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The Engines that Make Wisconsin Work
 He
originally signed up for the class purely for personal enrichment.
After all, Bruce Dennert was in his late 50s and towards
the end of his career as far as full-time, permanent work.
An engineer with Harley-Davidson in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin,
Bruce enrolled in the Masters of Engineering in Professional
Practice (MEPP) program, a two-year, distance-learning offering
in the University of Wisconsin College of Engineering.
"I was drawn to it because MEPP had garnered all kinds
of awards, including the 2004 Sloan Consortium Most Outstanding
Online Teaching and Learning Program Award," says Dennert.
"I read that it was world-renowned for being a truly
well thought-out distance-learning program, and that's what
I wanted. It's one of the things that makes the University
of Wisconsin so unique: It's a lot more than just great
undergraduate and graduate programs. The university supports
people at all levels of learning, at all ages, and at all
stages of their careers."
Although Bruce didn't take the class with any ideas of
a job promotion, the benefit of his education and achievement
of his master's degree led him to become an instructor in
the college's similarly formatted program, the Masters of
Engineering in Engine Systems (MEES). A four-year program,
it, too, is an online, distance-learning course - with weeklong
summer seminars - and trains working engineers in the latest
technologies in combustion engines and vehicle mechanics.
The College of Engineering's Engine Research Center, which
is the centerpiece of the MEES program, is devoted to fundamental
research on spark ignition and diesel engines and is a leader
in low-temperature combustion research. Its mission is to
provide cutting-edge methods of meeting the nation's goals
of reduced emissions and reduced fuel consumption. "This
innovative leader," says Dennert, "is right here
in Wisconsin."
And being such a leader has its advantages, not the least
of which, explains Dennert, is "the quality of the
instructional staff. The reason we get such phenomenal faculty
is because the university is a very strong research center,
which then draws in a large amount of research money, which
then results in being able to draw and procure phenomenal
faculty," thus bringing the economic engine of the
Engine Research Center full circle. It also keeps the pistons
of the state's engines firing: In fact, the MEES program
will graduate its first class in spring 2007, and seven
of its ten students are working at companies in Wisconsin.
Harley-Davidson alone hires almost five thousand Wisconsinites
in six facilities in the state, and one of the reasons Wisconsin
is such an appealing location is the Engine Research Center
at the university.
Says Dennert, "The program has made me realize that
the university is not bounded by the campus, nor is it bounded
by state lines. Its forward-looking leadership team is trying
to take the advantages of the University of Wisconsin and
make them available to a much wider audience than just the
students who are on campus.
"I hope that by sharing a little bit about myself
and my own journey down the road as an adult learner, others
will realize what we have in the University of Wisconsin.
I think it is the shining jewel of the state."
- Candice Gaukel Andrews '77
For more information, visit the following sites:
Master of Engineering in Professional Practice (MEPP) http://mepp.engr.wisc.edu/
Master of Engineering in Engine Systems (MEES) http://mees.engr.wisc.edu/
College of Engineering's Engine Research Center
http://www.erc.wisc.edu/
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