I. Increasing demand for training large generative
models similar to the models that drive ChatGPT has led to the need to incorporate the industry’s highest performing A.I. hardware, the DGX H100 into Rosie’s capacity. The existing hardware in Rosie includes three NVIDIA DGX-1’s, each with eight NVIDIA Tensor Core GPUs, and 20 servers each with four NVIDIA T4 GPUs. The nodes are joined together by Mellanox networking fabric and share 300 TB of high speed network-attached storage. Rosie was designed with room for expansion to accommodate advancing technology—like the DGX H100s. “Our undergraduate students have a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience with Rosie,” said Dr. Derek Riley, professor and computer science program director. “Still today, there are very few universities giving their undergraduate students access to and experience with a supercomputer. At MSOE, all of our majors—from computer science and software engineering to biomedical engineering, business and nursing—are incorporating artificial intelligence technologies into the curriculum. As the first installation of DGX H100s in the state, MSOE is providing access to the most cutting-edge computing hardware available for our students and faculty. This will enable students to graduate with practical, highly demanded skills that will enable them to drive innovation in their careers for the foreseeable future.”
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Patterns of Meaning: The Art of Industry by Cory Bonnet Jan. 19–April 28, 2024 Gallery Night Opening: Jan. 19, 2024 featuring a Gallery Talk with Cory Bonnet at 6:30 p.m. In June 2021, Pittsburgh artist and preservationist Cory Bonnet, along with scrap dealer Chip Barletto, acquired an enormous collection of wooden casting patterns from the late-1800s and early-1900s. Since then, ten 26-foot box trucks filled with patterns have made their way to Bonnet’s studio in the Energy Innovation Center (EIC) at the foot of Pittsburgh’s Hill District. Patterns are the forms used to create a cavity or mold when pressed into foundry sand. The pattern is removed leaving a void into which hot metal is then poured. With the collection moved and assembled at the EIC, Bonnet set about combining these historic steel mill artifacts with his industrial painting. Viewing each pattern as “a work of art in its own right,” he began using the patterns in new ways: as support for his paintings, as sculptures to create artistic assemblages, and as forms to create new pieces in glass, ceramic and other materials. As such, Bonnet’s paintings and sculptures become monuments to industry created from these salvaged materials to reflect the awe, respect and gratitude he holds for the sacrifice and accomplishments prior generations made to provide what we now too often take for granted. The sheer scale of the collection ultimately led Bonnet to assemble a multidisciplinary group of artists to fully explore its potential. Since Patterns of Meaning was first exhibited at the EIC, the collection continues to grow and evolve through Bonnet’s collaboration with the Patterns creative team of Angela Neira, Nate Lucas, Brian Engel, AJ Collins, Mia Tarducci and Andrew Moschetta. This special exhibition at the Grohmann Museum will be the first museum exhibition of this breathtaking collection merging art and industry. Do not miss the opportunity to experience this one-of-a-kind display first hand. VISIT GROHMANNMUSEUM.ORG FOR A VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE MUSEUM AND DIGITAL EXHIBITIONS THROUGH GOOGLE’S CULTURAL INSTITUTE.
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HEAD OF THE CLASS
Faculty/staff achievements Dr. Jan Fertig, associate professor in the Humanities, Social Science and Communication Department, received the 2023 Karl O. Werwath Applied Research Award. Werwath was an innovator in engineering education and the application of technology, and believed that teaching effectiveness was enhanced through applied research and consulting. This award recognizes Werwath’s vision and the contribution of MSOE faculty and staff who have fostered the advancement of applied scientific knowledge.
Remembering Dr. Klaus Türk Dr. Klaus Türk, a renowned expert on the art of labor and industry, passed away Aug. 16, 2023. Türk was the primary contributor to the educational foundation on which the Grohmann Museum was built—authoring 11 books on the museum’s permanent collection. We are proud to be part of his life’s work and home to the industrial art archive he so carefully assembled over his career as a professor at the University of Wuppertal in Germany. Above: Leigh Ann Hass, director of marketing services; Dr. Eckhart Grohmann, MSOE Regent; Dr. Hermann Viets, MSOE President Emeritus; and Dr. Klaus Türk collaborate in 2003 on the first catalogue Türk authored for the Grohmann Museum, Man at Work: The Eckhart G. Grohmann Collection.
Dr. Alyssa Genschaw, Mathematics Department, co-authored the paper “Hausdorff dimension of caloric measure,” which was accepted for publication by the American Journal of Mathematics. Major Aruna Lal, Ph.D., School of Nursing, was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from the 3rd Medical Training Brigade for outstanding and selfless service provided during the execution of the United States Army Reserve Global Medic 23-02 on Aug. 12–26, 2023. Dr. Andrew McAninch, Humanities, Social Science and Communication Department, published his paper, “Go Big or Go Home? A New Case for Integrating Micro-ethics and Macro-ethics in Engineering Ethics Education,” in Science and Engineering Ethics. Dr. Kelly Ottman, Rader School of Business, received the Regional Teaching Excellence Award by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) at the ACBSP Global Conference. Dr. Ahmed Sayed, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, co-authored “Comparison of Visual Field Test Measurements with a Novel Approach on a Wearable Headset to Standard Automated Perimetry” which was published in the Journal of Glaucoma. Sayed also participated in the ARVO Annual Conference with three abstracts and his focus on vision research was selected as a “Hot Topic.” Dr. Michael Sevier was awarded the 2023 Regal Rexnord Educator of the Year Award. This award is presented annually to a full-time member of the MSOE faculty with less than seven years of experience at the university and is a testament to exemplary dedication and performance. Sevier is an assistant professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department and is the Pieper Family Foundation Endowed Chair for Servant-Leadership. Dr. Sohum Sohoni, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, served as a guest editor for a special issue of the Australasian Journal of Engineering Education focused on engineering education research capability development.
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FEATURE STORY
Shaping the Future of Innovation with Applied A.I. Artificial intelligence (A.I.) has emerged as one of the fastest-growing fields in recent years due to a convergence of several key factors. First and foremost, the exponential growth in computing power and the availability of vast amounts of data have provided the foundation for A.I.’s rapid advancement. This has allowed A.I. researchers and practitioners to develop increasingly complex and sophisticated machine learning models that can analyze and understand data in ways that were previously unimaginable. Additionally, the open-source nature of A.I. research and the collaboration of global communities have accelerated progress by making knowledge and tools widely accessible, fostering innovation and the sharing of best practices across borders.
A.I. Students collaborate at Hacksgiving: Generative A.I. for Good. The inaugural hackathon challenged students to develop an innovative A.I.-driven solution that would streamline the patient screening process for Next Step Clinic.
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Julia Neuberger is a junior biomedical engineering major, and one of the first MSOE students on track to graduate with the new A.I. for Emerging Applications Certificate. She has been putting her knowledge of this cutting-edge technology to work in the real world as part of a project that trains A.I. technology to automate the reformatting of CT extremity images. “Many times, when patients come in to get a CT scan, they are unable to get in the proper position to get the best view of certain body parts,” said Neuberger. “This could be due to the injury itself or other factors. The images that are collected then need to be manually manipulated by the CT technician or doctor, which can be tedious and take a long time. The project I am part of uses algorithms and A.I. to automate the process to save precious time for these medical professionals.”
The A.I. for Emerging Applications Undergraduate Certificate provides a unique opportunity for undergraduate students like Neuberger. It was developed by Dr. Olga Imas ’99, along with Dr. Jeffery LaMack ’97, Dr. Jonathon Magaña and Dr. Nadya Shalamova, as an extension of a collaboration with GE HealthCare MICT Digital and Clinical Apps. Imas, who previously worked at GE, spoke with her former colleagues to create a paid internship opportunity for students in biomedical engineering through a grant in 2019. This partnership sparked the MSOE faculty members’ idea to create a certificate in the A.I. space with the goal to have students learn the skills needed in their internships earlier on in their academic careers in an emerging industry.
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Until five years ago, these were Ph.D.-only topics. Our undergraduates have a unique opportunity to not only pursue a certificate in A.I., but to gain handson experience with Rosie, MSOE’s extremely powerful supercomputer, as part of their undergraduate education.” DR. DEREK RILEY, PROFESSOR AND COMPUTER SCIENCE PROGRAM DIRECTOR
“The practical nature of this certificate is akin to an internship for our students but with an element of a mini degree,” said Imas. “It offers valuable hands-on experience in one of the fastest growing areas: A.I. and deep learning.” Biomedical engineering and computer science students have been the first to get access to this certificate and internship since the work being done at GE HealthCare utilizes deep learning applications to analyze medical images in a variety of clinical areas. “Our partnership with MSOE helps support a diversified focus in multiple areas of A.I. development,” said Amy Deubig, global product manager CT clinical applications at GE HealthCare. “Students are working on multiple projects that span different anatomies and multiple clinical disease states. They are assisting with database curation, generation of ground truth anatomical segmentations and labels, as well as testing different deep learning inferencing models.”
Not only is Neuberger getting a chance to work with emerging technologies, she also has had the opportunity to learn directly from professionals in her future field, hearing their expertise. “Until five years ago, these were Ph.D.-only topics,” said Dr. Derek Riley, professor and computer science program director. “Our undergraduates have a unique opportunity to not only pursue a certificate in A.I., but to gain hands-on experience with Rosie, MSOE’s extremely powerful supercomputer, as part of their undergraduate education.” MSOE is a leader in A.I. education thanks to MSOE faculty and the generous support and vision of Dr. Dwight Diercks ’90 for A.I. to touch all fields of study. Diercks is an MSOE Regent and senior vice president of software engineering at NVIDIA. In 2017, MSOE established a B.S. in Computer Science focused on A.I. In the past two years, MSOE launched an M.S. in Machine Learning, Graduate Certificate in Applied Machine Learning, Graduate Certificate in Machine Learning Engineering, Graduate Certificate in Advanced Business Strategy Using A.I. and Analytics, and an Undergraduate Certificate in A.I. for Emerging Applications. These topics and technologies are being incorporated throughout MSOE’s academic offerings and students in several programs are using Rosie, MSOE’s supercomputer. Businesses are increasingly investing in A.I.-driven solutions to optimize operations, enhance customer experiences, and gain valuable insights from data. They are recognizing the importance of combining the technical A.I. skills with expertise in an applied area, industry or discipline to identify and implement effective A.I. solutions. As A.I. continues to demonstrate its potential in solving complex problems and driving innovation, the field attracts a diverse pool of talent, including researchers, engineers and entrepreneurs, fostering a vibrant ecosystem that further propels its rapid expansion. “Our machine learning graduate programs provide dual expertise in developing state-of-the-art models and their deployment and operation in continuouslyrunning, customer-facing services,” said Dr. RJ Nowling, associate professor and Machine Learning Graduate Certificate coordinator. “Companies refer to engineers with both sets of skills as ‘unicorns’ because they’re so rare. We’re aiming to change that.” LEARN MORE ABOUT MSOE'S WORK WITH A.I. AT MSOE.EDU/AI-AND-MSOE
To the right, beneath the image of MSOE’s Roscoe Raider mascot, are some examples of A.I.-generated images with the prompt “Draw an image of a male cartoon pirate with black hair, a beard and a mustache. He has a red bandanna wrapped around his head and is wearing a red vest. The image should look like it has been painted by Rembrandt.” We tried using “Roscoe Raider” but A.I. did not recognize our mascot (nor did we want to enter him into a system since he is a registered trademark).
Want to learn more about ChatGPT, its ethics and the impact it is having on everyday life? Tune in to the Tech in MKE podcast featuring Dr. Jeremy Kedziora, MSOE PieperPower Endowed Chair in Artificial Intelligence, and Sean Jones, assistant professor and natural language model expert.
DIMENSIONS FALL/WINTER 2023–24
The State of Generative A.I.
MSOE's Roscoe Raider
Output from Craiyon.com
Output from Fotor.com with Renaissance Painting as selected style.
Output from Deep A.I. with Renaissance Painting as selected style.
Until very recently, A.I. and machine learning were tools used by those in the technology sector. But now, and especially in the past year, experimentation with these tools is relatively common across all seniority levels and throughout the business population. Additionally, the term “generative A.I.” is becoming more well-known to the average person. Generative A.I. refers to models or algorithms that have been trained with massive amounts of data to create new content. Users enter prompts into a generative A.I. tool that will then create text, images or audio. (See examples at left.) In “The State of A.I. in 2023: Generative A.I.’s Breakout Year” study by McKinsey, 79 percent of respondents said they’ve had at least some exposure to generative A.I., either for work or outside of work, and 22 percent say they are regularly using it for their own work. This will continue to expand at a rapid pace—especially with ChatGPT, Google Bard, DALL-E and the like now available to anyone. Dr. Bryan Catanzaro, vice president of applied deep learning research at NVIDIA, visited campus in October to give a presentation on the state of generative A.I. He said generative A.I. is not unlike electricity in how it will transform our world. “In 1830 it was hard to imagine we’d have electric refrigeration,” he said. “When that came along it revolutionized food and the way that food is grown and consumed around the world. You can grow it far away and then move it. With electricity, we began to make machines that can solve problems for us in the way that computers do today, even without A.I. Imagine medicine without electricity—it’s not possible today. We are going to be doing things with
A.I. that have never been possible before. I’m really excited about generative A.I.” Catanzaro illustrates a few of the ways generative A.I. is creating new tools for the most important work we do: Education Tutoring, feedback, question exploration Health Care Flowchart, drug discovery, analysis Biology Genomics, protein structures Agriculture Data analysis, sensing, robotics Programming Debugging, documenting, scaffolding Writing Brainstorming, feedback, investigation Robotics Planning, sensing
Watch Dr. Catanzaro’s presentation:
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IN THE COMMUNITY
BROTHERHOOD
Chapter of the Year
Senior Design Scholars inspire future Raiders MSOE seniors teamed up with local high school seniors through the Senior Design Scholars Program, a program dedicated to providing high schoolers with opportunities to work on college-level projects while collaborating with MSOE students and faculty. The Senior Design Scholars Program is designed specifically for high school seniors who have been admitted to MSOE. During their final term of their senior year of high school, students get to participate on an MSOE senior design team and work on a real collegiate project.
MSOE’s Triangle Fraternity was named Chapter of the Year and earned the $100,000 Building Better Men scholarship at the biennial Herbert F. Scobie Leadership School. In addition, Deepansh Agarwal was named Chapter President of the Year. The awards recognize chapters that show a commitment to academic success, a high level of involvement in both on- and off-campus organizations, and uphold the fraternity’s Code of Ethics, commitment to philanthropy, community service and more. “Receiving these awards really cemented the fact that we put our heart and soul into this opportunity,” said Agarwal, Triangle Fraternity president. “These awards will also give our chapter encouragement to keep up the excellent work and build upon the foundation that we cultivated this past year.”
“Working in the Senior Design Scholars Program provided me with a unique opportunity to be mentored by seniors who were well versed in the particulars of engineering. The experience was inspiring and challenging,” said one high school participant. In spring 2023 there were eight scholars who participated on team projects that included Rosie the supercomputer, cardamom dryers in Guatemala, low voltage motor control cabinets at Rockwell Automation, and a fourth group attended a data science class rather than work on a project. American Family Insurance committed funds to help offset the costs of the program, which includes a professional development stipend for MSOE faculty participants and a $1,000 scholarship for the prospective students to use should they enroll at MSOE. The Senior Design Scholars Program further strengthens MSOE’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) by offering STEM experiences to historically underrepresented and underserved student populations.
The fraternity plans to use the Building Better Men Scholarship funds to give scholarships to active members who embody the values and missions of Triangle Fraternity as well as support attendance at workshops, mentoring programs and other fraternity-sponsored events.
MSOE welcomes The Principals’ Center MSOE is the new home of The Principals’ Center (TPC), the premier hub for school leadership development. Through professional development programs and an extensive learning community, TPC assists principals in leading change to ensure all students have access to a high-quality education. “Our program helps transform educators into motivated and influential school leaders and community builders,” said Dr. Ruth Barratt, chair of the Rader School of Business.
The Principals’ Center offers growth opportunities for school leaders through a variety of programming including Engaging Breakfast Conversations, Dynamic Workshops Conversations, Collegial Relationships and Knowledge Exchange and more. MSOE.EDU/TPC
DIMENSIONS FALL/WINTER 2023–24
GIRL POWER
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Scientific discourse on ethics
STEM DA
MSOE
Badges of honor
Troops from the Girl Scouts of Southeast Wisconsin earned STEM-related badges this fall at the We Energies STEM Center at MSOE. During Girl Scout STEM Day, the scouts earned their Junior Programming Robots and Entertainment Technology badges, and Brownie Designing Robots and Create and Innovate badges. This event was made possible by volunteers and sponsors from Rockwell Automation, HUSCO, Eaton and MSOE’s Society of Women Engineers (SWE). “Part of SWE’s mission is to empower women to achieve their full potential in careers as engineers and leaders. We engage in K–12 outreach to provide examples and mentors of women in STEM to students who may not have a female role model in STEM to guide them,” said Lexi Such, biomedical engineering major and SWE fundraising chair. “My favorite part of Girl Scout STEM Day is when the girls work together to find a solution after struggling for a few minutes and get excited that the program is working. They are always so excited to share their programs and designs!”
Global movement prioritizes STEM education What do rowing, swimming and STEM lessons have in common? They’re all part of the STEM to Stern program. STEM to Stern works in partnership with MSOE and Milwaukee Rowing Club to remove barriers and provide local youth with lessons in rowing, swimming and STEM. A typical day for these students involves being picked up from school, taken to STEM instruction (Tuesdays) or the YMCA for swimming (Thursdays), then to rowing practice, and finally back home again. MSOE
students volunteer to help with the transportation. “My favorite part of STEM to Stern is getting to watch the kids learn and grow. Some of them come in with different backgrounds and the days when you get to see the spark of light on their face really makes it worthwhile,” said Veronica Skinner, biomedical engineering senior and STEM lead. STEM to Stern strengthens students’ leadership skills, communication and teamwork while promoting a fit and healthy lifestyle.
MSOE was represented at the 14th World Conference on Bioethics, Medical Ethics and Health Law in Porto, Portugal in October. The conference is organized by the International Chair in Bioethics, which is a Cooperating Centre of the World Medical Association. Presenting their work (pictured above, from left) were Dr. Charles Tritt, biomedical engineering professor, with “ChatGPT: Educators’ Friend or Foe;” Christian Garcia, senior nursing student, with “Ethical Dilemmas Behind Vaccinations;” and Dr. Jon Borowicz, Humanities, Social Science and Communications Department Professor Emeritus, with “Kant, Professional Autonomy, and Moral Distress.”
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RAIDERS WRAP-UP PUSHING THE LIMITS
Kicking it up a notch Viets Field was home to not one, but two conference contenders in 2023. The Raiders finished in the top two of the standings in both men’s and women’s soccer, with the men taking a share of the regular season conference crown. The women opened their historic season alternating wins and draws before rattling off five straight wins. After their first loss of the season against Illinois Tech, they rebounded with an impressive 11-game unbeaten streak. The streak would include 10 wins, with six straight to close out the regular season. The Red and White went on to win the Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference title, earning a bid to the NCAA tournament. They won their first round game 2-1 against Denison University. They faced Calvin University in the next round, where they fought hard for the entire 90 minutes but ultimately came up short, 0-1. Leading the way during the regular season with 38 points was sophomore forward Leena Afifi, with a team-high of 16 goals. Sophomore forward Elizabeth Kuhn was not far behind with 13 goals, while senior midfielders Grace Quinn and Emma Halverson proved to be consistent playmakers with five assists each. Senior goalkeepers Reagan Tompkins and Megan Lacina proved to be an effective battery, combining for 46 saves on the season and only seven goals allowed. The Raiders’ balanced attack led them to an average margin of victory of 2.76 goals, good for second best in the conference and standing amongst the elite of Division III. Each of MSOE’s soccer teams put up double-digit conference wins (10 for the men and 12 for the women) and posted winning percentages above 85%. The squads combined for only two losses, with the men defending Viets Field with a perfect home record while the women proved to be road warriors, holding an unblemished record as visitors.
“The guys who’ve been around know the rare and unique Viets Field is our home, our soccer playground, and there’s something inspiring about that big MSOE shining down on us from the Kern. It just feels right,” said Rob Harrington, men’s head soccer coach. “Not to mention, memories of magical moments from our past games and even practices provide an unconscious confidence, which is hard to measure.” Following a season opening loss to Wartburg, the men, led by junior defender Ian Frost and his whopping 1,449 minutes played, proved to be in the upper echelon on both ends of the pitch. The Raiders would go undefeated the rest of the way including an impressive 11-game winning streak, where they outscored their opponents 36 goals to seven. Scoring the second most goals in the conference, including nine from their leading scorer, junior midfielder Lukas Schwenke, the Raiders still maintained
a stifling defense, holding opponents to the third fewest goals allowed. Sophomore goalkeeper Asher Harris started all but one contest and posted a save percentage of 77.3%, allowing just five goals across his 18 starts. Experience also played a role in the team’s success, as the team had nine players log over 800 minutes played, including five Raiders going over the thousand mark. Ultimately, the men’s team advanced to the NACC Conference Championship where they came up short against Dominican University, losing 0-1.
DIMENSIONS FALL/WINTER 2023–24
Conference champions Members of the Raiders men’s crosscountry team continued their success with another season as the NACC Conference Champions. They dominated the conference tournament and posted one of the lowest point totals in meet history (29) to secure their fourth straight title. The team was a powerhouse throughout their entire schedule, finishing no lower than third at every meet. The Raiders opened the season with a second-place finish at the Tom Berry Invitational where they were the top DIII school, led by sophomore Kolby Dax’s
third place finish with a time of 19:12.3. The team followed up with another strong performance at the St. Olaf Invitational where they combined for 62 points, enough for third place, and had two runners finish in the top 10. Sophomore Patrick Lee finished sixth with a time of 25:39.0, followed closely by Dax who finished eighth. Lee and the team carried that momentum into the Warrior Invitational where Lee outclassed the field and won the meet by 14 seconds with a time of 26:21.6. The rest of the Raiders squad commanded the field, finishing 1-2-3 with five of the top 10 runners on the day. Xander Gottner (26:35.0) and Dax (26:44.1) finished second and third, respectively, to round out the podium, while Ryan Alyassir (27:11.3) was
good enough for sixth and David Golisch (27:34.4) rounded out the top 10. The Raiders finished the regular season with another third-place finish, this time at the Drews/Neubauer Invitational in La Crosse, Wisconsin, where Gottner led the way with a lifetime personal best of 25:31.3, over 30 seconds faster than his previous record, and good enough for the sixth fastest time in school history. Gottner continued to lead the way for the Raiders into the postseason as he captured second place in the conference meet, just 9 seconds behind the champion. The Raiders had seven runners finish with All-Conference honors, with Alyassir (fourth), Dax (sixth), Branch (eighth) and Lee (ninth) all finishing in the top 10. The Raiders carried this momentum into the NCAA North Regional championship where Gottner led the team to multiple personal bests as he finished All-Region while the Raiders finished 11th overall.
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IMPACT
The Gift of Music: MSOE dedicates new space for students to pursue musical passions “Music brings people together. It can touch others and create a sense of community. Pat would have been pleased to be remembered by the MSOE community in connection with its new music conservatory.” MARCIA KERN These are a few of the beautiful sentiments Marcia Kern shared about her late mother, Dr. Patricia Kern, at the dedication of the Patricia E. Kern Conservatory of Music on Oct. 23. The Patricia E. Kern Conservatory of Music, once a privatelyowned residence on campus, now provides students in MSOE’s music programs with space to practice, rehearse with their peers and store their instruments.
Generous gifts from Regents Dr. Bob Hillis and Dr. Kathy Ruehlow ’72 made the new 4,400-square-foot facility possible. Ruehlow named the space in honor of her dear friend Patricia E. Kern. Patricia co-founded the Kern Family Foundation in 1998 with her husband, Dr. Robert Kern, after they sold Generac Power Systems, a company they founded in 1959. The couple were generous supporters of MSOE, and their legacy and dedication to the university lives on through the Kern Center, Hermann and Pamela Viets Field and now the Patricia E. Kern Conservatory of Music. “Pat had a lifetime love for music, and she loved MSOE. She would have been enthusiastic about the creation of the music conservatory and the joy it will now bring to the lives of MSOE students who share that same passion,” said Marcia Kern.
DIMENSIONS FALL/WINTER 2023–24
At left: The late Drs. Robert and Patricia Kern. The Patricia E. Kern Conservatory was named in honor of Mrs. Kern. This page: President John Walz and MSOE Regents Dr. Kathy Ruehlow ’72 and Dr. Kendall Breunig ’79 cut the ribbon to unveil the conservatory. Students in MSOE’s music programs use the conservatory’s rehearsal spaces to prepare for their performances.
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IMPACT
Dr. John Zachar celebrates 50th anniversary with scholarship Very few people spend more than five decades working for the same organization. Someone who’s shown that level of dedication to their employer might rightfully expect a celebration and recognition for a career focused on helping students. But that was not the first thought on Dr. John Zachar’s mind when he reached that milestone. When Dr. Zachar’s 50th year at MSOE rolled around, he did what he’s done consistently and generously for decades. He thought about giving. “MSOE has a reputation of providing a great education,” he says. “In that spirit, I want to continue to help all students who want a career in the CAECM field to get the benefit of that excellent education. This scholarship has helped many students so far and my dream is for it to help as many students as possible.” In honor of his 50th year teaching at MSOE, he intends to make a gift of $50,000 to his endowment, the John Zachar Endowed Scholarship. The Zachar Scholarship benefits students in MSOE’s Civil and Architectural Engineering and Construction Management Department (CAECM) with sophomore standing or higher who have a GPA of 3.0 or more.
This is Dr. Zachar’s second time making a gift in honor of a teaching milestone. For his 45th year at MSOE, he made a gift of $45,000 to his endowed scholarship. Then, as now, he’s challenging his former students to make a matching gift to his endowed fund to support future generations of MSOE CAECM students. If you are interested in making a gift to the John Zachar Endowed Fund, visit MSOE’s online giving page at give.msoe.edu/give or contact Greg Casey in the Office of University Advancement at (414) 277-4510 or casey@msoe.edu.
“Giving back is important. I’m very happy so many of my students have gone on to incredible careers. I hope they’ll consider making a gift to make it possible for students today to do the same.” DR. JOHN ZACHAR
DIMENSIONS FALL/WINTER 2023–24
To learn more
about supporting MSOE scholarships or hear how estate gifts make an impact at MSOE, contact Greg Casey, senior director of development, at casey@msoe.edu.
FACES OF PHILANTHROPY
Giving Back and Giving Thanks Members of the MSOE community joined forces in November to support the university and surrounding neighborhoods for Giving Tuesday. They wrote 100 thank-you notes to professors and staff, contributed 258 cans of food to the Hunger Task Force, and raised more than $8,000 to support the Fund for MSOE, scholarships, veterans support services, diversity and inclusion efforts and programming for the STEM Center.
Drewiske Annual Scholarship Don ’64 and Jean Drewiske pledged $25,000 to establish a scholarship for MSOE electrical engineering students, with an emphasis on those seeking a career in industrial manufacturing or utility industries. Don and Jean met at a singles mixer in Milwaukee a few months after Don graduated from MSOE. They eventually settled in Jean’s hometown of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, where Don’s electrical engineering degree was the foundation of a career working in power generation and distribution for the paper mills. Despite the distance from campus, MSOE has remained a central part of their family’s life. Two of their three sons, Greg ’91 and Kevin ’01, graduated from MSOE with degrees in electrical engineering and computer engineering and now their granddaughter, Julia, is a junior in biomedical engineering. With this scholarship, their impact on the next generation of MSOE students expands beyond their family. Don shares, “This scholarship is not only a recognition of the role MSOE has played in our family, but also an encouragement for future electrical engineers to consider careers in industrial manufacturing or utility industries.”
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CLASS NOTES
Supporters of MSOE Rowing celebrated the team’s 15th year by gathering at the annual Milwaukee River Challenge on Saturday, Sept. 16. Over 100 alumni, students, parents and friends connected with former teammates and cheered on MSOE’s current rowers.
1970s
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Dr. Dan Moceri 76 EET, MSOE Regent and co-founder and executive chairman of Convergint, received the 2023 George R. Lippert Memorial Award from the Security Industry Association (SIA), an honor presented annually to a distinguished individual for long-term, selfless service to the security industry and to SIA.
David Shellabarger 93 ME, project engineer, Miller Electric Manufacturing, Appleton, Wis.
Latasha Langdon 00 B&CS presented her new digital game, On the Edge, at the National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference. The game is designed to help youth make better decisions and choices using problem solving with scenarios.
Dr. Joseph Rencis 78 ABCET, 80 ABCET has been named to the American Society for Engineering Education Hall of Fame. The hall honors the Engineering and Engineering Technology Education standouts whose work has made a significant impact on engineering education. The impact of their contribution outweighs where or when it was made.
1980s Michael Slowinski 89 AE, deputy air operations officer, U.S. Navy, Key West, Fla.
Jerome Vogedes 95 EET, 97 EET, 04 MSEM recently had his 25th patent granted, “Systems and methods for positioning during atypical atmospheric conditions.” Maribeth Achterberg 98 MSEM, chief information officer, The Boldt Company, Green Bay, Wis. Christopher Matte 98 MET, 99 ME, operations coordinator – Rapid Prototyping Center, MSOE, Milwaukee Jessica Ziegler 98 AE, operations manager - Development Center for Department of Neighborhood Services, City of Milwaukee, Milwaukee Christopher Vanderhoef 99 EET, 01 EET, technology support on-site analyst, ND Paper, Sturtevant, Wis.
Kera West, 00 BME
was named a Notable Woman in STEM by Twin Cities Business Magazine.
DIMENSIONS FALL/WINTER 2023–24
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Jessica Ito 01 IE, vice president of logistics, Califia Farms, Los Angeles Nathaniel Miller 01 AE/CM, project executive, Clark Construction Group, Los Angeles Nabil Hadj-Kacem 04 MSE, mechanical engineer, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wis. Brian Truman 06 MSEM, technical/site manager, Diversey Inc., Watertown, Wis. Darrell Hesse 08 ME, director of continuous improvement, HUSCO International Inc., Waukesha, Wis.
2010s Chase Saylor 11 EE, group product manager, HYDAC, Glendale Heights, Ill.
Chilwin Tanamal,
13 MSEM
senior manager – R&D process development, The JM Smucker Co., Orville, Ohio Annie Weidert 14 BIOE, project manager at Mead & Hunt, was named a 2023 Women in Construction Honoree by The Daily Reporter. Sitlalic Aguilar 15 CM, construction estimator at VJS Construction, was named a 2023 Women in Construction Honoree by The Daily Reporter. Jessica Centers 18 EE, communications engineer, Mitre Corporation, Bedford, Mass. Tyler Dehn 18 ME, commissioning agent, AECOM, Atlanta
Justin McElderry 21 ME is sending ISS samples on the Materials on International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) Mission 19, where several additively manufactured polymers will be launched to the ISS and be exposed outside of the ISS for six months in low earth orbit. Launch will occur on a SpaceX launch (SpX-30) in February 2024. SS payload Microgravity Research for Versatile Investigations (MaRVIn) launched on a NASA Commercial Resupply Mission NG-19 in August 2023. This experiment operates several material solidification experiments in the ISS in the Microgravity Science Glovebox. McElderry worked on the prototype of the experiment in 2018–19 as an intern at NASA while attending MSOE.
2020s Frederick Rosenberger 20 ME, aerothermal engineer, Pratt & Whitney, Jupiter, Fla. Sabrina Stangler 20 SE, software engineer and product manager, Curious Bean LLC, Milwaukee Scott Hanson 22 MBAEL, director of finance, St. Joseph Academy, Milwaukee
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CLASS NOTES Austin Boley 23 SE, applications engineer 1, HED Inc., Hartford, Wis.
Class of ’23 Graduates Nicolas Anderson 23 CS, software developer, Epic Systems Corporation, Verona, Wis. Mariam Bader 23 NU, pediatric nurse 1, Children’s Wisconsin, Milwaukee Alexandra Ballwanz 23 EE, patent engineer, Quarles & Brady, Milwaukee Trevor Barnes 23 CE, embedded software engineer, EmbedTek, Waukesha, Wis. Tyler Bartz 23 ME, parts engineer, Toshiba America Energy Systems Corp., Milwaukee Carson Barwick 23 CM, project engineer, J.H. Findorff & Son Inc., Madison, Wis. Devin Baumgartner 23 EE, manufacturing controls engineer, Snap-On Inc., Milwaukee
Samuel Borup 23 CVE, project engineer I, Gilbane Building Co., Milwaukee Benjamin Brogan 23 AS, catastrophe risk analyst, Validus Research, Minneapolis Grace Brown 23 BME, manufacturing engineer, Virtex, Menomonee Falls, Wis. Samantha Brown 23 BIOE, technical sales engineer, Evoqua Water Technologies, Waukesha, Wis. Natalia Bukowski, 23 BME, systems integration engineer, Badger Meter Inc., Milwaukee Kevin Campos Botello, 23 ME SDA effectors—systems engineer 1, Raytheon Technologies, Tucson, Ariz. Ryan Burleson 23 CS, dock hand, Brunswick Corporation, Mettawa, Ill. Warren Burton 23 ME, mechanical design engineer, The Angelus Corporation, Waukesha, Wis.
Carly Bazan 23 AE, mechanical engineer, kW Mission Critical Engineering, Milwaukee
Leah Busse 23 NU, registered nurse - cardiovascular operating room, St. Luke’s Medical Center, Milwaukee
Cade Beekman 23 ME, process engineer, Walmart, Spring Valley, Ill.
Fabian Calvillo 23 CVE, materials engineer, Behnke Materials Engineering, Beloit, Wis.
Autumn Beyer 23 CS, edge rotational associate, Rockwell Automation, Cedarburg, Wis.
Cedric Carreon 23 EE, firmware engineer 1, Badger Meter Inc., Milwaukee
Anne Biejwas 23 AE project engineer, Power Design Inc., St. Petersburg, Fla.
William Blank 23 ME, junior project engineer, John B. Sanfilippo and Sons Inc., Elgin, Ill.
Kelvin Chavez 23 CVE, design engineer, Ambrose Engineering, Cedarburg, Wis. Chelsea Clark 23 NU, surgical ICU registered nurse, Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee Dakota Cole 23 CVE, project manager, Miron Construction Co. Inc., Milwaukee
Giovanni D’Addabbo 23 EE, associate electrical engineer, Bechtel Plant Machinery Inc., Pittsburgh Nicholas Dang 23 CS, associate data scientist, MGIC Investment Corporation, Milwaukee Adriana De La Cruz 23 NU, nurse, Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee Adrian Degenhardt 23 BME, foundry engineer, Torrance Casting, La Crosse, Wis. Stephen Dillard 23 CM, field engineer, Mortenson Construction, Chicago Steven Earley 23 EE, associate system control operator, American Transmission Company, Waukesha, Wis. Andrew Eder 23 EE, electrical engineer, Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp., Brookfield, Wis. Ryan Emerich 23 CE, software engineering intern, Hydro Electronic Devices, Hartford, Wis. Justice Escamilla 23 EE, electrical engineer 1, Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp., Brookfield, Wis. Alissa Evans 23 BBA, head of operations, She Slangs Wood, Milwaukee Jonelle Faith Fabian 23 BME, OMDP, GE HealthCare, Waukesha, Wis. Grant Fass 23 CS, data scientist, Scot Forge, Spring Grove, Ill. Tyler Faulkner 23 CS, software engineer, Xorbix Technologies Inc., Delafield, Wis. Collin Fayas 23 ME, diagnostic engineer, Porsche Exchange, Highland Park, Ill. Jack Ferrante 23 CVE, graduate engineer, RJN Group Inc., Dallas
Alexis Countryman 23 CVE, graduate water engineer, MSA Professional Services, Madison, Wis.
Daniel Folos 23 CM, project engineer 1, Gilbane Building Co., Milwaukee
Thomas Cullen 23 ME, engineer 1, Komatsu Mining Corporation, Milwaukee
Andrew Fritchen 23 MSE, field engineer, Toshiba America Energy Systems Corp., Milwaukee
John Cunningham 23 AE, structural designer, Excel Engineering, Fond du Lac, Wis.
Damian Williams Gamba 23 CVE, project engineer, Michels Corporation, Milwaukee
Tiffany Dabrowski 23 SE, software engineer, Strata Decision Technology, Chicago
Olivia Garces 23 BME, electrical engineer, Cree Inc., Racine, Wis.
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Erika Garcia 23 CM, project engineer, CG Schmidt Inc., Milwaukee
Jorge Jurado-Garcia 23 EE, product specialist, TCI, Germantown, Wis.
Derek Gauger 23 SE, software engineer, Astronautics Corporation of America, Oak Creek, Wis.
Julia Kalish 23 BME, field service engineer, Alpha Source Inc., Milwaukee
Samuel Goedert 23 CS, software developer, Epic Systems Corporation, Verona, Wis. Isaac Grahl 23 ME, design engineer 1, Nordco Inc., Oak Creek, Wis. Benjamin Grambsch 23 IE, industrial engineering manager, CTI Hospitality, Algoma, Wis. Olivia Gray 23 NU, ER registered nurse, Ascension, Milwaukee Sarah Grossman 23 BME, electrical engineer EDP, Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp., Brookfield, Wis. Peter Gudopp 23 AE, plumbing engineer, Ring & DuChateau Inc., Brookfield, Wis. Christopher Hansen 23 AE, electrical engineer, EXP US Services Inc., Orlando, Fla. Zachary Hart 23 ME, design engineer, Nordco Inc., Oak Creek, Wis. Emma Hayek 23 NU, registered nurse, Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee Patrick Hayes 23 SE, junior software developer, Core4ce, North Charleston, S.C. Kyle Hedblom 23 AE, project engineer I, Giles Flythe Engineers, Raleigh, N.C. Kyle Herbster 23 AE, structural designer, WT Group, Hoffman Estates, Ill. Robert Hinner 23 CE, FPGA engineer, Extreme Engineering Solutions, Verona, Wis. Brandon Hirschmann 23 ME, mechanical engineer, R+D Custom Automation, Trevor, Wis. Jack Horihan 23 CVE, civil design engineer, Strand Associates Inc., Madison, Wis. Grace Hughes 23 CS, software engineer 1, Astronautics Corporation of America, Oak Creek, Wis. Matthew Jancosek 23 CVE, structural engineering 1, Kiewit, Lenexa, Kan. Malcolm Johnson 23 SE, associate software engineer, Alto-Shaam Inc., Menomonee Falls, Wis.
Ryan Kamin 23 ME, design engineer, Caterpillar Global Mining, Menominee, Mich. Katherine Kappl 23 NU, registered nurse, Medical City Dallas, Dallas Chris Klobke 23 EE, entry level systems engineer/control specialist, RoviSys Building Technologies, Holly Springs, N.C. Ian Knudson 23 BIOE, associate production scientist, MilliporeSigma, Sheboygan Falls, Wis. Kyle Krueger 23 CS, technical sales associate, KEYENCE, Chicago Zachary Krysztopik 23 AE, mechanical engineer, RTM Engineering Consultants LLC, Milwaukee John Kubicki 23 AE, mechanical engineer, Novum Structures LLC, Menomonee Falls, Wis. Josephine Kunz 23 BME, regulatory affairs engineer, Ad-Tech Medical Instrument, Oak Creek, Wis. Monique Landry 23 AE, electrical engineering staff, HGA Architects Engineers & Planners, Milwaukee Therese Larson 23 BME, product engineer, Plexus Corporation, Neenah, Wis. Ethan Latham 23 UXCD, associate user experience designer, Uline, Pleasant Prairie, Wis. Eric Lehmann 23 EE, service engineer, Titan, Sturtevant, Wis. Elise Lettiere 23 ME, process engineer, Scot Forge, Spring Grove, Ill. Morgan Long 23 CVE, roadway design engineer, Kiewit, Lone Tree, Colo. Michelle Marmolejo 23 NU, oncology registered nurse, St. Luke’s Medical Center, Milwaukee Desiree Martin 23 BME, software engineer, FORCE America Inc., Brookfield, Wis. Dwight Maynor 23 ME, project engineer, Hayes Performance Systems, Mequon, Wis.
Michael McDonald 23 ME, applications engineer, Beckhoff Automation, Savage, Minn. Ian McMinigal 23 CVE, field project engineer, Lakeside Engineers, Wauwatosa, Wis. Nicholas Migliaccio 23 ME, engineering rotation, Williams International, Pontiac, Mich. Maxine Miller 23 CVE, project engineer, Pepper Construction Group, Milwaukee Daniel Nate 23 CVE, design engineer, Eriksson Engineering Associates, Milwaukee
Nigel Nelson, 23 CS
machine learning engineer, NVIDIA, Santa Clara, Calif. Cole Ninmann 23 AS, financial reporting, Allianz, Minneapolis Nicholas Nuchikat 23 NU, nurse, Ascension, Milwaukee Eric Oberstar 23 ME, associate engineer, UCC Environmental, Waukegan, Ill. Ayush Patel 23 CVE, project engineer, Power Construction Co., Chicago Ananya Pathak 23 NU, registered nurse, USA Health, Mobile, Ala. Michael Pitrof 23 AE, structural engineer, Kiewit, Lenexa, Kan. Collin Quinn 23 CS, associate data scientist, Northwestern Mutual, Milwaukee Abigail Ranalli 23 IE, industrial engineer 1, Boston Scientific Corp., Saint Paul, Minn. Stephanie Rattle 23 NU, NICU nurse, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Keegan Rhodes 23 CS, software engineer, GE HealthCare Technologies, Waukesha, Wis. Caleb Rife 23 ME, patent engineer, Learn&how to Milwaukee leave your mark on Quarles Brady,
campus at give.msoe.edu/pavetheway
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CLASS NOTES Jennifer Rivas 23 IE, manufacturing engineer, Hi-Cone, Itasca, Ill. Nicole Robb 23 BME, manufacturing engineer, Boston Scientific Corp., Saint Paul, Minn. Caitlin Rodriguez 23 UX, product experience specialist, Brady Corporation, Milwaukee Joshua Roets 23 EE, automation design engineer, Pieper Automation, New Berlin, Wis.
Morgan Smith 23 NU nurse, Children’s Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Nicolas Romano 23 AE, project manager, JJB Home Improvement, Milwaukee
Lauren Stefanczyk 23 BME/EE, system design engineer, Rockwell Automation, Mayfield Heights, Ohio
Joshua Rossy 23 AS, technical solutions engineer, Epic Systems Corporation, Verona, Wis.
Rebecca Joyce Steves 23 ME, field engineer, Mortenson Construction, Milwaukee
Amber Rothe 23 BME, research assistant, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
Kenzie Swinford 23 ME, controls engineer, HUSCO International Inc., Waukesha, Wis.
Salvatore Rouse 23 CE, controls engineer, SS Controls, Franklin, Wis.
Joseph Teschke 23 ME, software engineer 1, Astronautics Corporation of America, Oak Creek, Wis.
Daniel Ruppert 23 EE, electrical engineer 1, Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp., Brookfield, Wis. Christian Sabin 23 EE, project engineer, Power Design Inc., St. Petersburg, Fla. Wesley Salverson 23 ME, mechanical design engineer, Fives Giddings & Lewis, Fond du Lac, Wis. Jack Schoepke 23 BIOE, process safety engineer, Sterling Pharma Solutions, Germantown, Wis. Dylan Schultz 23 CE, software engineer, PKWARE Inc., Milwaukee Stephen Scripp 23 BME, project engineer, Stryker Corporation, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Jakob Sherry 23 CVE, civil engineer, Indiana Department of Transportation, Indianapolis Aidan Showalter 23 EE , electrical engineer 1, Generac Power Systems Inc., Waukesha, Wis. Jillian Silva 23 IE, continuous improvement specialist, Wintrust, Rosemont, Ill. Ted Simpson 23 BIOE, analytical micro specialist, Molson Coors, Milwaukee Behrgen Smith 23 BIOE, data scientist, Congruence Therapeutics, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Krista Vidana 23 NU, CVICU registered nurse, Advocate Aurora Health, Milwaukee Arjun Vorster 23 CVE, bridge engineer, Fishbeck, Novi, Mich. Nathan Wagenknecht 23 SE, software engineer, Lobby Technologies Inc., San Francisco Nathan Walla 23 BME, advanced manufacturing engineer, GE HealthCare Technologies, Waukesha, Wis. Chloe Wallach 23 CS, systems engineer, Northwestern Mutual, Milwaukee Miriam Ward 23 NU, nurse, Aurora Sinai Medical Center, Milwaukee Marques Washington 23 EE, edison engineer, GE Healthcare Technologies, Waukesha, Wis. Jackson Wellner 23 ME, mechanical engineer, C3 Corporation, Appleton, Wis.
Yan Theros 23 NU, registered nurse, St. Luke’s Medical Center, Milwaukee
Charlie Westlund 23 ME, product design engineer, Rockwell Automation, Milwaukee
Alan Thomas 23 ME, manufacturing engineer, Krueger International Inc., Green Bay, Wis.
Tanner Whipps 23 EE, electrical engineer 1 - clean energy, Generac Power Systems Inc., Waukesha, Wis.
Samuel Thompson 23 ME, project engineer, Stevens Construction Corporation, Milwaukee
Riley Whitted 23 CVE, designer 1, Excel Engineering, Fond du Lac, Wis.
Avery Tiegs 23 IE, technical solutions engineer, Epic Systems Corporation, Verona, Wis. Tyler Tran 23 CS, research computer scientist, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C. Grace Tubutis 23 BME, technical solutions engineer, Epic Systems Corporation, Verona, Wis. Hunter Turcin 23 SE, software engineer, Direct Supply Inc., Milwaukee Reza Usmani 23 EE, controls engineer, Eaton Corporation, Menomonee Falls, Wis. Jack Van Dyke 23 ME, project engineer, Emerson Electric Company, Milwaukee Amish Verma 23 CS, software engineer, PKWARE Inc., Milwaukee
Evan Williams 23 ME, turbine engineer, Toshiba America Energy Systems Corp., Milwaukee Ian Wright 23 AE, lighting design controls and circuitry specialist, Ring & DuChateau Inc., Brookfield, Wis. Amanda Yackley 23 BIOE, process engineer, Hydrite Chemical Company, Brookfield, Wis.
Peter Zambo 23 EE design engineer 1, Excel Engineering, Fond du Lac, Wis.
DIMENSIONS FALL/WINTER 2023–24
Ready for Takeoff
Lt. Colonel Catherine Olszewski ’08 “You never know where your career from MSOE might take you.” MSOE helped prepare Lt. Colonel Catherine Olszewski ’08 to travel the world—from training grounds across the United States to battlegrounds overseas. Olszewski grew up in the suburbs of Chicago with an early love for math, science and playing basketball. At MSOE, the electrical engineering major quickly became a star on the Raiders’ basketball court. She was also part of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program which helped support her education and prepared her for a career after MSOE. After graduation, Olszewski moved to Albuquerque for her first stint of flying training on the DA20. In the first few years of her career she trained throughout the country with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy learning to fly the T-6A, HC-130P and C-130 aircrafts. She reported for her first flying assignment in January 2011 at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base andlater that year was deployed to Afghanistan. “In Afghanistan we did almost solely medical evacuations for injured soldiers from every service and country that was there. We also did medical evacuations of
“
There have been several times in my career where just putting the nose to the grindstone was necessary and other times where it was important to step back and look at the big picture. MSOE helped me learn to tell the difference between the two.”
Afghan children and civilians. I’m particularly proud of one mission where we evacuated an injured Afghan child and his father to a base so they’d receive a higher level of medical care.” When she returned to the States, Olszewski learned to fly a HC-130J, a tactical cargo aircraft used for recovery missions and refueling other military aircrafts and helicopters. She deployed three more times before attending Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base. Upon graduating, she got her formal assignment to Eglin Air Force Base located on the panhandle of Florida where she resides with her family. “I’m so proud of the work I’ve been doing as a C-130 test pilot. My squadron works extremely hard to ensure we are safely testing the right equipment for all the different variants of C-130 to ensure the people deployed every day have the right tools to accomplish their mission and come home safe,” she said. Throughout all her trainings and military assignments, Olszewski credits lessons learned at MSOE for helping her career take flight. “Keep a good work life balance and value the time you spend with your family. When everything else is said and done, they are the ones who will always be there when you land.”
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CLASS NOTES
Adoptions and Births Eric Pfiffner 13 ME and Kailey Pfiffner 15 AE, welcomed twins, Lewis and Wyatt, who join big brother Jameson. Sherri Biendarra-Tiegs 14 BIOE and Tyler Tiegs 14 CE welcomed a son, Lincoln Gordon, on June 2, 2023. Noah Corbeil-Wild 14 IE and Alice Johnson-Wild 16 CE, welcomed twin boys, Leo Hendrix and Phoenix Rio, born April 24, 2023.
In Memory Kenneth Owens 49 EE Kenneth Thong 49 EE Duane Redline 54 NRTT Richard Nishimura 55 EE
Join the Alumni Board. The MSOE Alumni Association Board consists of alumni of various backgrounds who serve as representatives for the MSOE alumni population. We are looking for new members to begin in July 2024. Applications are open for alumni until Feb. 15, 2024. To learn more visit: msoe.edu/alumni-board.
Robert Schmiedel 55 CM Neil Gates 56 ACET
James Nickel 69 EE
Gene Lokken 56 ACT
Dale Munson 70 IET, 71 MET
Ralph Grady 57 NRTT
Thomas Hauke 71 MSEM
James Kolb 57 EE
Robert Farrell 72 IM
John King Jr. 58 NRTT, 63 EE
Wanda Wiedmann 72 NU
Martin Long 58 NRTT
Jeffrey Krawczyk 74 CET, 75 EET
Wildon Reich 58 INDT, 62 ME
Keith Pegelow 78 IM
William Montgomery 59 ACT
Frederick Schutte 78 IM
Ruth Stenzel 59 NU
Daniel Hegeman 79 EPET, 86 EET
Merle Zimmerman 59 ACT
Raymond St. Louis 83 MIS, 85 MET
George Boss 62 EET
Alan McCalister 86 EET
Jerome Warkoczewski 62 ME
Robert Pierce 91 ME
Patrick McKay 63 EE
Donald Lockery 94 MSEM
Eugene Stankiewicz 63 CET
Brian Moore 96 MIS
Robert Zuehlsdorf 63 EE
Brian King 97 ME
Robert Pawelski 65 EE
Michael Krautkramer 00 CE
Michael McClelland 67 ICEET
John Michael Fico 02 MSEM
Lynn Schreiber 68 NU
Jason Marckx 03 EE
Richard Malsch 69 EE
Ryan Downs 08 CE
Victor Miller 69 ME
Ricky Domenech 13 MET
Gurthan Hightower passed away Oct. 2, 2023. Hightower was a custodian in the Custodial Services Department at MSOE, working throughout campus. Rev. Pamela Viets passed away July 6, 2023. Viets was a member of the MSOE Board of Regents and wife of the late Dr. Hermann Viets, MSOE President Emeritus. She was a steadfast supporter of MSOE and its students and was involved in many Milwaukee-area organizations including the East Town Association, helping to improve the community surrounding MSOE’s campus. Pamela and Hermann Viets Athletic Field was named in honor of her and President Viets’ work at the university to create a well-rounded first-class education and experience for students. Viets held a Bachelor of Science in Education from St. John’s University in Queens, New York. Later in life she studied to become an ordained minister and earned a Master of Divinity from the Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Shawnee, Kansas. Most recently, she served as the interim pulpit and pastoral support at St. Jacobi Congregational Church in Richfield, Wisconsin.
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A CLASS ACT
Marty Handley’s Memories For 50 years, scores of MSOE students, alumni and faculty—especially those in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) Department—relied on Marty Handley to provide the laboratories, tools and equipment they needed to succeed in their classes. Handley, manager of the Technical Support Center in EECS, retired in the fall after five decades of service to MSOE. Handley enjoyed repairing test equipment and rebuilding labs. He loved the challenges of developing projects and working with professors to design labs. “I took great pride in rebuilding the labs out to walls,” said Handley. “I’ve redone every EECS lab three or four times to keep them current and refinished over 300 bench tops in my years at MSOE. The harder the challenge, the more I liked it.” The project Handley is most proud of was, in his opinion, one of the most technologically transformative. In the mid ’70s, MSOE received its first six Altair computers. “They arrived in kit form with vague instructions. I had no idea what computers were supposed to do. I worked with Professor Tom Davis, since he was the most experienced, and we were really scratching our heads.” Handley assembled the computers, but none of them worked. He sent one back to
the factory and, after it was repaired and returned to campus, he was able to get the rest working within three weeks. His education from Polk Community College combined with six years of service in the U.S. Navy paved the way for a successful career at MSOE. Handley graduated from Navy Electronic Technician “A” School, Tacan “C” School and various Motu-11 schools. He served on the U.S.S. Princeton LPH-5 and the U.S.S. Juneau LPD-10, with two tours to Vietnam. He was honorably discharged as an E-5 in 1973. Time and again, Handley’s experience, problem solving skills, resourcefulness, and ability to do seemingly anything helped MSOE. Shortly after he started, he realized the labs didn’t have the necessary test equipment or oscilloscopes. The school couldn’t afford new equipment. Handley and his manager Jim Abercrombie went to a local surplus center to get miscellaneous parts and saw a room of half-gutted Tektronix oscilloscopes. They were able to negotiate a bargain price and, after convincing Department Chair Joe Sitzwohl it was a good deal, they bought and rebuilt 40 oscilloscopes. Handley’s colleagues are as important to him as the work he accomplished. He cherishes their friendship and sense of humor, especially after pulling more
than a few pranks over the years. From wallpapering Professor Emeritus John Gassert’s office (walls and ceiling!) with more than 400 copies of a flying dog photo and propping up Department Chair Ray Palmer’s desk with old 6-inch thick ABET accreditation reports, to hiding a kids’ toy “Bumble Ball” in the ceiling of Marilyn Searing’s office and hanging 50th birthday signs for Lynn Kallas (when it wasn’t her birthday!), Handley kept his colleagues on their toes and made sure everyone had a bit of fun. Each year he hosted EECS Department holiday and end-of-the-school-year luncheons and hopes the tradition continues. In retirement, Handley is looking forward to spending more time on his hobbies and volunteering with local food pantries and meal programs with his wife, Kathy. He does not consider his time at MSOE to be work because, “If you love your job, you never work a day in your life.” “My 50 years at MSOE have been fantastic and I wouldn’t trade them for anything,” he said. “I have been so blessed in every phase of my life.”
DIMENSI [ ] NS
FA L L / W I N T E R 2 0 2 3 –2 4
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Save the Dates!
SUMMER IN THE CITY 2024 Summer in the City, MSOE’s annual alumni reunion weekend, will be held July 26–28, 2024 celebrating the classes of 2019, 2014, 1999 and 1974! This year we want your help. If you are interested in spreading the word, joining the reunion committee or hosting a session, please scan the QR code to complete the information form.
From ice skating, to tailgating, to hitting the links, there’s something for everyone at these upcoming alumni events! Jan. 20 | Alumni Family Skate | Kern Center | Milwaukee Feb. 8 | Milwaukee Bucks vs. Minnesota Timberwolves | Fiserv Forum | Milwaukee Feb. 22 | Alumni Happy Hour | Molson Coors | Milwaukee March 9 | Arizona Spring Training Game and Alumni Tailgate | Phoenix, AZ June 10 | President’s Golf Outing | Oconomowoc Golf Club | Oconomowoc, WI
Learn more about upcoming events at msoe.edu/alumni/events.