Major: Biomedical Engineering
Class: 1986
It took failing a class and dropping out of college for Dr. Larry Fennigkoh '74, '86 to fully appreciate the value of an MSOE education. "I signed up for a digital electronics class one quarter and even though I was taking 22 credits, I thought I could handle it. I ended up failing the class and trashing my G.P.A. It so traumatized me that I just quit and dropped out," remembers Fennigkoh. He went back to work as an electronic technician, where he realized he actually understood concepts of his job thanks to his MSOE education. "The lights came on and Moses came down and I understood what was going on. MSOE was teaching me to think altogether differently." Fennigkoh re-enrolled shortly after that, and he never looked back. He received his EET degree in 1974, his MSEM degree in 1986 and his Ph.D. in industrial engineering from UW-Milwaukee in 1995.
Fennigkoh has been teaching biomedical engineering classes at MSOE since 1998. "I was always interested in anatomy and physiology and I had a strong interest in electronics. I thought it would be tremendously neat to blend these two interests together.” While serving as the director of clinical engineering at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee, Fennigkoh developed an algorithm for hospitals to classify medical devices based on function, risk to patient and maintenance requirement. He quantified those three elements to come up with a score, which determines how much and how often devices need to be inspected for maintenance. His algorithm was adopted by the federal regulatory agency and is still used today by hospitals around the world. “It blows me away that the algorithm is still used and talked about,” said Fennigkoh.
Fennigkoh often serves as an expert witness for criminal cases, one recently involving the death of a man from a taser. “I actually was able to test that taser in a lab right here at MSOE. Every case I’ve ever worked on I’ve been able to tie it into the classroom.” Being an expert witness is not something Fennigkoh takes lightly. “It’s the best form of continuing education because it forces me to immerse myself in subject matter in a way I wouldn’t do otherwise. The responsibilities are high, and the consequences of being unprepared can be career ending.”
In 2009, Fennigkoh received the Karl O. Werwath Engineering Research Award from MSOE. In his free time, Fennigkoh enjoys woodworking in his shop at home. “I like to create and build things – whether it’s furniture or new lab equipment, that’s my other passion.”
One on One
What is your favorite place to travel to?
I like the warm beaches of Mexico, with margaritas.
What is something that people would be surprised to learn about you?
I love '50s rock and roll and have gone to Buddy Holly tributes in Clear Lake, Iowa, the past 15 years in a row.
What's your biggest pet peeve?
Clueless, inconsiderate drivers. In fact, I just installed a 14-inch compressed-air horn in my car for that very reason.