Born in Abha, Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Alghawinam first studied Electricity at an Industrial High School, and later attended Riyadh Technological College, where he received his Bachelor's Degree in 2000. Mohammed has worked as a teacher in Abha Technological College for almost 4 years. He arrived in the United States in 2004, and after studying English in the CELCIS program, he entered the Electrical and Computer Engineering department in Spring of 2005. He says that he chose Western Michigan University for his studies after hearing positive things about the program. At the end of this semester he will graduate with a Master's degree from Western Michigan University's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

One of Mohammed's interests outside of his studies is traveling, meeting new people and, Designing and building Electrical / Electronic circuits . During his studies at Western he had the opportunity to travel and study in China a part of Western's Engineering in China Program. This program is cross-disciplinary and open to all engineering students at Western. Dr. Dewei Qi, Mohammed Alghawinam, and 17 other engineering students from various disciplines took part in last summer's program. The program is based in Sichuan University, but includes tours of facilities such as factories, laboratories, and universities in surrounding areas. The program is designed to "provide a unique opportunity for students to obtain global engineering experience in contemporary China." Mohammed commented on the differences he saw internationally in regards to engineering; China, he says, focuses on the small business; companies there focus on manufacturing a single item, rather than a wide-range of items as they might in the United States or Saudi Arabia.

a photo of Graduate Student Mohamed Alghawinam in China

Although Mohammed will be receiving his Master's degree soon, he is hoping to continue his Ph.D studies in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Western Michigan University . His future aspirations involve returning to Saudi Arabia to seek employment and assist with the growing manufacturing and industrial development in Saudi Arabia.

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