| What did you do this
summer? It's a common conversation starter as students return to
campus and tell of their adventures. Mechanical Engineering
Professor David Fisher, Ph.D., usually has exciting stories to
share, too-and these experiences even turn into learning |
opportunities for his students.
Fisher (ME, 2000) has spent a few summers at Apple Inc.,
and this fall returns from a year's sabbatical at another
technology icon, Google Inc. Why? "It is fun, and I love it," he
says.
That, in fact, ties everything back to his |
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role as a professor
at one of the nation's top technological institutions. "All Rose-
Hulman students are going to get a job," he says, "but one of the
things I like to do is help them get a job that they're really
excited about."
One way Fisher does this is by sharing what he's learned in
the high-tech world. Lessons from two summers at a startup robotic
colonoscope manufacturer in California helped him form
Rose-Hulman's robotics initiative.
Starting in 2008, he spent three summers at Apple, helping
develop the Apple-Nike interface that lets an Apple  iPhone or iPod link with a sensor
built into certain Nike running shoes. That became the basis for a
class that taught students to use iOS, the operating system that
powers the iconic iPhone and iPad. Another new class focused on
Google's popular Android operating system.
Now, more exciting educational frontiers have been opened
from Fisher's 15 months at the "Googleplex" in Mountain View,
California, assigned to the Google TV project. He hopes to lead a
web development class this fall that draws upon his Silicon Valley
experiences.
Fisher brings back more than just nuts-and-bolts tech
know-how. Insights he can share about how tech companies operate
may be even more valuable-how do companies brainstorm, what are
their product design techniques, and how do they track and resolve
product bugs? "I get really excited about the new tools I learn
while in industry," he says, "and
I can't wait to share that knowledge with students. I know
they'll love this stuff."
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