GCU TODAY • 1 5
furnaces online while honing the professional soft skills many employers
desire in their entry-level staff.
Conrad said he chose GCU for its Christian worldview, which would
help him ultimately “respect God’s creation” in everything he does as
an engineer.
Astounding demand
Last summer, Sheller joined CSET Dean Dr. Mark Wooden and other faculty
to develop the curriculum and set a foundation for GCU’s future technology
and engineering academics. But the University began tapping the industry
for input three years ago.
Leaders have joined various GCU advisory boards to share their advice
on the technology, programs and skills they expect their employees and
colleagues to understand. From startup entrepreneurs to high school science
teachers to the directors of tech companies, the feedback was overwhelming
proof that students must be prepared to work right out of college.
Studies in the past year have shown that the national demand for
STEM jobs will grow by as much as 26 percent through 2020. Locally,
the industries of aerospace and defense, technology and innovation,
renewable energy, bioscience and health care, optics and photonics,
and advanced manufacturing are key sectors for ongoing job growth,
according to the Arizona Commerce Authority.
The Greater Phoenix Economic Council reported that “biomedical jobs
are growing three times faster here than the national average” and that
more than 20,000 jobs in health care and personalized medicine have
been created since 2007 in the Phoenix metropolitan area.
Dr. Mike Mobley, executive director of GCU’s Center for Integrated
Science, Engineering and Technology, characterized Arizona’s need for
technically sound electrical and mechanical engineers as significant,
too, based on technology workforce reports. GCU wanted to address
the challenge of retaining STEM-minded local students to meet those
local needs.
“To keep students involved with STEM, we’re learning not to discourage
them really quickly with theoretical classes in math and science, but to
engage them in a problem-solving atmosphere and exciting hands-on
activities …and weave in those theories as they go, so they’re more likely to
stick around longer and finish their degrees,” said Mobley, who came to GCU
two years ago.
For Sheller, the advent of GCU’s programs has allowed him to tap
longtime colleagues such as Tim Stippick for ideas. The engineering
entrepreneur, who runs Escape Velocity Mechanical Design in Phoenix, has
contributed his ideas to Sheller’s engineering course design.
Stippick agreed to develop a prototype for a robotic hand that students will
program in their course and lab, “Success in Computer Science, Engineering
and Technology.” Sheller, who has collaborated with Stippick on numerous
biomedical devices, said the project would merge the various engineering
disciplines with computer science for an overview of programming a
machine with logic that makes it mimic human movement.
That’s powerful stuff for a group of freshmen to experience so early in
their collegiate careers.
And with that, by programming a machine to do something as simple as
clench a fist or flash a Lopes Up, students can see what it means for a team to
create from scratch— and the responsibility that goes along with it.
Dave Bennett (left) and his son
Carter have a better handle
on the incoming freshman’s
struggle with cystic fibrosis
due to advancements in
technology and health care.
T
here were times when
Carter Bennett felt
asphyxiated, as if someone
was sitting on his chest or thrusting
a knife into his lungs. Throughout
his youth, the Grand Canyon
University freshman relied on
his parents, Dave and Kimberly,
for relief from the suffocating
complications of cystic fibrosis, a
genetic disorder for which there is
no cure.
When Carter was diagnosed at
age 9, his father was a software
entrepreneur. But the family’s
ensuing experience with doctors
and insurance companies led Dave
into the emerging field of health
care information systems. He
became focused on the blending
of technology with personalized
health care.
The Bennett family learned to
understand Carter’s disease and
to investigate his genetic makeup.
They tailored his treatment plan by
zeroing in on his disease mutation,
one that affects only 4 percent of
cystic fibrosis patients.
They researched new drugs
for Carter’s mutation and actually
brought information to their doctor
about one that has helped him thrive.
“It’s kind of unfortunate that the
doctor didn’t know it, but it’s not
really the doctor’s fault since he
didn’t really have the systems to do
it,” said Dave Bennett, a member of
the GCU President’s STEM Advisory
Board who has shared his industry
insights with the College of Science,
Engineering and Technology and
its science, technology engineering
and math programs.
Today, as vice president of
healthier populations at Orion
Health in Scottsdale, he develops
“precise medicine” solutions that
allow doctors and patients to
access and use personalized health
care data.
“I became real passionate
about how we can fix the health
care system, how we provide docs
and patients with more concrete
support,” he said.
Seeing his son off to college this
fall marks a transitional point in the
family’s journey.
“Thinking about your son dying
before you is quite frightening,”
Dave said. “But when we
understood the mutations a little
more and we started following
this drug, we were excited … we
thought, in a couple years, Carter
would have a shot to outlive me and
grow up big and strong.”
‘Precise medicine’ helps freshman breathe easier
