The College of Engineering - 2010 Celebration

Amol Shah

Electrical & Computer Engineering, Class of 2000

Amip Shah

Mechanical Engineering, Class of 2002

Brothers Making a Difference With Rowan Engineering

Remember when you were seven and colored a picture worthy of a refrigerator magnet? Amol Shah was busy designing his first computer program. His brother, Amip Shah, wasn’t exactly spending time finger painting either — he was playing in the national junior chess championships.

Years later, in high school, Amol’s fascination with computers and Amip’s focus on problem-solving grew.  Both brothers set their sights on Rowan University to challenge their growing passions — Amol graduating from Rowan in 2000 and Amip graduating just two years later. Their paths to graduation were lined with great achievement and professional growth — occasionally assisting each other along the way.

Amol said his decision to earn a bachelor’s in electrical and computer engineering and a bachelor’s in computer science was a “natural choice,” and he was glad it happened at Rowan.

“With Rowan’s engineering clinics, we were exposed to hands-on projects right from our freshman year,” said Amol. “These projects required us to take a problem, analyze the issues and possible solutions and then come up with a solution that not only solved the problem but was practical and economical as well. Having that sort of experience is very valuable in the work place. The program also emphasized communication skills — both written and oral. Both are key in the working world, and having had to put together numerous technical reports and presentations, I graduated being very comfortable in both these areas.  This has definitely given me an advantage compared to peers who have not had that exposure.”

Amip, who earned a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering, was primarily influenced to earn it at Rowan after hearing his brother’s praise of the program.

“We were particularly impressed with the small class sizes and the personal camaraderie that my brother had built up with the professors at Rowan,” said Amip, like his brother, a native of India. “I suspect my parents had a higher degree of comfort, too, with me going to college near my brother, especially given that I was traveling halfway around the world. The generosity of financial aid through the Inductotherm Scholars program was hard to resist as well. All in all, there were a variety of factors that took me to Rowan – and I’m glad they did!”

Scholarships and awards

While at Rowan, Amol received a citation from the New Jersey General Assembly, the Outstanding IEEE Student Member – Philadelphia section award, and the Herman and Marie James Academic Scholarship, rewarding his academic performance and involvement in the student community. Amol later continued his academic success, earning a master’s in electrical engineering from Stanford University.

Amip’s honors included the highest grade point average award, a national Charles T. Main Student Section Award and a Lawson J. Brown Distinguished Senior Scholarship Medallion. 

“Most awards reflect the contributions of the people around you and validate all that they’ve done for you. The individual getting the award is just the face that goes on top of that effort,” said Amip. “And I think that’s true for most of the awards I’ve received. They’re more a commentary on the achievements of the people around me. All I did was take advantage of the opportunities they gave me.”

“Take the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME) Charles T. Main Award. That award meant more to me as a validation that we were doing something right at Rowan, that the program and the Rowan ASME Student Section was making a noticeable contribution to the field,” said Amip. “These people gave me the opportunity to stand out.”

Amip and Amol work on ANJEL

Amip and Amol joined other Rowan students in designing and constructing the Automated New Jersey Emergency Locator, or ANJEL, for the New Jersey Department of Transportation — a system that automatically alerts authorities when a crash occurs.

While a member of the Rowan ASME chapter, Amip helped the organization host the Region III Student Conference in 2001. The group raised more than $10,000 for technical and outreach projects and won student awards exceeding $15,000.

As a Rowan student, Amip’s internships at E.I. DuPont de Nemours allowed him to implement his mechanical engineering knowledge in the field and in the classroom — earning a master’s and doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of California-Berkeley.

“Rowan College of Engineering drilled into my head from day one that getting real-world practical experience was crucial to being successful as an engineer, and I think it’s some of the best advice I ever got,” said Amip. “At the internship, I got to see the entire product across three summers — from research and development to manufacturing and operations to maintenance and end-of-life. Even today, after a Ph.D. and four years as a full-time professional, those experiences as an intern keep coming back to help me.”

Amol and Amip today

Amol currently oversees existing and new software development efforts as director of application and software development for WOW! Internet, Cable and Phone in Englewood, Colo. He ensures daily operation of the company’s software systems, including the company website where customers can place orders, internal systems used to support day-to-day operations and mobile applications used out in the field by WOW! company technicians.

Currently, Amip is a senior research scientist in Hewlett Packard’s Sustainable IT Ecosystem Lab in Palo Alto, Calif. — working with his team to build tools and systems for understanding the environmental impact of various engineering designs.

The brothers are big fans of each other. “I don’t think I would have been even half as successful at Rowan (or beyond) without him—he’s a superstar,” said Amip. “There aren’t that many people I know who can run through two undergraduate degrees, a master’s degree and grow to become director of an entire software development group — all within a couple of years of turning 30. I can only aspire to follow in his footsteps.”

The feeling is clearly mutual.

“I am extremely proud of my brother’s achievements, both personally and professionally,” said Amol.  “We have always been very close to each other, and to see him achieve so much in his academic life as well as his professional life gives me immense satisfaction and joy. I am glad he could join me at the College of Engineering because I know Rowan has not only given him a fantastic experience, but it prepared him well for his challenges in graduate school and in his career the same way it did for me.”

In the years ahead, Amol says he will aim for continued success in his career and family life but hopes also to ‘make a difference’ by increasing access to quality education for children in his native India.

His brother shares many of those same goals.

“My long-term goal now is, quite simply, to try and have an impact in the world around me,” said Amip. “If you think about it, that’s really what engineering is all about — solving a problem or creating a solution that makes a difference.”