The Bridge - Issue 2, 2022 - 34

Professional Profile
Randall Berry
Chair and John A. Dever Professor
in the Department of Electrical
and Computer Engineering
at Northwestern University
Gamma Theta Chapter
Dr. Randall Berry is the Chair and John A. Dever
Professor in the Department of Electrical and
Computer Engineering at Northwestern University.
His research interests include wireless
communications, computer networking, network
economics, and information theory. Dr. Berry
received the M.S. and PhD degrees in Electrical
Engineering and Computer Science from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1996 and
2000, respectively. His undergraduate education
was at the University of Missouri-Rolla, where he
received the B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering in
1993. In 1998, he was on the technical staff at MIT
Lincoln Laboratory in the Advanced Networks Group
and currently is a principal engineer for Roberson
and Associates. Dr. Berry is the recipient of a 2003
CAREER award from the National Science Foundation
and is an IEEE Fellow. He has served in several
editorial roles, including for IEEE Transactions on
Wireless Communications and IEEE Transactions on
Information Theory. As an undergraduate, he was
inducted into the Gamma Theta Chapter of HKN.
In his current role as department chair, he values the
service of the Beta Tau chapter of HKN for helping to
mentor new students in the department.
THE BRIDGE
Why did you choose to study the engineering
field (or the field you studied)?
In high school, I enjoyed science and math, which
meant engineering was a common path suggested
to me (though admittedly, I did not know much
about what engineers did). I also liked music and
HiFi stereo systems (anyone under 30 may need to
Google this). I knew this had something to do with
Electrical Engineering, so I chose that as a major.
Once, I began taking classes, I enjoyed the classes
and was especially attracted to courses in signal
processing and communications, as I liked seeing
how elegant mathematics could be used to provide
deep and practical insights into these areas.
What do you love about the industry?
I love working in an area as dynamic and everchanging
as ECE, which also has had such a
profound impact on society.
What don't you like about the industry?
In the past, we have not always thought enough
about some of the broader societal impacts of
the technologies we are creating, such as the
environmental impacts or the potential negative
social impacts of people being always connected.
How has the engineering field changed
since you entered it?
When I started working in wireless, third-generation
cellular technologies were just being developed.
Voice was the main application for these networks.
People were debating if there was a " killer app " for
cellular data, and sending video over cellular seemed
like an exotic idea.
In what direction do you think the engineering
and other IEEE fields of interest are headed
in the next 10 years?
Computing and data have grown in importance in
most fields of engineering, and I think this will only
continue in the next 10 years. So, I think all engineers
should have good toolsets to address these topics.
Profile Continued on page 36
The Bridge - Issue 2, 2022

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