Gary L. Blank, Ph.D.

Students at my seminars and in my classes often ask me to share with them my insights into our profession. They want me to tell them what I did and what decisions I made that led me to where I am today. This is what I tell them when we have informal conversations.

I am very fortunate to have my professional career characterized by a blend of three ingredients, - engineer, consultant, and educator.

I have always wanted to be an engineer, the kind of engineer who designs advanced products and solves difficult problems. I relish the opportunities to combine my intuition, intelligence, and my academic training.

After receiving my Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at the age of 24, I took a job in industry, working for an excellent company. But then disappointment set in. My job, like many others, was neither challenging nor interesting enough for me. The system was not using my capabilities. I felt stifled and frustrated.

I decided to become an engineering consultant. My friends told me it would take a long time to get a consulting business going. However, without leaving or compromising my full-time job, I found many clients and built a full-time industrial consultancy in only 30 days. Then I resigned from the company. I have never gone more than a week without a client. Typically I have several clients concurrently. As a consultant I have found the work to be more exciting and more financially rewarding. I have also liked being in control of my future instead of relying on others and worrying about layoffs. Consulting has provided true security.

When I was a graduate student I had had a few opportunities to present lectures on technical material. My audiences, colleagues, and professors were enthusiastic about the clarity, excitement, and interest in my talks. They encouraged me to consider teaching engineering and I knew that someday I would.

I enjoy consulting in industry. But there has been an unfulfilled itch to teach full-time. I decided to reverse my activities. As a full-time university professor I have been able to do consulting while teaching and enjoy both worlds. I have been able to converse with my ivory tower colleagues in theory and abstraction. I have published complex papers, conducted advanced research, and brought research funding into my university. I have especially enjoyed teaching students how to apply what I teach them to the real world, the world of practical engineering. I have worked incessantly to make the subject matter come alive, be interesting and be practical. My teaching philosphy has crystallized.

When I see the enthusiasm, interest, and sparkle in the eyes of my students, and when I continuously receive the highest ratings for my teaching style, I feel that I have found a special niche in my profession. I have taught every required undergraduate course in the Electrical Engineering curriculum, and dozens of electives and graduate courses in many different subject areas.

At times I choose to teach part-time and consult full-time. I am fortunate to have these choices. I enjoy being an engineer who, as a consultant, can share his expertise with and help his clients. I find that good communication skills are very important in consulting and in teaching. I am grateful to the good teachers and professors who have taught me. I am very proud to see the accomplishments of many of my students, to whom I credit much of my success.

I have combined my industrial experience and my teaching experience into the seminars, workshops, and courses I now teach. Many of these are currently being produced on video, audio, and CD-Rom's as home-study courses.

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