PMP Student and Faculty Profiles

Alejandro Ramirez

Alejandro Ramirez has worked with communication electronics for many years.  His career began in a field called Computer Network Switching and Cryptographic Systems in the US Air Force.  He now works at the University of Washington as a Network Specialist.  Accordingly, his experience encompasses component level troubleshooting, discrete component replacement, multiplexing equipment maintenance and cryptographic equipment setup, just to name a few.

As his signaling and electronics' understanding expanded so did his desire to learn.  He attained his undergraduate degree while he worked full-time and loved the ability to apply the material learned in school almost immediately at work.  Therefore, he tirelessly looked forward to the opportunity of joining an evening Master's program in Electrical Engineering.  Once Alejandro attains the MSEE he will carry out network communications research and development. He wants to engineer equipment necessary for revolutionary packet switching technologies.

Alejandro notes, "The challenges presented in the PMP classes truly prepare one with innovative answers to complex questions".

Amanda Quan

Amanda Quan chose the Professional Masters Program because it was the best match for her as a working professional.  “I am a couple of years into developing my career at Boeing,” she notes, “and although I was very interested in pursuing further education, I did not want to inhibit my progress there.  One catch was that, while I felt I was making some use of my undergraduate education, I felt that obtaining a greater understanding of my field and furthering my knowledge of engineering would also help me to reach my professional goals.  The PMP was exactly what I needed at this point in my life: a way to pursue my academic desires while still maintaining a full-time position at Boeing.”

Although Amanda has only been in the program for a limited time, she says she has been impressed with what she’s seen so far.  “The classes are challenging, which assures me that I am working towards an increased comprehension.  The teachers are excellent, both knowledgeable and understanding of outside commitments.  I feel that this is an intelligent intermediate step on my path to eventually pursuing a doctorate.”

Ning Choy

Ning Choy received his BSEE from the University of Idaho in 2004 and has been working since graduation at Boeing in the flight test side of Boeing Commercial Airplane.  In his everyday work Ning works on electrical designs that involve many different types of transducers, signal conditioning units, and data recording systems.  Ning speaks here about his decision to pursue an MSEE through the PMP:

“Electronic data is crucial to Boeing airplane certification.  We always try to record our data faster and with better quality.  In this new age of computers and communications, data integrity is the biggest challenge.  That’s why I decided to pursue an MSEE degree so I can have a better understanding of the theories that I am working with.  The reasons that I chose the UWEE PMP are their convenient class schedule and the type of classes they offer.  Class is only one evening a week.  This makes commitment much easier.  Also, I know I want to attend class physically and not internet virtual classes.  I want to be part of the environment where I can interact with my classmates, TA(s), and professor(s).  EE PMP offers plenty of communication and related classes, which is perfect for my profession.

I started the PMP in winter 2008 and already have broadened my knowledge and am starting to apply them at work and personal projects.  The seminars have kept me up to date with today’s technology and research topics.  I am interacting with all my classmates, just as a full-time student.  And the best of all, when I graduate I will receive a diploma that is indifferentiable from the daytime MSEE program.”

Jessica Yan

Jessica Yan graduated from the University of Washington in 2003 with a BSEE degree. Soon after, she got her first job with Verizon as a Network Design Engineer.  Jessica talks here about her journey to the PMP:

“I've always wanted to come back to school to get my masters but could not take the time away from my career to do a full-time graduate course. I stayed with Verizon for a little over two years and then switched over to T-Mobile to work as a Product Engineer. There, I met with an old classmate who informed me that the EE department at the U was setting up an evening Masters Program, which immediately piqued my interest. I had a great experience during my undergraduate time in the EE department; the faculty was accomplished, friendly, and accessible to students. I am eager to return and the PMP offers the perfect opportunity for me to obtain my masters with minimal impact on my professional career.

Since I work in the Mobile industry, much of the PMP coursework matches well with my chosen field. My job includes working on Multimedia applications, and I am really looking forward to EE 587 which covers multimedia compression and networking. I also feel there is much I can gain from the wireless communications series. I think this program has a lot to offer - it allows me to simultaneously advance my education and career while maintaining a fun and enjoyable atmosphere.”

Ronald Griffin

Ronald Griffin, an employee at the Boeing Company, has had a wide variety of jobs in his days. He worked in the steel mills of northwest Indiana, was a Directory Assistance Operator for Indiana Bell, worked the farm in Tennessee, was a UPS dock worker, electronics repair technician, embedded software engineer and is now an electromagnetic effects engineer.

He started his technical/professional development in 1981 while enrolled at I.T.T. as an Electronics Engineering Technician (E.E.T.). He had his first of several back surgeries in 1989 and as he puts it “decided to become an engineer to keep myself employable”.  In 1991, Ronald enrolled at the age of 36 in the Electrical Engineering program at Purdue University with a track in Signal Processing and a minor in mathematics.  He and his wife headed west to the wonderful state of Washington in 1997 and have been here since. While Ronald has taken classes and seminars when he’s had the chance he sees now as “one of the best opportunities to further develop the engineering part of me through the PMP at UW”.

Ronald notes that “continuing education is the one of the most important activities we can do for ourselves to keep the mind engaged and intuitively flexible. Work rarely provides the environment that can stimulate the mind the way higher education can and the sense of accomplishment when a part of the project is completed. That is what we do when we undertake a goal to better ourselves, it is a project. It is an ongoing project that should continue until we can’t continue. The struggle may be difficult with all of the demands and obstacles of life, and a single class may be all we can handle, but it is worth the struggle.”

With the project of self development, Ronald believes that “it isn’t only how fast the project is completed, but how well it is done”. As such, he considers himself “a work in progress as long as my body and mind can endure with the available opportunities that arise, such as the PMP at UW”.

Les Atlas

Les Atlas joined the UW Electrical Engineering faculty in 1984.  An active participant in the PMP, Professor Atlas taught the program’s inaugural course (Digital Signal Processing) during Winter quarter 2008.  He notes that “for a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Digital Signal Processing (DSP) is like the circuits or other fundamentals course is for an undergraduate Electrical Engineering degree. Almost all topics, be it industrial, defense, medical, consumer, and/or communications electronics, seem to grow out of the underlying mathematics in DSP”.

When asked how the PMP compares to the daytime program Professor Atlas says “the pace of the new Professional Masters DSP class is no slower than the fast pace we use for daytime students. Some students say that it starts like 'Trying to drink from a fire hose,' but when modern applications like MP3 players and HDTV are linked to the mathematics, it all starts to come together and make sense. For example, without the kinds of mathematical tricks industry uses from modern DSP concepts, large-screen HDTVs would not be dropping in price and modern hybrid cars could not be mass-produced."

More detail on Les Atlas’ background and research interests can be referenced here.

John Sahr

John Sahr was born in Seattle and grew up in Yakima and Selah, Washington. He became a radio amateur in the mid 1970s (WB7NWP) and continued his interest in radio wave propagation, communication, and radar in college.  He earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering at the California Institute of Technology in 1984, and a doctorate from Cornell University in 1990. He joined the UW as a faculty member in Electrical Engineering in 1991. In addition to his appointment in Electrical Engineering, Professor Sahr also currently serves as Associate Dean for undergraduate academic affairs in the UW Office of Undergraduate Education.

Professor Sahr teaches courses in Electromagnetic Theory to students in the PMP.  He notes that “the PMP is a rich opportunity for me to interact with electrical engineers who have been working for a few years, to find out what mattered in their BS education for their current work, and to find out what matters now".  When asked to comment on students in the PMP, he responds “...these students are eager to learn, serious, diverse in their backgrounds and interests... it's a delight to work with them”. 

Professor Sahr’s research includes space plasma physics, scattering theory and radar signal processing. He has received several teaching awards from the College of Engineering and the Faculty Achievement Award.  More detail on John Sahr’s background and research interests can be referenced here.