For Rhode Island native Ian Mace, the IEP program and its international perspective was a real draw in choosing URI Engineering from the start. Because his interests spanned both engineering and languages, URI’s International Engineering Program (IEP) a perfect fit. IEP Director Sigrid Berka suggested he consider the program when he first visited. Even though achieving degrees in both German and Electrical Engineering was a challenge, he has no regrets.

He spent last year in Germany at the Technical University of Brunswick. There, he had the opportunity to work with an institute for communication technology. Later, Ian worked for a company called ZF Friedrichshafen, AG. Both places provided him with opportunities and projects he found interesting. However, the signal processing work he did with the institute for communication really caught his interest.

Ian accepted a job post graduation NUWC and will concurrently be getting a master’s degree part-time. He hopes to eventually take advantage of his language skills and  to travel and work abroad.

This student received a 2016 University of Rhode Island College of Engineering Excellence award in their field of study. We are honoring this achievement by profiling them individually and looking at what makes each of them someone to look for big things from in the years ahead.