Testimonial

Winncy Du

[Ph.D. ME 1999, PE]
Associate Professor
and
Director of the Robotics & Manufacturing Lab
Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
San Jose State University
San Jose, California

I decided to go to Georgia Tech for two reasons: GT was a top-ten engineering school at the time I applied in 1994. I wanted to go to a top ten school for my Ph.D. (now it is a top five engineering school). Also, GT has a reputation for offering both practical and hands-on skills and analytical skills, as well as having a good research environment.

The Woodruff School helped prepare me for my career in many ways: I learned how to conduct a research; how to write a technical paper; I received a knowledge of the basic fundamentals; obtained enhanced communication skills; and learned some other things, including ballet, pottery, and racket ball.

The major strengths of the graduate program at Georgia Tech were to conduct state-of-the-art and practical research. Research and lab facilities were good. The graduate program is excellent, well organized and productive. The faculty members are very supportive and dedicated. The student body is excellent, self-motivated, quick to learn, hardworking, kind and helpful. When I was at Georgia Tech, the research facilities were fairly good (but not excellent, some of them were old). Now all the facilities are new.

Anecdote

My advisor was Dr. Steve Dickerson. He was not only my academic advisor, but showed me how to treat other people. One time I designed a machine part and he revised it and said: Winncy, the design is very good, but the workers in the shop may take a lot of time to fabricate it. How about changing your design to make it easier for them. Since then, when I do anything, I always remind myself to make other peoples work easier. I find that I treat my students in the same way that Dr. Dickerson treated us. My students feel very comfortable working with me. This shows how a professor can influence a student in different ways.