Major: Computer Engineering
Associate professor in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, Dr. Russ Meier has traveled the world including Brazil, Spain, Hong Kong and Morocco, sharing his expertise in computer engineering and engineering education. In 2009, he won the Young Engineer of the Year Award from STEM Forward. He was most recently featured in Dimensions magazine, where we learned about his background, passion for teaching and why he loves MSOE. See the answers to those questions, and many more, below.
Your favorite thing about teaching:
Watching the joy on a student’s face when they design a circuit, build it, debug it, and it functions. I also enjoy helping them learn the processes to use to improve their design when their first attempt doesn’t meet the designed requirements and specifications. Finally, it is especially gratifying when an alumni says “Remember when we did this or that in class – I still use the skills you taught me in my job today!” In 2009, I taught my 10000th student. So, in 2012 I must be closing in on 10500. Being able to touch that many lives in such a powerful and positive way is the most rewarding part of teaching.
Your favorite thing about MSOE:
I knew I wanted to teach from the time I was in high school. I also knew that it had to be adult education. I have taught at two large research universities with class sizes into the mid-hundreds. Those environments were dynamic, challenging, and very rewarding, of course, but MSOE provides a significantly better student-to-faculty ratio and the opportunity to spend significant quality time with each student. At MSOE, I know each of my students, their classroom skills, their design quality, their internship positions, and their extracurricular activities. I grade all of their work by myself and have a complete mental record of where they stand with the course material. The small private school environment allows me to form a mentorship role with students that is much more effective than what I was able to accomplish with 500 students in a class.
What was your first job?
I grew up on a working farm with more than 1,600 acres of pasture and crop land. We raised Hereford and angus cattle, pigs, and chickens. We rotated cropland with corn, oats, alfalfa and other feed grasses. I was a working member of the farm from about the age of 8. In fact, my love of engineering comes from tear-down and repair of broken trucks, tractors, combines, and other farm implements.
Biggest misconception of computer engineering majors:
First-year students often believe that computer engineers build laptop computers, personal computers, and video games. They are right, of course, because computer engineers play a huge role in the design of those products. But, computer engineers do so much more! Computer engineers have one of the most significant roles in the modern world. The motto we use with our students on campus (it’s on the t-shirts and polo shirts the students wear) is: “Computer Engineers: We put computers in stuff!” That describes it pretty well! The tens of computers in a modern automobile, the computers in spacecraft, the computers in kitchen appliances, the computers that move information on the global communication networks, the computers in military hardware, the computers in building systems like elevators and HVAC, the computers in cell-phones, the computers in … the list just goes on and on. These embedded systems are really the core of our field of engineering specialty and its here where so many of our alumni work to change the world.
Another common misconception is that computer engineering is computer science or software engineering. Both of those fields focus on programming computers and building large-scale software products. Neither focuses on the design of computer hardware. Computer engineers, however, are technical specialists in computer hardware and computer software. At MSOE, we have a balanced freshman-first curriculum where students take one computer hardware and one computer software class side-by-side each quarter for four years. This makes them extremely attractive to employers.
Favorite place you’ve traveled to:
When I need to get away into the peace and quiet of nature for hiking and exploration, my wife and I head to the U.S. Southwest. The mountains, deserts, canyons, and natural bridges are spectacular and inspiring. Our National Parks are amazing. When I need the vibe of a bigger city, I head to Madrid, Spain. The combination of Old World architecture, world-class art, a vibrant and walk-able central city, and plenty of tapas makes for the perfect city get-away. While many people speak English, I try to use only Spanish when I am there. Interestingly, I don’t speak Spanish at all in the United States and so it usually takes about two days of immersion before I’m able to hold my own in conversations.
Best place to hang out on campus:
My office because is overlooks Cathedral Square. Southern light in the wintertime, fantastic Milwaukee architecture out the window, Jazz in the Park drifting in the window on warm afternoons in the late spring, summer, and early fall, and the constant stream of students stopping by to ask questions or just talk.
Best advice you’ve ever received:
My parents always encouraged me to be a lifelong learner. They said, “Education will take you anywhere you want to go. Degrees aren’t granted. They are earned!” My parents required us to do homework at the dinner table, to talk about our days at school, and to answer questions about things we had studied. They added insight and opinion about U.S. culture, history, politics, and technology. My mom was also an avid reader and encouraged her kids to read. Even today, I still read several non-fiction and many fiction books each year.
Your first thought upon hearing you won the Young Engineer of the Year Award?
I was extremely humbled to be chosen. There are so many engineers in our community that work hard to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through their professions and their volunteer work. To be considered with them for recognition was an honor I did not expect.
What is your biggest motivator?
My students! Here's what I said about them in my Young Engineer of the Year award speech:
“Each year, I watch talented young adults enter as first-year engineering students and begin walking that long study hall that separates them from their professional career. It’s a long hall -- full of calculus, physics, forces, vectors, hardware, software, flowcharts and schematics. But somehow by the end of four years (without much sleep), they have been transformed into confident men and women with a solid foundation of skills and an understanding that they can make a difference. And, as they leave MSOE and shut that metaphorical door at the end of that long hallway, I celebrate their accomplishments. This year, I have my 10,500th undergraduate student in class after a 21 year history teaching university courses. It has been my greatest joy to watch all of them explore engineering.”
Apple or PC?
Definitely Apple! I have owned and used Apple computers as my primary computer since the 1970s. I learned to program on Apple IIe computers using Apple BASIC. My favorite historical Apple Computer has to be the Apple IIc followed closely by the original 1984 Macintosh. Of course, today I have a MacBook as my primary computer, an iPad as my media hub, and an iPhone.
Best way to spend a Sunday afternoon:
Brunch on Milwaukee’s East Side followed by walk with my wife along Milwaukee’s fantastic waterfront. Later, a game of fetch football with my Chihuahua and a Brewers or Packers game to round out the day! Perfect.