Giving Back: Alumni Award Winner Lisa Moder

Lisa Moder ('90, electrical engineering technology) has been named the 2010 Test Engineer of the Year by Test and Measurement World (T&MW) magazine. As part of her award, Moder designated Metro State to receive a $10,000 grant, courtesy of National Instruments, the award sponsor.

A senior manufacturing test engineer at Echostar Technologies, Moder’s area of specialty is set-top boxes, the devices that connect a television to an external source of signal. Moder has developed innovative test strategies that trim field failures, boost test throughput, and add to company profits. She has worked on 13 set-top designs in eight years with the company, enabling such innovations as programming one’s television from a phone. Together, the designs are responsible for some 20 million set-top boxes fielded in the United States.

Moder says she selected the College as a beneficiary of her award because she “believes in giving back to those that have helped me in my career.” Moder cites two Metro State professors in particular, Ha Temmermmer and Mel Capeharthart, both now retired, as having “fostered and mentored me throughout my career at Metro State.” Moder was already giving back to the College even before she received the T&MW award, having served on the EET Industry Advisory Board for the past five years. On the board, she works to help the EET Department recruit and retain students.

In receiving this award, Alumna Moder says, “I am excited to receive this award because I have always valued my education and I have always wanted to give back to those that have helped me get to where I am today. I would not be where I am today if it had not been for the influence Metro State and the faculty and staff there. I think the Alumni Association is an important part of college life as it gives past students the opportunity to stay in touch with each other and the life that is happening on campus.”