Alumni Spotlight: Tom Walker
When Tom Walker stepped onto the CSULB campus he was the first person in his family to go to college. 40 years ago this May, he left with a degree in Electrical Engineering, and began a long, successful career providing solutions for automated design of electronics, optics, and photonics.
“When I veered into the Optics field, people always thought I meant glasses,” joked Walker. “It was interesting. I had no background in Optics, but was able to make it. Engineers leverage the laws of physics to accomplish and develop new products. Those basics allowed me to make that transition easily.”
He retired as Senior Director R&D, Optical Solutions Group at Synopsys—a large electronics company based in Sunnyvale, CA. Over the years, he’s published papers like “Illumination Simulation and Future Trends,” and “Faceted Reflector Design for Uniform Illumination.”
Walker continues to stay active at CSULB. He's mentoring students at the Dean’s Leadership Academy and Senior Design Expos and giving generously. His most recent donation enabled the CSULB photonics lab to acquire a Raman Spectrometer, which has applications in optical sensing, material science, energy technology, pharmaceutical and life sciences.
"The Raman spectrometer will enable us to design and develop optical sensors for biomedical and chemical applications," said Aftab Ahmed, Electrical Engineering Associate Professor. "The spectrometer, along with our designed Raman substrates, will allow for the identification of small molecules of interest such as biomarkers for early detection of diseases."
Walker is, not surprisingly, active in many professional organizations, including senior membership in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the International Society for Optical Engineering.
“Don’t be afraid put yourself out there; never say no,” advises Walker. “Always say yes, even if you’re scared. Engineers of all types have a unique opportunity to solve problems. Don’t be afraid of your own abilities.”
Walker began his career designing electronics the old school way, on a drafting board. One of his early successes was implementing a new tool to help him, the Personal Computer. By using computer-assisted design on the PC, he spearheaded automation for electronics.
“They had big, expensive CAD systems that took up a whole room,” he said. “When I saw the PC and knew it could do the same things; it opened a lot of doors by utilizing this new tool.”
Today, one similar tool that excites Walker is AI.
“[AI] is a raw tool right now,” he explained. “And it’s a Wild Wild West situation right now. If you can recognize how to use those large learning models to solve important problems, you’ll be very successful.”
He believes strongly in the power an engineering career can provide, two of his kids are now engineers.
“It really can change the trajectory of your life. If I didn’t have that degree, I’d probably still be working in fast food,” said Walker. “Once you get the workforce don’t just sit there—Dream of things to do, make suggestions, be inventive. You’ll go far.”
