From flip phones to AI: Bellisario College professor embraces tech evolution

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — For David Norloff, the thrill of technology lies not only in the tools themselves but in the constant evolution they represent. His career began in the era of flip phones and dial-up modems, yet today he’s immersed in a world of artificial intelligence (AI) and smartphones. It’s that energy and enthusiasm that powers his teaching every day.

As an associate teaching professor of telecommunications in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State, Norloff brings a unique professional perspective to the classroom. Much of that perspective originated while serving in product development roles for telecommunications companies, including Nextel, during the transitional period of the early 2000s

At the time, the industry was fast paced, highly competitive and rapidly changing. Norloff helped launch and manage many products and services that are second nature to users today, including text messaging and wireless technology.

“The rate of change was astounding to watch,” he said. “People previously were just using their phones to place a phone call, and all of a sudden we started offering data services and text messaging and using the phone for a lot more.”

Norloff graduated from Penn State in 1991 with a degree in engineering. After a few years in that industry, he completed an MBA to learn about the business side of the technology industry. He worked in consulting before moving into the wireless industry where he was front and center for the technological, and cultural, shift to data services.

“It was a fun time to be a part of,” Norloff said. “People ask what I liked best about it, and I say the pace. It was exciting and everything was changing.”

When those same people ask what he didn’t like about it, Norloff quipped, “The pace. It was really interesting, and it was fun working with great people, but we worked a lot of hours.”

A big change

By 2007, Norloff’s company was facing a major merger, and he began to rethink his career path. He returned to Penn State that year in a staff role with Outreach's client development organization.

While at this new position, he connected with Matt Jackson, an associate professor of telecommunications and, at the time, head of the Department of Telecommunications. Jackson asked Norloff to create a class based on wireless technology for the Bellisario College.

“That inspired me to try my hand at teaching,” he said. “It was a new venture for me and, thankfully, I really enjoyed it right out of the gate and got positive feedback from the students. I want students to understand where the current market trends are. I want to make sure it’s clear to them why they’re learning the information and how they’re going to use it. So, I lean into my professional experience quite extensively.”

Lately, Norloff lectures a lot about AI and its effect on just about everything. He also discusses cloud computing and how its emergence changed the way global companies like Apple and Amazon do business.

While he worked at Outreach, Norloff taught as an adjunct instructor for a few years, but his knack for teaching led him to a full-time faculty role in 2014. He said the transition was smooth, and he gained a lot of inspiration from colleagues in and around the Bellisario College.

“The people that I work with day in and day out are just the best people,” he said. “I've never met a more dedicated, compassionate group who are so student focused.”

The Bellisario College’s student-centered culture provided a framework for teaching, he said.

“Do you care about the students? Do you care about the learning? Do you put them first and always conduct yourself in a way that's going to hopefully benefit them,” Norloff said. “That’s the litmus test.”

Jackson said Norloff’s background and “no nonsense” approach to teaching has made him a respected and favorite faculty member among students. He said many new adjunct faculty members learn that teaching is “not as easy as it looks,” but Norloff was a natural.

“The time and effort he puts into his lesson plans is just incredible,” Jackson said. “Dave very quickly became one of our most popular instructors even while he maintains such high standards and expectations for his students.”

Teaching the entrepreneurial spirit

Norloff teaches "COMM 280: Telecommunications Technologies," which is a required course for all telecom students, and "COMM 483: Telecommunications Product Development." He also occasionally teaches "MGMT 215: Entrepreneurial Mindset," which is part of the entrepreneurship and innovation minor (ENTI), a popular interdisciplinary minor where colleges host “clusters” that attract students from across the University.

As the director of the Bellisario College’s ENTI new media cluster, Norloff advocates for entrepreneurial learning and opportunities that are relevant to every student — not just those in communications. It’s not just about starting companies, he said. Lessons in entrepreneurship teach students to identify real problems, validate solutions, work across disciplines and take ownership of their ideas.

“That’s the beauty of the ENTI minor,” Norloff said. “You can take your core classes and then you can pick a cluster you like. A Bellisario College student can take classes in [the College of Information Sciences and Technology] or Smeal or engineering and work on that specific cluster based on their interests. I think that's something pretty unique to Penn State." 

Norloff said opportunities at Penn State like the ENTI minor and Penn State’s LaunchBox program, which Norloff is also active in, build a powerful entrepreneurial spirit that attracts and develops creative, hard-working students.

“It’s great to walk through the Bellisario Media Center every day and see the students and feel the energy,” he said. “Penn State as a whole has tremendous resources. The students here are incredibly impressive, and they keep getting better and better.”