SUNNYVALE, Calif., Aug. 19, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cogswell College, one of the world's leading regionally-accredited institutions offering a unique curriculum that fuses digital arts, engineering and entrepreneurship, today announced the appointment of Dr. Zachi Baharav as Director of Engineering, Director of the Master's program in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and the Executive Director of the Cogswell Idea & Innovation Lab. Dr. Baharav is a Silicon Valley innovator who brings a rich background in research and applied engineering, most recently with Corning West Technology Center.
Dr. Baharav envisions an engineering department that brings the artistic flavor of Cogswell to tangible products, drawing on the cultural strength of Cogswell's animation, game and audio programs. A Silicon Valley resident for 14 years, Dr. Baharav plans to use his familiarity with local industry to engage engineering students with real-life applications by collaborating with local Silicon Valley groups. These relationships will also contribute immensely to the Masters in Innovation & Entrepreneurship program. A focal point for combining all this will be the Idea and Innovation Lab, where undergraduates from all of Cogswell's degree programs benefit from the skill, talent and creativity of each other as they build their ventures or work on corporate projects.
"Engineering is the process of bringing science into practical applications. It is the perfect tool to bring various abstract artistic ideas to fruition and make them work," says Dr. Baharav. "It's important to give undergraduates the chance to solve specific problems and bring things to completion. We are focusing on making things practical and relevant, without sacrificing the theoretical base. One of Cogswell's advantages is that it is small and nimble—allowing its students greater flexibility to engage collaboratively with other departments—while being set in the incredibly creative environment of Silicon Valley."
According to Dr. Baharav, art and engineering are highly complementary disciplines. "We have moved from functional-centered products to design-centered products," says Dr. Baharav, "In the past, engineers determined the functionality of the product, which in turn drove the design. These days, the designers determine the look and feel of a product, and engineers need to make it work. As we move forward, people are looking for personalized devices. Artistic, personal expression in your own device is coming, be it in the external design or in the content you watch – and this is exactly the intersection of Art and Engineering."
"We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Baharav's high-profile Silicon Valley background and engineering expertise to Cogswell," says Dr. Deborah Snyder, provost and chief academic officer at Cogswell. "The energy and creativity he brings to the engineering program will incorporate the world of mobile, consumer electronics and big data visualization into our curriculum. Also under Dr. Baharav's guidance, graduate students will work on their own innovations and ideas and create their own business plans before taking their product to market."
Dr. Baharav holds more than 30 patents in diverse areas ranging from printing to millimeter wave imaging, from digital cameras to touch sensing, and others. Many of those were used in products. He is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and a Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE Consumer Electronics Society. He previously worked at HP/Agilent and Synaptics.
About Cogswell College
Located in Sunnyvale, Calif., in the heart of the Silicon Valley, Cogswell College is an accredited four-year institution of higher education with a curriculum that fuses art, engineering and entrepreneurship (http://www.cogswell.edu/academics/programs.php). As one of the Bay Area's premier colleges, its novel academic approach offers an integrated model that emulates the industry environment—a collaborative, project-based, learning approach that uses multidisciplinary teams to take projects from concept through the delivery pipeline.
Cogswell alumni credits include the world's best-selling video game, Call of Duty, The Sims, Need for Speed, Neverwinter, The Elder Scrolls V and blockbuster films including Life of Pi, Snow White & the Huntsman, Cars, Alvin & the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, Spider-Man, Harry Potter and Thor. Student-created films have garnered scores of national awards (http://www.cogswell.edu/student-work/worlds-apart.php) and Cogswell alumni have gone on to careers with Activision, DreamWorks, Disney, Electronic Arts, Pixar and Microsoft Game Studio as well as starting their own creative ventures.