肯尼索,遗传算法. | 2024年4月29日

As a teenager growing up in Calabar, 尼日利亚, Mfon Okpok first took apart his father’s television and then his radio. He was fascinated by the components inside them that worked together to produce the pictures and sound.

“From then until now, I’ve been very inquisitive,” he said.

That was the beginning of his interest in engineering and learning how things operate, leading to a career in broadcast technology and a lifetime of study.

在伊朗其他地方, Mahdiyeh Soltaninejad’s father hoped she would grow up to become a physician to help others

“他从不催我, but he saw it in me that I care about others and thought becoming a doctor must be a good profession for me in future,内贾德说. “When I was very young, he called me ‘doctor’ sometimes. I always had that in my mind, and I always thought that is my path.”

Instead, her high school teachers suggested her mastery of math meant she could be 杰出的工程师. By the time she entered the University of Tehran, Soltaninejad had decided to follow the path of her older sister, who is an industrial engineer.

这个月, Okpok and Soltaninejad become the first two people to earn a doctorate in interdisciplinary engineering from 正规博彩十大网站排名’s Southern Polytechnic College of 工程 and 工程技术. 的 Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary 工程 degree program was launched in the fall of 2021.

Okpok successfully defended his doctoral dissertation in February, becoming the first to earn the degree, while Soltaninejad completed her dissertation defense in early 4月.

Okpok’s dissertation presented his research on advanced static image compression technology techniques. 的se techniques are based on vehicle count information obtained within the vicinity of roadside units. 的 goal of his research is to enable the transmission of public emergency safety messages, such as child abduction alerts, to the dashboards of vehicles in affected areas. This is particularly important given the constraints of hands-free laws and cellular data size limitations. His research applies these techniques within the context of connected vehicle networks. 

Billy Kihei, research assistant professor of 计算机工程 and Okpok’s advisor, said he was well-prepared for the Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary 工程 program, pointing out he has previously earned master’s degrees in math, 信息技术, electrical engineering and software engineering, as well as working as a senior engineer in the broadcast technology industry.

“Mfon is a lifelong learner,” Kihei said. “When he brought his research thesis to me, it was obvious that it was new and had great potential to advance public safety.”

While Soltaninejad decided not to go into the practice of medicine, her engineering focus is on areas that can improve health, especially for children. 她的博士论文 complemented a research focus of her advisor, Christina Scherrer, a professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems 工程.

“Mahdiyeh used statistical analysis and math modeling to examine ways to improve oral health of children,谢勒说. “Advising her has been a pleasure not only because her research is interesting and impactful, but she’s also a very intelligent and hard-working person.”

两位新晋博士.Ds said they would recommend the SPCEET doctoral program to others.

“Success in the program is determined by you as an individual. It’s all about you and your commitment,” Okpok said. “I can look back on this experience over the past three years and realize that I did a lot – I published six papers. And now I have earned the Ph.D.”

——加里·坦纳的故事

Photos by Matthew Yung and Darnell Wilburn

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, 正规博彩十大网站排名 offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 45,000名学生. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. 的 university’s vibrant campus culture, 多样化的人口, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit 肯尼索.edu.