After researching the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) robotics program, Timothy Fisher ’04 enrolled in the university’s College of Engineering (COE) as an electrical engineering major. During his time at the university, he was both impressed with the quality education and the dedication of his fellow classmates to learning and furthering their careers after graduation.

“What really stood out to me about UTSA is that the students there didn’t seem to go to college because it was something they were forced to do after high school.  Many of the students, including myself, worked at least part-time to pay for school and living expenses, and we understood that our education was a way for us to have a better quality of life after graduation.  I have also witnessed this same work ethic for myself and fellow Alumni after graduation.  We have to work hard to prove ourselves as most people were not familiar with UTSA and the quality of education we were provided.   This is something I hope every Alumni is striving to change by succeeding and exceeding in their professional career.  I also firmly believe that investing in high-quality athletics programs is another effective way of providing great exposure for our University at both a local and national level.” he expressed.

Timothy’s UTSA degree led him to become a successful engineer at one of the largest defense contractor organizations in the world, General Dynamics in Scottsdale, Arizona. A few years later, he accepted a job with Texas Memory Systems (TMS) in Houston, Texas. During his time at TMS, the company became a pioneer in enterprise flash storage-based systems.  Once seen as a niche use case for flash technology, flash storage has now become the main storage for most large companies that require fast reliable storage.  Their revolutionary work caught the attention of the multinational technology company, IBM, who acquired TMS in 2012.  Timothy has continued to ascend within IBM quickly becoming a Senior Technical Staff Member and Master Inventor with almost 100 patents related to flash storage technology.  He is arguably one of the most experienced and knowledgeable flash controller designers in the world, developing and leading over 15 successful storage controller designs since 2007.

“Even though I mainly focused on my education while attending UTSA, I was amazed when I went to the very first UTSA football game with a large number of people in the crowd. I thought at the time if we can continue this type of support, UTSA has the potential to be something really special.”

Timothy is now working on a new project for IBM that will be available for consumers in the beginning of 2022.  The new project was given an internal name of ‘Rowdy’ as a tribute to the UTSA mascot, Rowdy the Roadrunner.

During his career in engineering, Timothy became a strong supporter of UTSA athletics. Although he did not participate in sports during his time as a student, he has since witnessed the potential of UTSA’s athletics program.  In recent years, Timothy has generously donated to the program and regularly attends games and events.

Timothy currently resides in Houston with his wife and three children. He looks forward to attending more games with his family and watching the UTSA athletics program grow with the expansion of new facilities and the continued recruitment of talented athletes.