LSI Corporation and Wichita State University – a sharing relationship

Merriam–Webster defines "partner" as one who shares. In this case, it's more than one who shares.

Dave Cunningham, Wichita site manager and director of quality management systems at LSI Corp., is one of WSU's contacts with LSI. He, along with other colleagues, has played an integral role in strengthening the partnership.

What better liaison could we ask for? In 1974, 11-year-old Dave attended an open house at NCR–a predecessor to LSI, with his dad. His experience with a football simulation game running on a mainframe computer there changed his life.

"I'm a software engineer at heart," said Dave, who has been at LSI for 11 years.

Dave received his bachelor's degree in computer science from WSU in 1986. He went on to work at Boeing writing software for B-52 Bomber avionics. He then moved to Pizza Hut, developing delivery software. Dave also worked at Cargill implementing maintenance and inventory tracking systems for its beef and pork plants.

"We couldn't exist without WSU," said Dave. "We heavily depend on the co-op program for electrical engineering, computer engineering and computer science students to man our test labs. LSI has $60 million of lab equipment in which we need hands-on testers."

The WSU Cooperative Education and Work-Based Learning program provided 87 students who filled 150 positions over the past three semesters. The program has worked with LSI since 2003.

Dave also explained how Zulma Toro-Ramos, dean of the College of Engineering, her staff and LSI's team work together discussing the technical needs of LSI's new hires.

"One of our wishes is for more women to become engaged in the engineering industry," said Dave. "We have a higher percentage of women managers, but there is a great opportunity here for female engineers."

Hand-in-hand with the technical discussion is the sharing of ideas regarding engineering curriculum and requirements.

"We stress networking," said Dave, "and we contribute by having some of our employees teach."

LSI's WSU participation, of course, goes further than group discussions. In June 1996, a scholarship was established to help and encourage students pursuing a degree in engineering.

"WSU's focus on science, technology and math in kindergarten through 12th grades is right in line with LSI's philosophy," said Dave.

LSI helps sponsor Kansas Science Olympiad, a statewide interscholastic competition that challenges the abilities of secondary school teams to demonstrate their knowledge, ability and skills in all areas of science, and Kansas Best (Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology), a sports-like technology contest that motivates students by challenging them to build a remotely controlled robot that accomplishes a defined task within a competitive setting. LSI's support to WSU also includes open houses, symposiums and donations of computer equipment.

A new project for LSI and Wichita State is a data storage research consortium–a "center for excellence" for storage research.

"It's a very realistic goal. We want to get smarter–focus on power efficiency and the most effective use of storage," said Dave. "We want to get to the place where when you think data storage research, you think Wichita State."

LSI Corp. in Wichita is the third largest LSI site with nearly 650 employees compared to other locations in Israel, India, Colorado, California, Texas and Georgia.

Even with the fluctuations in the economy, LSI exceeded its growth projections over the past six years.

"We greatly depend on the university for our success," said Dave, "and hopefully we provide the same success for WSU."