Steven F. Barrett, Ph.D., P.E., received a B.S. in Electronic Engineering Technology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1979, an M.E.E.E. from the University of Idaho at Moscow in 1986, and a Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin in 1993. He was formally an active duty faculty member at the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado and is now the Associate Dean of Academic Programs at the University of Wyoming. He is a member of IEEE (senior) and Tau Beta Pi (chief faculty advisor). His research interests include digital and analog image processing, computer–assisted laser surgery, and embedded controller systems. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Wyoming and Colorado. He co-wrote with Dr. Daniel Pack several textbooks on microcontrollers and embedded systems. In 2004, Barrett was named "Wyoming Professor of the Year" by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and in 2008 was the recipient of the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) in Higher Education, Engineering Education Excellence Award.
Daniel J. Pack, Ph.D., P.E., is the Dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga (UTC). Prior to joining UTC, he was Professor and Mary Lou Clarke Endowed Department Chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Texas, San Antonio (UTSA). Before his service at UTSA, Dr. Pack was Professor (now Professor Emeritus) of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), CO, where he served as founding Director of the Academy Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Research. He received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, an M.S. in Engineering Sciences, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Arizona State University, Harvard University, and Purdue University, respectively. He was a visiting scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Lincoln Laboratory. Dr. Pack has co-authored seven textbooks on embedded systems (including
68HC12 Microcontroller: Theory and Applications and Embedded Systems: Design and Applications with the 68HC12 and HCS12) and published over 160 book chapters, technical journal/transactions, and conference papers on unmanned systems, cooperative control, robotics, pattern recognition, and engineering education. He is the recipient of a number of teaching and research awards including Carnegie U.S. Professor of the Year Award, Frank J. Seiler Research Excellence Award, Tau Beta Pi Outstanding Professor Award, Academy Educator Award, and Magoon Award. He is a member of Eta Kappa Nu (Electrical Engineering Honorary), Tau Beta Pi (Engineering Honorary), IEEE, and the American Society of Engineering Education. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Colorado, serves as Associate Editor of
IEEE Systems Journal, and is a member on a number of executive advisory or editorial boards including the
Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems,
International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems, and
SimCenter Enterprise. His research interests include unmanned aerial vehicles, intelligent control, automatic target recognition, robotics, and engineering education.
Mitchell A. (Mitch) Thornton received the BS degree in electrical engineering from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, OK, in 1985, the MS degree in electrical engineering from the University of Texas-Arlington in Arlington, Texas, in 1990, the MS degree in computer science from Southern Methodist University in 1993, and the PhD degree in computer engineering from Southern Methodist University in 1995. He was a senior electronic systems engineer at E-Systems, Inc. in Greenville, TX from 1986 through 1991. He was employed as a design engineer at Cyrix Corporation from 1992 through 1993. He has served as a full-time faculty member in the University of Arkansas from 1995 to 1999, and Mississippi State University from 1999 to 2002. Currently he is the Cecil H. Green Chair of Engineering and Professor at Southern Methodist University in the Computer Science and Engineering Department, and by courtesy, in the Electrical Engineering Department. He also serves as the Technical Director of the Darwin Deason Institute for Cyber Security.
Dr. Thornton has research and teaching interests in the general area of digital circuits and systems design with specific emphasis in EDA/CAD methods including asynchronous circuit and computer arithmetic circuit synthesis, formal verification/validation and simulation of digital systems, multiple-valued logic, and spectral techniques. Dr. Thornton also works in the area of emerging technology in clouding reversible and quantum logic and computing.
Dr. Thornton is an active industrial consultant and is a licensed professional engineer in the States of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas. He has served numerous roles in professional societies such as IEEE, NSPE, and NCEES as well as an organizing committee member for symposia and conferences.
