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Dr. Tom Rhyne to speak at TAMS commencement May 12
DENTON (UNT), Texas -- Dr. Tom Rhyne, retired manager of strategic programs for the semiconductor products sector of Motorola in Austin, will be the featured speaker for the graduation ceremony of the University of North Texas' Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science. Approximately 160 students are expected to receive TAMS diplomas at this year's commencement on May 12 (Friday). The event begins at 7 p.m. in the UNT Auditorium Building, which is located on West Hickory Street between Avenues A and B on the UNT campus. Established by the Texas Legislature in 1987, TAMS is a two-year early admissions program that allows students who are talented in math and science to complete their freshman and sophomore years of college two years earlier than other students. Students enroll in TAMS following their sophomore year of high school, live in a UNT residence hall and attend UNT classes with college-age students. At the end of two years, the TAMS students graduate with at least 60 hours of college credit and the equivalent of a high school diploma. The students transfer to other universities or stay at UNT to finish their bachelor's degrees. Rhyne and his wife, Glenda Pevey Rhyne, have been strong supporters of TAMS for years. Glenda Rhyne serves on the TAMS Advisory Board, and the Rhynes have supported summer research opportunities for TAMS students. Rhyne began his science career at age 15, when he won a University Interscholastic League Science Fair with a computer he built himself at home. He received his bachelor's degree from Mississippi State University in only three years. By age 25, he already had his doctoral degree in electrical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, plus a master 's degree from the University of Virginia and four years of work experience at NASA. He joined the Texas A&M University engineering faculty after receiving his doctoral degree, and was a tenured full professor by age 32. He had also been named as the "Outstanding Young Electrical Engineering Educator in the U.S." by the American Society for Engineering Education for writing a textbook, "The Fundamentals of Digital System Design." The textbook was used by more than 40 U.S. and international universities. Rhyne directed Texas A&M's Digital Systems Laboratory for 15 years. As a professor, he worked during the summers at Texas Instruments in Dallas, Control Data in Minneapolis and the Electric Power and Research Institute in Palo Alto, Calif. In 1983, he took three years of leave from Texas A&M to direct the computer-aided design program for the Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation -- a joint research venture formed by several U.S. companies -- in Austin. While in Austin, he taught graduate courses at the University of Texas. Rhyne stayed with Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation for 12 years, eventually becoming vice president of research and development in the Information Systems Division. In 1995, he left to become manager of strategic programs for the semiconductor products sector of Motorola. He retired in 1998. Rhyne currently works part time as a technical expert witness in patent litigation. He was recently the expert witness against Research in Motion, the manufacturer of BlackBerry telephones and devices. The case resulted in Research in Motion paying more than $600 million to NTP, the small company that sued it for patent infringement. In addition to Rhyne, other speakers for the commencement ceremony will be graduating students Jordan Smith, the son of Prescott and Christina Smith of Aubrey, and Charanya Krishnaswami, the daughter of Sundara and Anusuya Krishnaswami of Plano.
UNT News Service Phone Number: (940) 565-2108
Contact: Nancy Kolsti (940) 565-3509
Email: nkolsti@unt.edu
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