Alum endows scholarship to honor mentor
The William E. Ryan Endowed Scholarship offers generous, lasting support to University of Arizona engineering students with financial need.
A former doctoral student's appreciation for his mentor has taken a lasting and tangible form. The anonymous donor, who studied under William E. Ryan in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, endowed a scholarship in Ryan’s name.
“Professor Ryan's support, through mentorship, assistantship opportunities and help securing internships, made it possible for me to complete my PhD,” the donor said. “His rigorous approach to research set a standard that has guided my own work ever since.”
William E. Ryan was part of the ECE faculty for over a decade.
The scholarship provides generous support to undergraduate and graduate engineering students demonstrating financial need. As an endowed fund, this is a lasting investment in the academic success of future University of Arizona students.
“This scholarship exists because of him, and it is my hope that it will provide another student the same foundation he gave me,” the donor said.
Ryan was a professor from 1998 to 2011. His research focused on error-correction coding, communication theory and signal processing with interests in digital communication waveform and receiver design. His work addressed how information can be transmitted accurately and efficiently over wireless and digital channels by developing smarter coding schemes and signal processing techniques that power modern communication systems like Wi-Fi, cellular networks, and satellite communications.
He has published well over 100 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers and has coauthored the textbook, "Channel Codes: Classical and Modern,” 2nd ed.
Currently, Ryan serves as a Senior Associate at Zeta Associates.
"It is a great honor that my former PhD student initiated and fully funded this scholarship in my name for engineering students,” Ryan said. “I am proud of the accomplishments of my former students and the fact that they are willing to give back to the university, enabling future engineering students the opportunity to focus on their studies and reach their full potential.”
To expand the reach of this scholarship, the donor is also recruiting fellow alumni who treasure their time at the university.
Those interested in supporting the William E. Ryan Scholarship may contact Robb Keith, Director of Development for the College of Engineering, at robbkeith@arizona.edu.