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Degree is worth the waitJackie Nemeth School of Electrical and Computer Engineering John H. Bordelon has been working two full-time jobs for 11 years—serving as a senior research engineer in the Georgia Tech Research Institute and as a Ph.D. student in electrical and computer engineering. Add to that raising a family and dealing with life’s peaks and valley’s, and each day becomes a personal and professional challenge. Bordelon now is back to one full-time job; this spring, he graduated from Georgia Tech with his Ph.D. at the age of 57. He received his degree and doctoral hood during commencement ceremonies on June 12. “When I started my Ph.D., people thought that it was too late in life to pursue it. They would ask, ‘what’s the point and are you going to make more money because of this?’” Bordelon said. “Money and prestige weren’t my reasons for doing the degree; I did it because I truly enjoyed it. I didn’t have a detailed plan for everything that was going to happen in my life. But very often, I believe that preparation is more important than planning.” Bordelon earned his B.S.E.E. from Louisiana Tech in 1963 and his M.S.E.E. from Georgia Tech in 1967 while working at Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. In 1968, Bordelon made an unsuccessful, first attempt at an electrical engineering doctorate while at North Carolina State University. Though disappointed, he went on to work at Lockheed, where he worked for six years on C-5 aircraft avionics and mission flight simulation. After being laid off in 1976, Bordelon began his 23-year career at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), where he is now a senior research engineer in the Electronics Systems Laboratory. During his career at GTRI, Bordelon worked with and befriended colleagues, students and electrical engineering professors—several of whom encouraged him to get a Ph.D. “I wanted to get a doctorate since I was an undergraduate, but I first wanted the industrial experience, so I could really mentor students,” Bordelon said. “The compensation for my first Ph.D. experience was that I was fortunate enough to work with bright students and young, talented engineers.” Among them were professors David R. Hertling and Henry L. Owen of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE). “Although I was flattered, I thought it was crazy for them to think a 47-year-old could do this,” he said. “However, I knew that the field was changing, and I was interested in learning the latest material.” So with Hertling as his advisor, Bordelon started his degree program while working full-time in GTRI. Taking one class per quarter for eight years, with the exception of most summers, homework became an evening ritual, either at the office or at home, and on Saturdays. “It was probably hard at times for my wife and family, but it didn’t seem to be a continual hardship,” Bordelon said. “They understood that this was something that I wanted to do, and that with the job environment, it might be essential.” Though a non-traditional college student, Bordelon never sensed a generation gap between himself and his younger classmates. “Combining the younger students’ technical skills with my study habits, discipline and organizational skills served my project groups and me very well,” he said. “They really accepted me as part of the class.” Also, as a Ph.D. student, Bordelon taught ECE 4064: Introduction to RF Engineering, under a research teaching fellowship. He continued pursuing his Ph.D. even when times were personally difficult. During this time, both of his parents and his father-in-law died, and Bordelon himself fought cancer in the midst of midterm exams and then another life-threatening illness, which required a month of recovery.
No matter what the sacrifices and difficulties, Bordelon said it was worth it to
earn that long-awaited doctorate, which he wants to use in a new career as a teacher
upon retiring from GTRI in 2001. “Although I was always interested in electrical
engineering, it wasn’t the trying chore that it was when I was getting a bachelor’s
and master’s degree,” he said. “As a doctoral student, I truly got more enjoyment out
of my learning experience.”
Approved by the Office of External Affairs on 09/24/97
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