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January 23, 2006 Vol. 77, no. 2S
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EECS associate professor Claire J. Tomlin is also an associate professor
in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford.
She received a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Berkeley
in 1998. In July 2005, she joined Berkeley as an associate
professor. She received an M.Sc. from Imperial College, London,
in 1993, and a B.A.Sc. from the University of Waterloo, Canada,
in 1992, both in electrical engineering. Her research interests
are in control systems, specifically hybrid control theory,
and she works on air traffic control automation, flight management
system analysis and design, and modeling and analysis of biological
cell networks.
(Photo provided by Claire Tomlin)
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Professor Minute with EECS associate professor Claire Tomlin
What first inspired
you to go into engineering?
I’ve always liked math classes. When I was in high school I had
the opportunity to work in a company that made modems and data switches
and I learned about engineering design. Undergraduate programs in engineering
show you how to use mathematics in design, and that appealed to me.
It also helped that engineering undergraduate programs were the toughest
to get into, and I love challenges!
You’re in the opening
panel discussion at Real World Engineering. What is the most valuable
career lesson you’ve learned so far?
Probably the most valuable (and I’m still working on this one)
is how to be an effective teacher.
If you had a few extra hours, what would you do?
I’d either go hiking — we love to walk in the Marin Headlands
or in Big Basin park — or I’d go home and cook. (I’m
learning to cook Indian food.)
What should engineering
students make sure they do at Berkeley before they graduate?
They should see some of the wonderful Cal Performances events and prices
are discounted for students.
What are you currently reading?
Two Lives, by Vikram Seth. This is a very moving memoir that chronicles
the lives of Seth’s great uncle (born and brought up in India
before moving to Germany and then England) and his great uncle’s
Jewish-German wife, focusing on the years around World War II.
If you would like us
to feature your favorite professor, please e-mail his or her name to
engnews@coe.berkeley.edu.
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