Winner of the 2021 John D. Ryder Electrical and Computer Engineering Alumni Award, Michigan State University College of Engineering
James O. Fishbeck grew up in Lansing and earned a BSEE degree at Michigan State while working nights as a transmitter engineer at WILS Radio, a commercial AM/FM radio station in Lansing.
"I knew from the eighth grade that I wanted to earn an electrical engineering degree at Michigan State," he said.
He later joined Collins Radio as a flight control systems design engineer. His most interesting assignment was working as a member of the team that designed a custom flight director system for Air Force 26000, which used the call sign Air Force One when the President was on board. The aircraft was a customized version of the Boeing 707 passenger jet.
Fishbeck was also the on-site engineer who oversaw the installation and certification of the new system, which included participation on several test flights. The airplane has been on permanent display at the Air Force museum in Dayton, Ohio, since 1998.
After returning to Michigan State to earn an MBA degree in 1970 he embarked on a 30-year career with Analog Devices, a leading global high-performance semiconductor company that creates products that sense, measure, power, connect and interpret. The company's 2020 revenues totaled $5.6 billion, compared to $16 million for the year he joined the company.
Fishbeck began his Analog Devices career as a product marketing engineer, and subsequently held a series of marketing management positions prior to becoming director of investor relations, reporting to the CEO. He retired in 2002.
He learned to fly in the MSU flying club and has logged over 3,000 flying hours. He has owned a twin-engine airplane for 23 years. Other activities include being an electronics hobbyist, a computer enthusiast and the treasurer on the board of directors of their homeowners association.
He and Lee Morgan have been together for over 25 years and have been living on Martha's Vineyard Island in Massachusetts for 19 years. They have established two professorships at Michigan State, one for Electrical and Computer Engineering and one for the Broad Business College.
"My career wouldn't have been possible without the education I received at Michigan State," he said. "I'm very grateful to have had that opportunity and will continue supporting the university so that others can have the same opportunity."