‘Significant milestone’ as Powell Industries leadership retreat comes to CEC
Led by CEO Brett Cope ’90, the retreat can serve as a 'model for future engagement with other corporate leadership teams'
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Published
The Powell Industries leadership team meets with Miami University officials during a leadership retreat at the university. (Scott Kissell photo)
‘Significant milestone’ as Powell Industries leadership retreat comes to CEC
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Published
You can never learn enough.
That was one reason Brett Cope ’90, CEO of Powell Industries and a graduate of Miami University’s College of Engineering and Computing (CEC), brought his leadership team to Oxford this week for a two-day retreat.
The Powell team met with Miami President Gregory Crawford and Beena Sukumaran, dean of CEC; discussed trends and topics relevant to Powell’s work as a global company focused on the future of electrical infrastructure; and attended presentations given by CEC faculty and staff.
A member of CEC’s executive advisory board, Cope has been impressed when he’s met with Miami’s engineering students.
“They are just light years ahead of where we were in the 80s,” said Cope, who earned his Applied Science degree from Miami. “It’s really impressive to see. The blossoming of the school, what it’s doing, and the programs – it’s amazing.”
With corporate headquarters based in Houston, Powell designs, manufactures, and services custom-engineered equipment and systems for the distribution, control, and monitoring of electrical energy.
CEC presenters included John Femiani, professor of Computer Science and Software Engineering; Fazeel Khan, professor of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering; James Walden, professor of Computer Science and Software Engineering; and Allison Sommers, assistant director for K-12 outreach, as well as Mark Scott, associate professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Dhruv Birla ’24, graduate assistant.
“This meeting marks a significant milestone for the College of Engineering and Computing, as it brings together our faculty researchers with the executive leadership team from Powell Industries,” Sukumaran said. “This dialogue will facilitate a valuable exchange of information on emerging technologies and workforce needs, ensuring our curriculum remains relevant and providing a valuable overview of our cutting-edge research in cybersecurity, AI, power engineering, and signal processing. It can serve as a model for future engagement with other corporate leadership teams that would like to hold their leadership retreats at Miami.”
CEC faculty members and students had an opportunity to meet with the Powell team throughout the Jan. 28-29 retreat.
"We’re excited to showcase the college and the students,” said Colleen Bush, CEC’s assistant dean for external relations and communications. “It’s a way for Powell to learn what makes us unique, and it’s also a way to keep faculty current on industry trends and where our research needs to go. We’re educating each other.”
Cope said he received positive feedback from his team about the experience at Miami.
“It’s been great, and I hope this spurs new ideas for both sides,” Cope said.
That was one reason Brett Cope ’90, CEO of Powell Industries and a graduate of Miami University’s College of Engineering and Computing (CEC), brought his leadership team to Oxford this week for a two-day retreat.
The Powell team met with Miami President Gregory Crawford and Beena Sukumaran, dean of CEC; discussed trends and topics relevant to Powell’s work as a global company focused on the future of electrical infrastructure; and attended presentations given by CEC faculty and staff.
A member of CEC’s executive advisory board, Cope has been impressed when he’s met with Miami’s engineering students.
“They are just light years ahead of where we were in the 80s,” said Cope, who earned his Applied Science degree from Miami. “It’s really impressive to see. The blossoming of the school, what it’s doing, and the programs – it’s amazing.”
With corporate headquarters based in Houston, Powell designs, manufactures, and services custom-engineered equipment and systems for the distribution, control, and monitoring of electrical energy.
CEC presenters included John Femiani, professor of Computer Science and Software Engineering; Fazeel Khan, professor of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering; James Walden, professor of Computer Science and Software Engineering; and Allison Sommers, assistant director for K-12 outreach, as well as Mark Scott, associate professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Dhruv Birla ’24, graduate assistant.
“This meeting marks a significant milestone for the College of Engineering and Computing, as it brings together our faculty researchers with the executive leadership team from Powell Industries,” Sukumaran said. “This dialogue will facilitate a valuable exchange of information on emerging technologies and workforce needs, ensuring our curriculum remains relevant and providing a valuable overview of our cutting-edge research in cybersecurity, AI, power engineering, and signal processing. It can serve as a model for future engagement with other corporate leadership teams that would like to hold their leadership retreats at Miami.”
CEC faculty members and students had an opportunity to meet with the Powell team throughout the Jan. 28-29 retreat.
"We’re excited to showcase the college and the students,” said Colleen Bush, CEC’s assistant dean for external relations and communications. “It’s a way for Powell to learn what makes us unique, and it’s also a way to keep faculty current on industry trends and where our research needs to go. We’re educating each other.”
Cope said he received positive feedback from his team about the experience at Miami.
“It’s been great, and I hope this spurs new ideas for both sides,” Cope said.
Established in 1809, Miami University is located in Oxford, Ohio, with regional campuses in Hamilton and Middletown, a learning center in West Chester, and a European study center in Luxembourg. Interested in learning more about the College of Engineering and Computing? Visit the website for more information.
