Chair's Message

Dear Alumni and Friends,

Bayne On September 1st, I was honored to accept the responsibilities of the Chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) department at Texas Tech University. We met challenges due to COVID-19, but our tenacious faculty and staff pulled together to face the obstacles and move forward.

The ECE department has 25 tenured faculty/tenure track faculty and five instructors, all with a passion for improving education for future electrical and computer engineers. We are home to approximately 550 undergraduate students and 150 graduate students who have the opportunity to obtain accredited BS degrees in Computer and Electrical Engineering, and Electrical Engineering MS and Ph. D. degrees, focusing on design, development, research, and innovation. All undergraduate students are offered an opportunity to study abroad, which will help them have a future global impact in engineering and leadership.

Although the department is robust in research, it also has a strong focus on putting students first. Students are encouraged to communicate with faculty and can easily schedule and visit with faculty in their offices or online. The dedication to students is evident in the number of university-level and national teaching awards won by the faculty. Several faculty members also employ undergraduate students in their research lab, giving them early exposure to advanced research.

This newsletter will celebrate the retirement of two exceptional and distinguished professors, Dr. Michael Helm and Dr. Richard Gale, who have made great contributions to the Texas Tech ECE Department. Our department is excited to feature our faculty and students for their accomplishments in research in the first publication of this newsletter and in bi-annual issues to come.

Stephen Bayne, Ph.D.
Professor and newly appointed ECE Chair

Chair's Farewell

“I am confident that I imparted some of this wisdom to the current Departmental leadership team, a mentoring assignment I conscientiously pursued.”

Dr. Michael Giesselmann

Mike I had the honor and privilege to serve as Chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department in the Edward E. Whitacre College of Engineering (WCOE) at Texas Tech University for over a decade from September 2010 until March 2021. I joined the Department in August 1986 as an Assistant Professor and served as the Graduate Advisor and the Associate Chair for graduate studies before becoming Chair. I was fortunate that the department chairs that served before me, including the Chair that hired me in August 1986, were all excellent mentors that prepared me for a leadership role in Academia. I can say the same for the deans that nurtured me as a tenure-track faculty member and later in various administrative roles. Without their collective mentorship, I would have been ill prepared for my role as Department Chair. I am confident that I imparted some of this wisdom to the current Departmental leadership team, a mentoring assignment I conscientiously pursued.