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Brigham Young University is a unique school with a solemn
trust: To provide each student an opportunity to search
for truth and knowledge in a virtuous environment. To be faithful to
this trust demands
a faculty of dedicated teachers and scholars who are
capable of inspiring academic excellence and spiritual growth, all within
an eternal perspective.
Much is required of those who come to teach at BYU.
There is at this university a full understanding of the teacher's power
to influence a
student's education. It is the teacher who must lift
and guide and challenge students to stretch to their full potential.
It is the teacher who sustains
the vision of the university in the classroom. A chair
enables the university to attract the best minds in their fields and
keep the most able faculty
members. The endowment provides faculty members with
the time and means for careful scholarship, for thoughtful teaching of
advanced students,
for spending time with scholars elsewhere to study
their work, and for bringing distinguished visitors to BYU.
David C. Evans Chair of Computer Engineering and Graphics
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The David C. Evans Chair was established in 1998 with
contributions from several generous donors.
Nationally and internationally, David Evans is recognized
as a pioneer in his field for his innovative advances in computers and
computer graphics.
The father of three BYU alumni himself, he was a friend
and frequent lecturer at Brigham Young University,
and, together with his wife, Joy, has been a generous
benefactor of this institution. In the spirit of a
brilliant man who gave much to his industry, mentored
dozens of the brightest minds in computer engineering,
and who stood as a fine Latter-day Saint example, we
are pleased to honor him and perpetuate his work with
an endowed chair.
The David C. Evans Chair will provide a way to perpetuate
his influence in much the same manner as he did. It
will allow outstanding faculty the opportunity to explore
and develop new and far-reaching ideas in the field
of computers and computer graphics.
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Recipient: Clark N. Taylor, an Assistant Professor of
Electrical and Computer Engineering, is the current
recipient of the David C. Evans Chair. He received his
PhD degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering
from the University of California, San Diego, in 2004.
He is currently an assistant professor in Electrical
and Computer Engineering. He has published 10
papers in the fields of digital system design and
wireless video communication. Prof. Taylor has also
served on the technical program committee for multiple conferences and workshops, and is currently the vice
chair for the Utah Chapter of the IEEE Computer Society
and an associate editor for the IEEE Transactions on
Circuits and Systems for Video Technology journal.
His current research interests involve the compression
and processing of video, with an emphasis on video
collected by small, man-packable UAVs.
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Newman and Zeneth Ward Chair
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Quality was a passion for Newman Ward long before it
became popularized as a key to manufacturing survival. His life reflected
that passion in all he did personally and professionally.
Upon his death, fellow employees adopted this thought from Ralph Waldo
Emerson in tribute to Newman Ward: "When nature removes a great
man, people explore the horizon for a successor; but none comes and
none will. His class is extinguished with him."
Yet with all the accomplishments and success he achieved, he always
recognized the contributions of others along the way, especially those
of his wife, Zeneth. The night he received the most prestigious award
given to a member of his industry, his thoughts turned to her. He said, ”My
wife is here today, and she is very pleased with this — and,
of course, that makes me very pleased. I can't think of a thing I've
accomplished since we were married that she hasn't participated in,
and without her I would probably have wasted most of my life."
His credo in life and in work was "I've never tried to 'develop'
anybody. Rather, I've tried to create an atmosphere where people could
be motivated and work hard at developing themselves. I think the only
way to really be successful at helping develop others is to let them
develop themselves by giving them opportunity."
It is with great appreciation that Brigham Young University and the
College of Engineering and Technology acknowledge the generosity of
the Newman Ward Family in endowing a chair in the name of Newman and
Zeneth Ward. This chair will fill an important role in fostering scholarship,
research, and academic excellence. In years to come the chair will
accomplish great good, particularly as the spirit of quality and mentoring — as
exemplified by both Newman and Zeneth Ward — is at the heart
of all that is done.
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Michael A.
Jensen
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Recipient: Michael A. Jensen, an Associate Professor
of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is
the current recipient of the Newman and Zeneth
Ward Chair. Professor Jensen joined the
BYU faculty in 1994, and since then has received
several honors for his research, teaching,
and professional service. He has
published extensively in the fields of antennas and propagation
for wireless communications, optical fiber
communications, and numerical electromagnetics,
and has been invited numerous times to present
his research at international conferences.
He has been an investigator on a large number of research
grants from the National Science Foundation,
Air Force, Navy, and NASA. He is active in
his professional society, having held several
administrative positions and assisted in
organizing a number of symposia and workshops.
He also maintains work in industry, having founded
two successful technology companies.
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