ScienceMakers Toolkit Manual - The History Makers

Engineering
order to start working part time. Terry developed a passion for technology and was encouraged by a high
school guidance counselor who helped Terry win several scholarships. After high school he attended college at
Old Dominion University in Norfolk, where he earned his B.S. degree in electrical engineering in 1988.
The next year, Terry was hired as an experimental research engineer at the NASA Glenn Research Center in
Cleveland, Ohio. In this position, his work focused on experimental research on satellite communications.
While working at NASA, Terry also attended graduate school, and in 1993, he earned his M.S. degree from
Cleveland State University. A graduate fellowship from Old Dominion University allowed Terry to continue his
education, and he received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering and research from Atlanta’s Georgia Institute of
Technology in 1999.
In 1995, Terry was hired by Texas Instruments, where he worked as a system engineer experimenting with a
new type of satellite system. In 1999, Terry became a principal scientist at the Nokia Research Center in Dallas,
Texas, where he worked to improve Nokia’s wireless service.
In 2001, Terry founded his own company, Terry Consultants, Inc. (TCI), which specialized in helping businesses
develop and apply new wireless technologies. Terry was also owner or co-owner of more than seventeen
issued and pending patents. In 2004, Terry spent a year as director of WiQuest Communications with Baseband
Systems Engineering, and in 2005, he co-founded Witivity, which helped customers in their use of broadband
wireless technology.
Terry published two books: “Blind Adaptive Array Techniques for Mobile Satellite Communications,” and
“OFDM Wireless LANs: A Theoretical and Practical Guide,” with Juha Heiskala. For his professional activities,
Terry received a number of awards, including the 2002 Black Engineer of the Year Award for Outstanding
Technical Contribution in an Industry. Terry published several articles and taught classes at Southern Methodist
University, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and the University of Technology in Helsinki, Finland. Terry
was also very active in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE).
Terry and his wife, Barbara, raised three sons: Amiel, William, and Shalamar.
Discussion Questions
Personal:
1. What did you like best about listening to Dr. Terry?
2. What do you think Dr. Terry’s favorite quote means? What does this tell you about him?
3. Where was Dr. Terry born? Locate it on a map. How far away is this from where you live? What are the
names of his parents? Where did Dr. Terry attend high school? What do you suppose high school was
like for him?
4. How old are you? In what year was Dr. Terry your age? What was happening in the country that year?
What was happening in the world that year? What do you suppose his life was like when he was your
age?
5. Dr. Terry talks about his fi rst introduction to problem solving. How did he fi rst encounter algebra? What
did he realize when he began studying pre-algebra in seventh grade? What does he say about having the
proper training? Have you had an experience like this? How else can you apply this to your life?
(See Clip #1)
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