Alumni News G
rowing up in the Forest Hills suburb of Pitts- burgh, Steven P. Fulton (B.S.1981) was aware of Carnegie Mellon University’s strong reputa- tion in engineering, a field that had always in- terested him. But, as a high school student, he was somewhat conflicted about a career path. While he had a natural affinity for engineering, he also had an increasing interest in law and public policy. As Fulton evalu- ated universities, he realized that the highly interdisciplinary nature of Carnegie Mellon’s College of Engineering would enable him to earn a dual major in Mechanical Engineering and Engineering and Public Policy (EPP), combining these two passions.
“I was one of the early MechE students to pursue a dual major with EPP, since that program was very new to Carnegie Mellon,” says Fulton. “Fortunately I had mentors like Indira Nair—recently retired Vice Provost for Educa-
Fulton continued to apply his engineer’s perspective as he embarked on a successful legal career in the mid 1980s. He spent 11 years with the Pittsburgh-based law firm Reed Smith as an Associate, then an Equity Partner. “My MechE training continued to benefit me when I was a practicing at- torney,” says Fulton. “Whether I was helping clients evaluate a merger or negotiate a settlement, my technical background helped me drill deep into issues, ask the right questions, and offer the best possible counsel.”
Respironics: A Breath of Fresh Air
In 1995, Fulton saw the perfect opportunity to fully leverage his engineering skills, while continuing to practice law. One of his clients was a small company called Respironics, which manufactured the first commercially available continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine for the treatment of sleep apnea in 1985. This Pittsburgh-based company was
An Engineer’s Perspective
As a Lawyer and Investor, Steven Fulton Benefits From His MechE Training
tion—who encouraged me to look beyond the traditional idea of an engineering education, by combining hands-on courses with a thoughtful exploration of legal and policy is- sues. I was able to not only understand practical engineering issues, but also the societal context in which engineering ex- ists. The dual major was a unique opportunity that perfectly suited my own interests.” After receiving his Carnegie Mellon degree, Fulton worked for a year as an engineer at Westinghouse’s Nuclear Energy Division, where he developed robotics technologies for use inside nuclear reactors. But his continuing interest in a legal career led him to enroll at Harvard University’s School of Law where he found that his undergraduate studies in engineer- ing would prove the perfect preparation.
“The conventional wisdom was that a major in econom- ics or political science provided the best foundation for law school,” says Fulton. “But many of my classmates seemed unprepared for the rigorous nature of the Harvard law pro- gram. The critical thought process I learned as an engineer— and the demanding nature of earning a dual degree at Carnegie Mellon—made it relatively easy to excel in law school.” Interestingly, Fulton is probably one of the few Harvard Law students who also served as a Teaching Fellow in Harvard’s Physics Department.
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developing ongoing innovations in the area of re- spiratory therapy, and was on the verge of major growth when the CEO invited Fulton to join his team in 1995. Fulton would remain at Respi- ronics as Vice President and General Counsel until 2008, when the company was sold to Royal Philips Electronics for $5.1 billion. Fulton applied his technical perspective every day as he helped Respironics navigate issues related to patents and other intellectual property, acquisitions, licenses, contracts, and other legal topics. During Fulton’s tenure, Res- pironics grew from $100 million in sales to more than $1.4 billion in annual revenues. The legal team expanded from one person to a team of eight attorneys managed by Fulton. For a variety of reasons, Fulton views this experience as the pinnacle of his career to date. “Looking back, my 13 years at Respironics
were really the perfect application for the unique skill set I gained at Carnegie Mellon and Har- vard,” says Fulton. “Not only was I able to guide the company through the legal issues associated with its ongoing technology commercialization and
CARNEGIE MECH
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