History of ECE: Comments by Gerald Cook

Welcome to everyone. Those of you who make up our alumni are our ambassadors. You are our window to the world. Our reputation is very much formed by your performance. Those of you representing industry are our partners. You helped us to get started and you still play an important role through the hiring of our new graduates. Those of you in government agencies and labs are our sponsors. We need all of you.

In the Fall of 1984 I first saw an advertisement to hire for GMU Engineering. I looked into it and met with my friend Andy Sage who led the development of the School of Information Technology and Engineering. It seemed very interesting, but I wondered if it was really going to happen. When I raised the possibility of engineering at George Mason University to my colleagues on the Va Tech Engineering Advisory Council, to a man they said that it wouldn’t happen. Now we see that it really did happen.

My first office at GMU in 1985 was in Pohick Module, Unfortunately one of our colleagues smoked smelly cigars. In my office, I had the thermostat which controlled the temperature in half of the module, so whenever the cigar smoke got too thick I would turn off the circulator. I told my colleague that I would keep the air warm only if he would keep it clean.

Murray Black-Founding Chairman of ECE Dept. was very well organized, on top of everything, and extremely conscientious. The program had a great foundation, and we still benefit from that today. In 1987 Murray took a sabbatical and I filled in as Acting Chairman. That year we had to prepare for the re-accreditation visit by ABET, prepare for a university wide SACS accreditation visit, and perform a self study for the Office of the Provost. When Murray returned from sabbatical, as a token of appreciation he presented me a book entitled “When I Relax I Feel Guilty”. I had to chuckle. That year I never relaxed enough to even begin to feel guilty.

In 1990 I became chairman. One project we tackled was to change the names of the degree programs. More that 95% of the accredited programs were entitled electrical engineering with less than 5 % called electronics engineering. Of course pressure from SCHEV was the reason for the initial choice of names. We felt that the more recognizable name would be preferable and we were pleased to accomplish this change for both the BS and MS degrees.

In 1991 we moved into the new building, Science and Technology II.

Before that we had been scattered about the campus with faculty in S&T I, Pohick Module, Aquia Module, and King Hall. As we moved into S&T II we were all able to be together on a single floor of the same building. It was a great boost for the morale of the department.

In1995 as the semiconductor industry, namely Motorola and IBM/Toshiba, began moving into Virginia the state legislature formed the Virginia Microelectronics Consortium and set aside funds for education and laboratories in the area. All the universities rushed to participate and to get a share of the funding. This brought together all the EE depts. in the state, GMU, Va Tech, UVa, ODU, VCU, and W&M (CS). It provided a forum for friendly and useful exchanges among our colleagues across the state. The funding has provided laboratory equipment for us and the others and has also provided summer support for students to study near their homes or at a university with special capabilities

I considered it an honor to lead and represent the dept for two terms, 1990- 1998. In 1998 Andre Manitius was named Chairman.

Early on, Andre was able to expand our degree offerings. With the support of Dean Lloyd Griffiths we added both a bachelors degree and a masters degree in Computer Engineering. Next under Andre’s leadership we developed a doctorate in ECE. Previously our students earned the doctorate through the interdisciplinary INFT program. Finally we developed a Masters in Telecommunications.

In addition to expanding our offering of degree programs, Andre has also been successful in recruiting some very outstanding young faculty, Kris Gaj, Kathleen Wage and Brian Mark. Andre continues to serve and lead in this important capacity.

We have kept a brag list of our alumni who have performed extraordinarily well whether in continued educational pursuits, advancement in business or government organizations, or in entrepreneurship. We refer to that list when selling our program. I have said before and I will continue to make the claim that our best graduates can compete with anyone. You continue to prove that and to reflect most positively on your alma mater. It is great to have you here with us today.