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#ILookLIkeAnEngineer

Tell us a little about yourself, your engineering background, and where it has taken you?

I was born in Texas but grew up in Colorado Springs, CO where my dad retired from the Air Force Academy. After receiving my bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from CU Boulder, I went to work in the computer industry as a chip designer working on 32-bit microprocessors. I have been in it ever since and worked at NCR, a startup, Motorola and Dell. I have been fortunate to work on a lot of (at the time) cutting edge technologies like MPEG (standard that produces mp3 and mp4 files), wireless communicators (precursor of todays’ smartphones) and PCs. I have been in the PC industry for over 20 years and have been fortunate to see a lot of change and have a lot of fun. I currently work at Dell and reside in Austin, TX with my wife, Tina Ward, MD. We have two adult sons.

What led you to pursue Engineering?

As a kid I loved playing arcade style video games. But I didn’t always have the quarters. When I saw someone in high school playing a game on an Apple II and realized you could program computers to play video games I decided to become a computer programmer. That led me to major in Computer Science but in 1982, the only CS degree at CU was EE & CS so I majored in that and discovered what engineering was.

What early or childhood interests would you connect to your interest in Engineering? 

I would say curiosity about how and why things work the way they do. My dad used to work on cars as a home mechanic and as a three year-old I took his tools and took my tricycle apart. It was my first engineering teardown! However, I didn’t put it back together…

What was your favorite CU memory? 

My favorite memory of CU was playing touch football on the engineering quad in front of Aden Hall as a freshman. 

How are you still involved with the College of Engineering?

I am a member the BOLD Advisory Council for the college. I also come back for homecoming each year and reconnect with college friends 

Do you have advice for an incoming student or a new alum? 

For the first-year student I would say focus on learning how to learn, not just memorizing material. Understand not only the “what” but the “how”. For the new alum I would say get engaged now. Don’t wait until it has been 20 years (it will go fast, trust me) and you realize you fell out of touch. 

What does #ILookLikeAnEngineer mean to you?

To me it means that anyone can be like an engineer because engineers look like human beings. And humans come in all shapes, sizes, colors and backgrounds. Engineers are the same way. What binds us engineers together is a curiosity for how and why things work the way they do and using that curiosity to solve tough problems.

Ed Ward, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Class of 1986, Senior Vice President, Engineering Dell, Client Product Group