Dr. David Hahn’s resume is more than impressive – it’s eye-popping. You could spend the better part of a week poring through his research papers, analyses and details of his many patents.
He worked at Sandia National Laboratories and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and he’s a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Optica and the Society for Applied Spectroscopy.
And make no mistake; Hahn is an engineer in every sense of the word. In fact, when he sat down with George Prentice for an introductory conversation for Boise State Public Radio, Hahn revealed his passion for finding solutions for tomorrow’s challenges by using his decades-long experience as a world-class engineer.
“Engineers like to take on the toughest problems,” said Hahn. “We embrace those problems as a profession. We can take a problem, break it down to fundamental pieces, and then work to formulate a solution. Sometimes it’s incremental, sometimes it’s a eureka moment. And it’s very rewarding. I think it directly translates into being president. Boise State is an amazing ecosystem of innovation.”
In a wide-ranging conversation, Hahn spoke of what sparked his interest in Boise State and what the interview process was like – leading him to be the top candidate to become Boise State’s eighth president in its history.
“I think they were looking for somebody who has a deep understanding of the modern state of higher education,” he said. “Where is the education mission going in higher ed in the United States? Where is the research mission going? How can I take the experience that I’ve gathered from two previous, large, complex institutions [University of Arizona and University of Florida] and help bring that to Boise State so that I can position Boise State for success, not just tomorrow, but next year and next decade.”
The conversation also included Hahn’s assessment of the current national conversation about the value of higher education, plus Boise State Athletics’ new era in the new version of the Pac-12.
Find reporter George Prentice @georgepren
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