Hermann Viets, Ph.D.
President, Milwaukee School of Engineering
(1991 - present)
Viets received a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, and both a master's degree and Ph.D. in astronautics, all from Polytechnic University in New York City and Farmingdale, Long Island. He was a visiting scientist, aerospace engineer and research group leader for Wright Patterson Air Force Base Aerospace Research Laboratories in Dayton, Ohio; lecturer at the Von Karman Institute in Brussels, Belgium; and a research associate at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, N.Y. His other academic experience includes serving as dean of engineering at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston; associate dean for research and professor at West Virginia University, Morgantown; and professor of engineering at Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio.
Vision for MSOE
Viets' vision for MSOE is to remain at the forefront of professional education with an emphasis on both theory and technology coupled with an intensity of appropriate laboratory experience and career practice. He has worked to broaden the academic scope of the university while maintaining its "applications-oriented" philosophy and at the same time supported those initiatives that promote a well-rounded college experience.
New Initiatives
During Viets' presidency, MSOE has implemented a number of new programs including: several undergraduate international programs; B.S./M.S. and dual degree programs; bachelor of science programs in construction management, nursing and software engineering; business management and BIOE programs; master of science programs in perfusion (the first master's program in the United States), structural engineering, medical informatics (a joint program with the Medical College of Wisconsin), marketing and export management and new product management.
Other highlights include MSOE's implementation of the state's first all-notebook computer campus at a university, and the establishment of the Rader School of Business and School of Nursing. The university's physical campus increased to 20 acres and now includes:
- Krueger Hall (home to WMSE radio station and Rapid Prototyping Laboratory)
- Rosenberg Hall (home to the Rader School of Business)
- Murphy House (retreat in Belgium, Wis.)
- Humphrey House (president's residence)
- Kern Center (210,000 square-foot athletic and wellness facility)
- Grohmann Museum (home of the Eckhart G. Grohmann Man at Work Art Collection)
- Athletic Field and Parking Complex (currently under construction)
Campus events of the past quarter are compiled into a video for each MSOE Board of Regents meeting. View our latest production below.
