“Dr. Sunak’s approach is unique, as it combines the educational capabilities within the University and the commercial requirements the students will face upon graduating.”

My introduction to Dr. Harish Sunak, has been through the Capstone Design Program in the Department of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering at URI. The ELECOMP Capstone Program provides seniors an opportunity to interact with Industry,  either as a Product Manager or a Project Manager. The Capstone Project is an applied Engineering approach to a commercial need for a specific product or service, which will meet an end user’s expectations and the industry’s responsibility to its Stakeholders.

Dr. Sunak’s approach is unique, in that it combines the educational capability found within the University system and the commercial requirements and demands which the students will face once they graduate. Therefore, the Program prepares the student with the knowledge to enter the work force as well as the ability to transition easily into the workforce by exposing the student to both worlds.

I have participated in several Capstone and/or Senior Projects through State Universities, as well as licensing development initiatives with Universities such as MIT, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML) – a consortium of northern and central California State Universities, and Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute – a consortium of Industry and Academia. Each Program established a set of requirements which each student was expected to satisfy; yet very few were designed to provide those skills which the graduate needed to transition from the academic world to the demanding world of commercialization. This is what Dr. Sunak has incorporated into the ELECOMP Capstone Design Program: to prepare a student for a smooth transition from academia to the commercial world is truly a value-added “gift” which URI, under Dr. Sunak, provides their graduates.

Based on Dr. Sunak’s ability to instill the capability to research, evaluate and replicate knowledge gained, through a student’s time spent during their academic stay, with a realistic preparation for the commercial world, truly sets Dr. Sunak’s ELECOMP Capstone Design Program ahead of most of the other University’s Senior Year programs, within which I have participated. I would compare URI’s Capstone Design Program to what I experienced during my collaboration with the MIT Physics Department’s Undergraduate Initiative.

Richard W Fahs II, CEO/CTO, Fahs Stagemyer LLC