Lisa Simone, MS, PhD, EMTM’04

Helping People Use Technology for Problem Solving

When Lisa came to EMTM she already had a master's and PhD in biomedical engineering and had held prominent posts at International Technidyne Corporation (ThermoElectron), Spadix Technologies, Lucent and Motorola. The common thread of her work, both in academia and the private sector, was helping people use technology for problem solving. But while she was fluent in programming and product design, she lacked the necessary skills to move to the next level. "I knew that if I really wanted to help people, I would need that business background." Since EMTM, she has forged new and creative ways to help others apply technology to real-world problem solving.

Previously a distinguished member of Motorola's technical staff, Lisa helped establish a rehabilitation engineering department at the Kessler Medical Rehabilitation Research and Education Corporation, joining KMRREC while completing her EMTM degree. She currently teaches and conducts research as a member of the Biomedical Engineering Department at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. She consults in research design through her firm, Simone Concepts. And she is the author of If I Only Changed the Software, Why is the Phone on Fire? (Elsevier/Newnes, 2007) — a collection of real-world mysteries for engineers that teaches newer engineers how to solve problems and "think with their brains, not their de-buggers."

Why EMTM?

Lisa discovered EMTM on the Internet — a discovery, she says, that changed her life. Right away she knew the program was what she was looking for, a top-notch education that would help her "evaluate new technologies from a business standpoint." Unlike an MBA program, EMTM offered an additional opportunity to refresh and update her technical knowledge. She liked the idea that she could have access to Wharton's distinguished faculty while learning about Penn Engineering's cutting edge research in technology. Lisa was also drawn to the program's emphasis on group collaboration. The school's reputation and its proximity to her home in New Jersey sealed the deal. "I looked at a couple other programs out there, but it was a no-brainer."

Career Impact

In 2003, Lisa was hired by KMRREC to help the company establish a rehabilitation engineering department, and Lisa feels her matriculation in EMTM was a pivotal factor. "Even though I wasn't a traditional research scientist, I was tapped for this job because of my experience in engineering and product design. With EMTM, I was also getting the business background I needed to facilitate the new division."

During the program, Lisa used her technology electives — including courses in Nanotechnology, Microelectronics and Data Mining — to get a broad scope across different industries. "I've been able to bring all the technology I was exposed to at EMTM. It's really given me more tools to help researchers."

At KMRREC, for example, one of her projects was designing a lightweight glove for people with brain injuries that gives researchers a snapshot of their movements during daily activity. In Data Mining, she learned concepts that have helped her identify patterns in hand and finger activity that characterize normal and abnormal movements caused by brain injury. R&D Management helped her evaluate the wearable systems technology from a technical standpoint and gave her the business strategy for deploying it. With this knowledge, she has received funding from the National Institutes of Health to continue her research at NJIT.

Complementing her technical skills are the "softer" skills she acquired at EMTM. Through group projects Lisa honed her communications and presentation methods, and she now feels more confident in her abilities. "In the program you are working with smart people from top companies, so you need to know what you're talking about," she says. The expertise within the student network has also served Lisa well outside the classroom. "I still call up friends from EMTM to discuss new ideas."

In courses like Foundations of Leadership and Decision Models, Lisa learned to think beyond technology and business and recognize the importance of teambuilding. "I feel equipped not only to identify new business opportunities in technology, but also how to identify the right people to help get these opportunities off the ground."

And she shares this knowledge with students in her product design engineering courses. "With my EMTM exposure to new technologies and all the business aspects of technology, I teach students as if they are already in the Real World."