Testimonial

Deborah Kilpatrick

[MSME 1994, Ph.D. 1996]
Director
New Ventures Group
Guidant Corporation

My interest in post-graduate education was to do research on bioengineering applications from within a very strong, traditional engineering program. By the late 1980s, Georgia Tech had created a growing, robust focus in cardiovascular bioengineering, something I was extremely interested in studying. Joining the Woodruff graduate program in 1991 in the bioengineering program was the best decision I have made in my career, as that underlying research focus eventually created my role at Guidant Corporation.

On a very fundamental level, the Woodruff School provided me with a balance between theory and experiment--textbook versus real life. There is no question that my Woodruff School graduate experience gave me a broad, firm foundation on which I have built my professional career. Based on my own observations within the biomedical engineering industry, I think Woodruff School alumni have a clear strength in this.

There is a definite "can do" atmosphere at Tech overall, and particularly in the Woodruff School. That facilitates teamwork and motivates the graduate student body to believe that their work is important, whether they stay in academia or move onto careers in industry. In addition, I have tremendous respect for the institute in its commitment to increasing diversity on campus, and that will continue to be a major strong point of the graduate program. It is of critical importance to the engineering field.

I truly believe the Woodruff School is first rate, in every category--faculty, facilities, students. Not only does it excel in both research and teaching, but there is a close watch kept on the longer term direction of the school in terms of its competitive position. As the current chair of the Woodruff School advisory board, I believe that this department will continue pushing the envelope to see how good it can be. It is an exciting thing to watch.