Nicholas “Nick” Haemel ’02 grew up in rural Wisconsin or what he calls “dairy country” twenty minutes west of Milwaukee in Merton, Wisconsin. Living out in the country left him with plenty of time to tinker.
“Growing up I spent a significant amount of time taking apart broken mechanical and electrical devices around the house, and occasionally to my parent’s disappointment some of those devices were also still in working order.”
In grade school, he began teaching himself how to code. In high school, he says the incredible potential of what he could accomplish in writing code became clearer. He felt pursuing a degree in computer engineering would be the perfect combination of software and hardware.
Nick toured a handful of Midwest schools but says MSOE stood out for many reasons. The most impactful being the number of labs and the hands-on experience students received. To this day, he still remembers an exciting moment in class when he was introduced to the venerable Motorola 68HC11 processor.
“For the first time, I brought together a simple hardware design, a modest program and basic OS concepts to light up real world hardware. For me, there was nothing more magical. A true validation for the years spent learning the fundamentals.”
Nick graduated from MSOE in 2002 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering and earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2010. Today, he is the vice president of healthcare, computer vision and graphics software at NVIDIA, in Santa Clara, California.
Some of his proudest accomplishments include leading development for the first artificial intelligence platform for medical devices, building vision platforms for autonomous vehicles and developing graphics platforms such as the Nintendo Switch. He holds nine patents ranging from graphics acceleration to imaging systems to artificial intelligence acceleration. His advice to MSOE students, “Use this time to figure out what drives you. Find something you love: understand it, focus on it, own it. Then find ways to demonstrate your passion throughout your time on campus.”
Nick has stayed connected to his alma mater serving on the MSOE Board of Regents. “MSOE is an amazing place with an incredible mission. I am honored to help foster an environment that prepares students to solve some of the most complex challenges of our time. I hope to continue bringing industry experience in the areas of AI, Deep Learning, Robotics, 3D Graphics and Computer Vision to enhance the schools’ capabilities and create new opportunities for students.”
Nick says it’s an incredible honor to be inducted into MSOE’s Wall of Distinction among so many influential graduates. He cherishes the experiences he had at MSOE and hopes current and future students do too.
“MSOE helped me hone my interests and gave me the drive that has led to a successful career inventing the future of computer graphics and AI. I hope students find encouragement behind the stories of those on the Wall of Distinction to stay motivated and accomplish their own dreams.”