Spring 2001

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Rose-Hulman alumni and other engineers are getting a boost to their hopes for career advancement through a graduate program that combines classes about the latest technical developments with business courses like accounting, finance and marketing.

Enrollment in the engineering management (EM) master's program has grown faster than anticipated. The program's popularity illustrates it is meeting a need of professionals who must update their skills to meet rapidly changing job demands.

"The engineering management degree enabled me to change careers and move into the information systems group at work," said Michael Warner, P.E., who earned his degree last year. "I would not have been able to make this career change without it." Warner is voice and data network manager for Applied Extrusion Technologies in Terre Haute. AET is a global leader in the development, manufacture and sales of oriented polypropylene film.

"I gained valuable insights into gauging a company's strategic plan, its future potential and the application of new technologies," says Warner, who graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a mechanical engineering degree.

Students must complete 51 credit hours to earn the engineering management degree. The technical and business courses are divided evenly and equal 40 credit hours. Eight credits are earned over two academic quarters when students must complete an integrated, capstone project. The final three credits are earned by participating in three, full-day seminars.

The program was first offered in 1995. Buck Brown, who was dean of graduate studies and professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Jim Eifert, who was dean of the faculty, established the program. Brown retired in 1999 and Eifert is now president of Rose-Hulman Ventures.

"Rose-Hulman responded to requests from engineers who needed to improve their business expertise and update their technical knowledge," says Tom Mason, director of the engineering management program, professor of economics and vice president for entrepreneurship and business planning at Rose-Hulman Ventures. Mason has taught in the program since it was established.

It is the only graduate program of its kind offered by an Indiana college or university.  Eighty-five students are enrolled in classes offered in Bloomington, Indianapolis, at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Crane, Ind., and on the Rose-Hulman campus. Ninety percent of the students are part time. Most are between 25-35 years of age. Typically, students complete degree requirements in three years.

Mason wants to include more full-time students in the program. "We're offering five internships at Rose-Hulman Ventures to provide work experience and funds to students interested in pursuing the EM degree full time," he stated.

Matthew Meek, who is nearing completion of his EM degree, says a major benefit has been instruction in topics relevant to the new product process.

"I've learned about processes that are not covered in an undergraduate engineering education, but that are essential to the success or failure of a technical product," he says. Meek graduated from Rose-Hulman in 1994 with a mechanical engineering degree. He's a technical specialist with responsibility for base engine design and development at Cummins in Columbus, Ind.

The integrated, capstone project requires students to understand how management decisions are influenced by technology and how other issues impact technology, according to Mason.

Meek teams up with Rose-Hulman Mechanical Engineering Professor Rick Stamper to improve a halo-shaped medical device for use in treating patients with neck injuries.
"This is a significant project that we hope to have patented," Meek remarked.

Warner's project dealt with the development of a programmable logic controller system monitor. The device could assist companies in faster troubleshooting and better operations of their industrial machinery.

"Hours of equipment downtime could be saved if the data in the programmable logic controllers could be used to produce relevant information to facilities operators and maintenance personnel," he explained.

Another beneficiary of the engineering management program has been Rose-Hulman's undergraduates, said Mason. "The EM program has increased the number of courses undergraduate students can take as electives. Students and faculty get to interact with practicing professionals who are dealing with issues discussed in the classroom or dealt with in the laboratory."

Among new courses available or planned are financial economics, project management, and management systems.

Mason does not expect any decline in the need or interest in the engineering management graduate program. "Enrollment growth is constrained only by our capacity to serve students by providing a high quality education," he said.