RIT Names Bowman Head of Electrical Engineering

Robert Bowman of Fairport has been named head of electrical engineering in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Previously, Bowman was director of analog and mixed-signal design for Fairport-based LSI Logic Inc. Prior to that he was a senior scientist in electronic integration and a system architect for Eastman Kodak Co. in Rochester and a consulting engineer for EDX and chief technical officer for ANAmation, both in Fairport.

He was an associate professor of electrical engineering at the University of Rochester from 1986 to 1992, an associate professor at the University of Vermont from 1983 to 1986 and an instructor at the University of Utah from 1980 to 1983.

Bowman earned doctoral degrees in electrical engineering and bioengineering from the University of Utah, a master’s degree in electrical engineering from San Jose State University and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Pennsylvania State University. His areas of expertise include analog integrated-circuit design, semiconductor device physics, biomedical instrumentation and microelectronic product development. He has two patents with an additional four pending.

"Bob offers us a great opportunity to move the electrical engineering department to the next level in the undergraduate program and graduate research," says Harvey Palmer, engineering dean. "His special mix of academic and industrial experience fits well with the mission of the college. Bob is student-oriented and a firm believer in the importance of career-oriented undergraduate education."

"I’m delighted to be part of the RIT community and the highly regarded faculty in electrical engineering," Bowman says. "These are exciting times at RIT and I look forward to working with the faculty in preparing electrical engineering students for dynamic, meaningful careers."

Note: According to a national survey by U.S. News & World Report, RIT’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering ranks fourth in the nation among undergraduate and graduate engineering programs, offering degrees in computer, electrical, industrial and systems, mechanical, and microelectronic engineering, applied statistics and engineering science. RIT was the first university to offer undergraduate degrees in microelectronic and software engineering.

Founded in 1829, RIT has one of the nation’s oldest and largest cooperative education programs. The engineering college is named for Kate Gleason, the first female bank president in the United States and daughter of William Gleason, founder of what became Rochester-based Gleason Corp. Kate Gleason was America’s first woman engineering student and the first woman elected a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.