Throughout Women’s History Month, we’ve celebrated amazing women across disciplines, around the world, and right at Rutgers who have made the world a better place through their presence, knowledge, and actions.
Today, we give special honor to Rutgers Professional Science Master’s (PSM) program cofounder and executive director Deborah Silver—an active faculty member, scientist, and leader who has helmed Rutgers PSM since its 2010 inception.
Silver, who is a full professor in Rutgers’ Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has not only transformed Rutgers PSM into one of the university's largest and most diverse graduate programs—with nearly 700 students in the student body, the majority of whom are working professionals—but has helped establish STEM-based business education at Rutgers University while putting Rutgers Master of Business and Science (MBS) degree on the map.
Silver began honing her expertise in both electrical engineering and computer science long before the two fields were categorized as separate disciplines—an experience she discussed both during a fun Q&A last year and as a panelist during Rutgers University Women in IT—Journey Through the Decades.
Over the past two years, she’s seen rapid changes, major innovations, and explosive growth in the world of science and technology, and has worked to expand the PSM program accordingly—adding a new academic concentration, Product Design, to the 25+ academic specializations available via the MBS degree, which continues to gain visibility and value in the professional world as MBS"s strong alumni base grows.
Most recently, Silver was recently recognized as a Golden Core Member by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Computer Society, where she is a member of the 2021-2023 Board of Governors and has played a vital role in enriching and expanding the IEEE visualization community since 1990.