Electrical & Computer Engineering MSE

My path was (and still is) one of an entrepreneur. I co-founded Quantum Signal while finishing up my Ph.D. in 1999, hoping to bring signal and image processing algorithms into wider application in a variety of fields of application. In the earliest years, the company scraped along doing consulting and minor development work for a very small number of clients, and I was the only full-time team member. As time went on, QS grew into a more full-fledged engineering research and development organization, taking on projects from both the government and the commercial sector, in fields as varied as automotive, defense, consumer products, and even entertainment! 

As the company grew, my role also grew from doing technical work and some business functions to being much more focused on the vision and business aspects. This included learning how to be a manager and leader, filling roles (such as business development, public speaker, and more) that were critical to growing the business into what it is today. Every project, program, and customer had (and still has) special nuances, thus in our business, it was never the same game twice and I am always learning and evolving. Working with team members that have experience from prior lives has also been helpful, and I am deeply appreciative of what I have and will continue to, learn from them. It was much, much harder to start and successfully run a small business than I ever expected when we first set out over 20 years ago, but the experience has been excellent and I will never regret choosing the path that I did.

Reflection on Time spent at UM

When I was in school, we worked on walking robots, created and ran a bagel stand, held weekly tech-talks, pulled engineering pranks, and generally burned the candle at three ends day and night, and that is exactly what someone should be doing as an engineering student. 

Favorite Student Orgs

IEEE- Students interested in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Eta Kappa Nu -Honors Society for Electrical and Computer Engineers, Tau Beta Pi- Engineering Honors Society

Advice to Students

• I was a heavy participant in a number of student organizations and strongly recommend it to anyone in school. They provide an outstanding way to build experience and create friendships and contacts that will last far longer than you might expect. 
• If I were to provide really solid advice it is this: dig deep into your engineering education and commit, give it 150%, don’t squander that which is a resource you cannot buy more of (time), and most importantly, have fun!!!

My career started by working at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where I held an internship between my undergraduate and graduate years, which turned into a full-time position when I graduated from Michigan. I was able to work on many interesting projects, including the Mars Science Laboratory landing test team, as well as on the instrument team for the Orbiting Carbon Observatory. I then moved to Planetary Resources in Seattle, to be part of a smaller team working on the ambitious goal of asteroid mining, working as a spacecraft systems engineer. 

Later, I decided to move to Europe, working at a CubeSat company called GomSpace located in Aalborg, Denmark. At GomSpace, I began by working on a large commercial communications constellation, but more recently have been working on advanced deep-space CubeSat designs in support of missions for the European Space Agency. My career path has given me the opportunity to work with a diverse set of people across a variety of different space projects and missions, which helps continually challenge me to be a better engineer.

Reflection on Time spent at UM

I love to constantly be learning new things. When I started at the University of Michigan, I knew I wanted to be an electrical engineer, but at Michigan I became involved with the Student Space Systems Fabrication Lab (S3FL) working on the Icarus satellite project, was able to find my passion in working on space projects and my skill as a systems engineer. 

Advice to Students: 

Be involved and try new things. It will still be a valuable experience even if it turns out to be something you find you dislike. As I mature in my career, I find that all of my previous experiences become relevant, no matter how disconnected and unrelated they may seem at the time.

Engineers are the modern day Wizards, taking the discoveries of the Scientists and apply the science to improving the lives of people and the world.  Electrical Engineering has evolved to include Electronic – I believe we are living in a renaissance of Electronics. Sensors, actuators, (input and output with control systems) have found applications that improve the performance and reliability & usefulness.  Though I have EE education, I owned a very successful project where I started from a description to hiring hundreds of people, architecting and managing a variety of aspects of a company, including: Budget, Electrical, Mechanical, Acoustic, Industrial Design, Interaction Design, Procurement, Manufacturing, Reliability, and Contracts. I was uniquely able to do this because over the years I was curious to learn from others and took any opportunity to expand my knowledge.

Reflection on Time spent at UM

1. • I am always learning, always curious – always impressed with the ingenuity of others.
   • You will gain the knowledge (and responsibility) to apply your skills for good. Ideas are great, solutions are what we value. You can change the world.

Advice to Students: 

• Some people focus deep and become specialized – pushing the state of the art.  I’ve always been open to take on new challenges, learning and creating new products.  Either way or other ways are fine, know what passion drives you – leverage that passion and you will excel. Measure your success by your measures and not by external influences.
• Whichever major you choose, it is up to you how broad your influence expands.
• It is up to you to define the future and lead where we all go.
• Look around you, almost everything was “designed” by somebody for some purpose, and time will tell which are useful and elegant.  You can take any opportunity and create your value if you desire – I’ve done it before and so have others. Take Flashlights, Post-it notes, Ear Buds, Speakers, Thermostats, Cameras…all have existed prior yet still improving!

At the end of graduate school, Babak spent a year at a startup company (Nanovation) working on integrated photonics devices for telecommunication. Then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University from 2001 to 2003 and became a faculty member at the University of Washington. Babak was with Google from 2010 to 2014, eventually becoming a Director at Google [X] and a Distinguished Engineer prior to moving to Amazon, where he has been with Amazon since 2014 as a Vice President.

Reflection on Time spent at UM

Completing a postdoc in a new field was challenging but extremely rewarding in opening new vistas and creating a new appreciation for chemistry, biology, and medicine.

When I found that permanent employment was an oxymoron, I transitioned to job shopping for ten years before retiring at 70.

How does your Master’s degree differentiate you from others?

I combined strong computer HW/SW with communications and control systems in the MSE & Ph.D. programs.  This proved irresistible to clients like Boeing Satellite Systems and Lockheed Martin.

Advice to Students

I enjoyed formal languages, automata theory, control theory, and communications.  I would advise selecting several classes in which one has done well and expand them and the interfaces between them to fashion a career trajectory.  Ensure that relevant learning and experience, even back to high school, is part of that trajectory.  Industry prizes those who can cross discipline boundaries to assist in problems that specialists cannot handle.

At the University of Michigan, I conducted research under the supervision of Professor Stephane Lafortune. My research interests include theory of discrete-event systems, security and secrecy in cyber-physical systems, formal methods, optimal control and game theory.

How does your Master’s degree differentiate you from others?

It really helped me to lay a solid foundation for my further PhD study. 

Advice to Students

Follow your heart to choose courses at Michigan.