The Magazine of IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu October 2017 - 41

Doug Tougaw

It is essential to be
able to effectively
communicate your
solution to others
and to advocate for
its adoption
solving all problems. The rapid cycle
time in simulation and visualization
allows us to solve problems that would
have been completely impossible just
10 years ago. I look forward to seeing
how we manage the transition to a
world where computers directly solve
problems with only limited intervention
from humans.
In what direction do you think
engineering and other IEEE fields
of interest are headed in the next
10 years?
The role of data in our daily lives
will become much more prominent
than it is today. The rise of machine
learning, wireless communications,
and the Internet of Things will lead
to transformations in all aspects
of engineering. As with the rise of
computing power over the past several

THE BRIDGE // Issue 3 2017

decades, we will use these capabilities
to find new ways to solve problems
and new tools to address challenges
that face us today.
What is the most important lesson
you have learned during your time
in the field?
I believe that when I was a student,
I underestimated the importance of
communication for an engineer. Being
smart is not enough, nor is being good
at solving problems. It is essential to be
able to effectively communicate your
solution to others and to advocate
for its adoption. Those steps require
highly effective writing and speaking
skills. Increasingly, effective online communication skills are also
becoming essential. I have just begun
to learn how to create on-line videos,
and they are changing the way I teach
my classes. It is important to effectively
use all of the communication channels
available to you and to select the
communication method that is most
likely to reach your desired audience.
What advice can you offer recent
graduates entering the field?
Work hard, learn everything you
can, and be respectful to everyone.
Remember that your first job very
likely won't be your last job, and most
of your promotions will be based on
your interpersonal skills, at least as

much as your technical skills. Study
your leaders carefully to see what
makes them effective or ineffective.
Sooner than you think, you will be
in a leadership position, and you will
want to have developed a toolbox of
effective leadership techniques before
that day arrives.
If you weren't in your current field,
what would you be doing?
I honestly struggle to imagine
doing anything other than being an
engineering professor. I'm called so
strongly to this profession that even
thinking about doing something else
seems like a shame. But, if I had to do
something else, I might become a solar
energy engineer. I think that the next
decade will see a tremendous increase
in the prevalence of solar energy; and
that seems like a job where the results
of your work at the end of each day
would be very tangible.
Finish this sentence. "If I had more
time, I would ..."
If I had more time, I would read more
books. There is so much to learn and
so little time to learn it all. That can
be frustrating, but it is also inspiring.
I am in awe at how much humanity
has discovered and created, and I look
forward to spending my life absorbing
as much of it as possible.

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http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/brid/113-3
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/brid/113-2
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/brid/113-1
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/brid/112-3
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/brid/112-2
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/brid/112-1
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com