"It's a great time to be an engineer," Rich Templeton, Texas Instruments president and chief executive officer, told engineering students Thursday evening at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Today, the world is connected in a way never seen before. This means that a great idea can have global benefits."
"You will make things happen," he said, "that most people now think are impossible." He highlighted medical technology as an area where engineers could make a huge difference, telling the audience, "The combination of electrical engineering and life sciences has the potential to have a revolutionary impact on health care around the world." Moreover, Templeton suggested the Institute had a role to play in developing new approaches to healthcare. He said, "The university setting is the perfect place for creative collaborations because it brings together interdisciplinary teams and different ways of thinking."
Templeton's visit to MIT is the third in a series of trips he is making to leading engineering schools. Before heading to Cambridge, MA, the CEO spent time at Georgia Tech and the University of Texas - Austin, meeting with faculty and students, whom he encouraged to see engineering as "a foundation, not an occupation," a tool for taking on a broad range of tough challenges in a variety of fields.
Templeton, who serves as chairman of the Semiconductor Industry Association, told the students and faculty gathered in the MIT engineering school lecture hall, "We are all fortunate that institutions like MIT exist. But this resource isn't free. People invested to create this." Encouraging them to "give back," he challenged the students to become spokespeople for math, science, and technology. "You are the people with the most power to encourage the next generation," he said. "You will be amazed at the influence you have in getting young people interested in engineering."
Templeton also advised the students when deciding on a career not to choose something easy. "If you know for certain you can succeed, than it's probably not the right choice. Take on challenges that scare you."
About Texas Instruments:
Texas Instruments Incorporated provides innovative DSP and analog technologies to meet our customers' real world signal processing requirements. In addition to Semiconductor, the company includes the Education Technology business. TI is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has manufacturing, design or sales operations in more than 25 countries.
Texas Instruments is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TXN.