Senior to Watch: Jeff Mounzer
Ioana Patringenaru | April 28, 2008
Jeff Mounzer
Major:
Electrical engineering
and economics
Hometown:
Redlands, Calif.
Sports:
Intramural tennis, soccer and basketball
Favorite
book:
“The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas
Roughly 4 1/2 years ago, Jeff Mounzer found out that he had been accepted to Stanford, UC Berkeley and UC San Diego. He had to decide where he would go. He chose UCSD and says he has never looked back.
“I discovered that UCSD’s engineering school is one of the best in the country—and getting better all the time,” he said. “I never regretted that choice.”
Over the past four years as an undergraduate here, Mounzer has put in a lot of time to make sure that the Jacobs School of Engineering keeps striving. He had served as president of the school’s Triton Engineering Student Council and has helped grow the organization’s budget and reach. He also helped expand Engineers Week activities on campus. Mounzer has recently received an Award for Excellence from the UCSD alumni association for his efforts.
A quiet leader
Mounzer’s quiet leadership style is very effective, said Frieder Seible, dean of the Jacobs School of Engineering. In spite of his low-key attitude, he knows what his goals are and how to reach them, the dean said. He also knows how to remain calm under pressure.
“He’s so unassuming and he still manages to get things done in a way that is absolutely amazing,” Seible said. “In my mind, this is what true leadership is.”
Mounzer has earned the respect of the many student organizations that make up the Triton Student Engineering Council, Seible pointed out. “The whole TESC student body is very supportive of him,” the Jacobs School’s dean said. “They honestly love Jeff.”
Sammy Lee, who chairs the council’s career fair program, won’t contradict Seible. He and Mounzer have known each other for three years and have been rooming together since the beginning of this academic year. When Lee organizes the career fair, Mounzer checks in on him regularly and gives advice, but without making him feel like he interferes. “He wants you to take ownership,” Lee said.
“He’s outstanding because he’s able to see things from a larger prospective,” Lee added. “He’s able to guide you in the right direction.”
Research efforts
Lee and Mounzer also work together in the Wireless Information Systems Lab led by researcher Curt Schurgers. The two students can often be found in the lab until the wee hours of the morning, fine-tuning an experiment or troubleshooting.
“I think he’s going to be a star,” Schurgers said of Mounzer. “He gets things. He’s someone who takes action.”
Mounzer has worked in Schurgers’ lab for the past 1 ½ years. His ability to maintain top grades while remaining deeply involved in campus life is impressive, the researcher said. Mounzer is really good at organizing people and thinking on a wide scale, Schrugers added.
In Schrugers’ lab, the senior works with a team that is designing an underwater optical modem. The device would be used for high-speed, short-rage communication between robots. The whole point of research, Mounzer explained, is to explore the limits of what you can do. In this case, the team is trying to increase the modem’s range.
His life so far
Mounzer pozes during an Engineers Week event with Frieder Seible, dean
of the Jacobs School of Engineering.
Mounzer got his first taste of research at the end of his junior year in high school when he was accepted to a NASA internship program. As an intern, a lot of his tasks revolved around electrical engineering. He liked the experience, so he made that subject his major at UCSD. He then added economics, just in case engineering didn’t work out, he said.
Asked about his biggest achievement, he cited the growth of the Triton Engineering Student Council. “TESC is what I’m most proud of,” he said. Under his leadership, the organization’s operating budget grew to about $100,000, which funds all the different student engineering organizations at the Jacobs School. Also, TESC has been organizing a plethora of activities for National Engineers Week, which involved more than 1,000 students on campus.
Plans for the future
Mounzer fixes a computer.
After graduating this June, Mounzer will go on to a doctorate program at Stanford. “I don’t feel like I’m done learning,” he answered when asked about his decision to go to graduate school. He added his goal is to become an entrepreneur, and possibly a C.E.O. It seems like many industry leaders in San Diego have a doctorate, he added. Stanford is a perfect fit for Mounzer, Schurgers said. The university provides the ideal mix of engineering classes and research, business savvy and contacts with start-up companies, the researcher explained.
But before he goes to grad school, Mounzer plans to travel the world. He has bought tickets to Costa Rica and Alaska. New York and Europe are next. “I am making up for three years of doing summer internships,” he said.
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