Do you have questions for Dr. Chris Maziar, our guest speaker?
Write them below.
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- Dear Dr. Maziar, what was the biggest factor that made you decide to work in the world of academia as opposed to industry? - Seth Strege
- Dr. Maziar, can you contrast some of the pros and cons between academic research and industrial research? - Matthew Wickesberg
- Dr Maziar, many people are afraid of getting trapped in the world of academia and becoming unemployable in industry. Is this a valid fear?
- Dr. Maziar, I often hear of achievements from academic research, but very rarely do I hear of those achievements actually being put into practice. Typically, they're either "20 years out", and I never hear of them again, or some company has a competing result and that typically gets used in industry over the academic result. This isn't always true of course, but for the most part, it is. Do you know why this is, or do I just happen to be paying attention to the wrong circles? - Spencer Julian
- Dr. Maziar, what is the advantage of getting MSEE and then PhD or getting the direct PhD? What are the key aspects to look at?
- Dr. Maziar, A lot of people believe that it is best to first go into industry and then return to graduate school to specialize and obtain a Master's Degree. How do the benefits of this fair against the benefits of getting a Master's Degree immediately after obtaining your Bachelor's? - Kayode Adeniji
- Dr. Maziar, what background do you see as valuable for a prospective faculty member? - Joseph May
- Dr. Maziar, what is more advantageous to have when applying for a job, a PhD or an equal number of years of experience in the field? - Clayton Dickemann
- Dr. Maziar, we often hear of faculty members running businesses or start-ups in parallel with their academic duties. Having traversed the academic circuit so extensively, what are your opinions on this? Do you think it is something worth pursuing, and if so, how does one handle the various intellectual property issues that arise? - Aditya Balasubramanian
- Dr. Maziar, your biography mentions that you developed several courses to improve the performance of new electrical engineering students in Texas. I believed that the new emerging major called engineering education is focused on how to improve the performance of engineers, have you ever heard about this major? If you know it, what do you think about this major's employment prospects? - Xi Chen
- Dr Maziar, are there any classes or organizations that you wanted to participate in in college that you were unable to for one reason or another and how did that affect you? - Keegan McGraw
- Dr. Maziar, having made significant contributions to the school of ECE at The University of Texas at Austin and also having done research in the field of semiconductor modeling and computer simulation tools. how did you form your career path that lead you to productive career in ECE? Also what are some of the most important ways ECE students can become successful in their career? --Timothy Scheidler
- Dear Dr. Maziar, how has the academia experience shaped you as an engineer and how different would you had been as a professional if you had decided to take the industry path instead? -Alberto Peralta
- Dr. Maziar, In your experience, what are the most efficient ways to teach engineering? I hear much about efforts being made at the university level, but I am a firm believer that interest must be piqued long before that. Skills such as problem solving, critical and creative thinking, etc, I believe those things should be taught in early childhood or at the latest, adolescence. I also think it would behoove people well if industrial arts were coupled with math and science, in learning how to design or craft things. As opposed to them being on complete opposite sides of the spectrum in junior high and high school. I've met many an engineer or engineering student who can write down an equation, but can't change a tire nor have they soldered anything in their life. (And in some aspects, I'm guilty of this myself) When designing a product, I'd think that engineers would need to know how something is built in order to design it more effectively. I believe a "hands-on" approach is essential to any field. Perhaps I'm mistaken, but that's why I pose the question. There seems to be an almost 'fear' amongst younger people to have to learn to do something by hand, or with your hands literally. I think it's a detriment to one's confidence. What efforts are being made to make engineering more 'hands-on', at all educational levels? And would this yield more confident, better-prepared, and more competent engineers, in your opinion? --Aaron Beers
- Dr. Maziar, I always heard an opinion that a master student should pay more attention on industrial research and a phD should be focus on acdemic research. How do you view this opinion? --Yangyanze Gao
- Dr. Maziar, I am thinking of pursuing a graduate degree in electrical engineering, would you recommend that I do it as soon as I graduate as an undergrad or get some experience from the industry and then go to graduate school? - Zhi Wang
- Dr. Maziar, could you offer any general advice for students about to start a PhD in ECE? -Will McGrath
- Dr. Maziar, do you recommend going back to school if you've taken time off from it for work/your career? -Stephen Edwards
- Dr. Maziar, if you have to choose, for all the universities that you have worked or studied, which university would you think has the best employment potential for graduate students and why? --Hongfei Zhou
- Dr. Maziar, many people go into industry with the plan of returning to school later for a graduate degree, assuming the person does make the choice to return for graduate school, do you think that the experience from industry is a benefit for the student pursing a graduate degree? -Zachary Smith
- Dr. Maziar, having been a former student of Purdue and now a current serving member of the Purdue University College of Engineering Advisory Council, would you say the curriculum for engineering students in Purdue has significantly improved as compared to when you were a student? Also, if you were to retire today, what would you say has been your most significant achievement relating to all the jobs you have had in your carreer? - Elom Gomez
- Dr. Maziar, based on your work creating the class "On the Edge of the Electronic Frontier," what do you foresee as the next big technology policy debate after SOPA?
- Dr. Maziar, What would be the best option, now in days, in getting an MBA and start a career in an industry or work on a PhD for later working on an industry? By this I mean that if you get a PhD, is it true you stay in research and development always? - Javier Giron
- Dr. Maziar, compared to the industrial world, what significance does networking play in the academic world? - Zhanibek Bekmurat
- Dr. Maziar, what kind of experiences from your undergraduate years helped you achieve the level of success you have attained right now? Were you mainly focused on academics or were you also actively involved in student and professional organizations? - Hamza Khan
- Dr. Maziar, do you feel as though it would be more effective for a student to enter directly into industry with the intentions of finding a company to help them fund graduate school at a later time, or enter directly into graduate school with the intentions of using grants and loans to fund the academic experience? - Taylor Strzelecki
- Dr. Maziar, is better to gain some experience after finishing undergrad studies and then continue a master or PhD degree ? - Omar Al Ameri
- Dr. Maziar, do you feel it easier to transition from an industry position to academic, or vice versa? - Shicheng Guo
- Dr. Maziar, do you think it is better to get a graduate degree from the same univeristy as your undergrad, or do you recommend finding a different university? - Alex Layton
- Dr. Maziar, I've noticed that a lot of prestigous engineers hold masters degrees in Business as well as in Engineering. If a student wants to only persue one masters at a time, do you believe Business or Engineering would be a better to pursue first? -- Rick Schuman
- Dr. Maziar, I am thinking of pursuing a graduate degree in electrical engineering, would you recommend that I do it as soon as I graduate as an undergrad or get some experience from the industry and then go to graduate school? -Manish Pati
- Dr. Maziar, what are the biggest struggles when trying to be an academic leader from an administrative position? That is, is it more difficult to work with those downstream (faculty and students) or those upstream (government/other governing bodies)? - Jonathon Sowers
- Dr. Maziar, from your experience with the industry, what advantages does a PhD provide over a Masters Degree? Also, in your opinion, is that advantage worth putting in an extra 4-5 years in education? - Upsham K Dawra
- Dr. Maziar, how do you think universities will maintain academic leadership as government funding seemingly dries up? - Ethan Price
