4 things to know about Deborah Jackman

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Deborah Jackman is a professor and chair of the Civil and Architectural Engineering and Construction Management department at the Milwaukee School of Engineering.

She holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

1. She knows the engineering industry firsthand.

After graduating from Marquette University with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, Jackman went on to earn her a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

She then worked as an engineer at Aqua-Chem Inc. for about five years before deciding to go back to school for her doctorate. Jackman said her time spent working in the industry provided a solid base upon which to build her teaching career. She began working part-time at MSOE in 1989, and took over as head of her department in 2002.

2. She was ahead of the curve with alternative energy.

For her doctorate, Jackman focused on energy engineering, or how to transform energy from one form to another. She said she was interested in the area of study after watching the nation experience its first energy crisis while she was in high school, during the Arab oil embargo of the 1970s.

“It was a very hot area of study at that time,” Jackman said. “Then it went into sleep mode for 25 years, until we all woke up again when gas prices shot up to $4 a gallon. It’s a shame that in the ’70s we didn’t take it more seriously. Now that it’s remerged, it’s more urgent and now we’re going to play catch up.”

3. She works hard to get students real-world experience.

Seniors in Jackman’s department work on a capstone design project that pairs the students with industry professionals. Students design a commercial building for a client, which makes them “immediately productive employees” once they graduate, she said.

4. She’s forward thinking.

The standard engineering education model is outdated, Jackman said, and she and her colleagues are working to change that. While most schools offer just four-year bachelor’s degree programs, MSOE this fall is launching a five-year degree program where students earn their bachelor’s and master’s degree in one fell swoop.

“It used to be that all you needed was a bachelor’s degree to work as an engineer,” she said, “but now the American Society of Civil Engineers is pushing for a master’s degree as the first degree.”

— Caley Clinton