For Dr. Konrad Ferguson, engineering and dentistry may seem like two very different professions. But the same curiosity and problem-solving mindset that drew him to computer science at UC Riverside has guided a career that has taken him through military service, clinical dentistry, international volunteer work, and, eventually, back to the Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering (BCOE) as a donor.
Today, Konrad practices dentistry in Singapore, where he treats patients, volunteers with underserved communities, and continues to find ways to bring technology into his work.
“I’ve always had a deep love for computer science. I still coach my kids’ FIRST Lego League robotics team, built a Lego table for our home, and love coding side projects,” he says.
As a UCR student, however, his interests began moving in a new direction. While taking courses in computer architecture and engineering during the technology slowdown of the early 2000s, Konrad found himself increasingly interested in another kind of complex system, the human body.
“I realized that while I understood how computers functioned, I wanted to understand biology and how living systems worked,” he says.
A friend in dental school encouraged him to explore dentistry. After watching videos of surgical procedures that could treat disease and improve patients’ lives, he began to see a profession that appealed to the same instincts that had drawn him to engineering: understand the problem, work through its complexity, and build a solution that makes a tangible difference.
Changing careers did not mean leaving engineering behind.
Konrad continues to approach difficult clinical cases with the systems thinking and analytical habits he developed through engineering. Technology remains part of his practice, including the use of 3D-printed anatomical models as he prepares for implant procedures.
Those skills also proved useful during his military career. While serving as a dentist in the U.S. Army, Konrad’s commander asked him to develop a custom C++ application to help personnel navigate career paths within Army dentistry.
His career eventually took him overseas. While Konrad was stationed at Camp Zama in Japan, his wife’s work with Cisco Systems presented an opportunity for the family to move to Singapore. The move also gave their children an opportunity to participate in Chinese-language immersion programs.
Konrad says his years at UCR helped prepare him for life abroad. Before college, he had never traveled outside the United States. At UCR, friendships with classmates from Vietnamese, Indian, Black, and Hispanic backgrounds introduced him to cultures and experiences different from his own.
“UCR expanded my world immensely,” he says. “That welcoming environment made me comfortable navigating different cultures, moving abroad, and connecting with people anywhere in the world.”
That sense of connection extends to his work outside the dental office.
In Singapore, Konrad volunteers with HealthServe, providing emergency dental care, root canals, and other treatment for migrant workers living in dormitories. He also works with a local Buddhist organization to provide oral cancer screenings, cleanings, and extractions for older community members.
“I joke that volunteering is selfish because it simply makes me feel so good!” he says.
Service, for Konrad, is closely tied to gratitude. His decision to give to BCOE grew from memories of a time when he was the one who needed help.
Coming from a split family with limited financial resources, Konrad lived on a food budget of about $20 a week while attending UCR. At times, that meant making meals from 25-cent burritos and spaghetti sauce. Friends who realized he was struggling would quietly leave food or milk at his door.
During an especially difficult period, an alumni-funded BCOE scholarship helped him cover basic needs and remain focused on school.
He also remembers faculty members who showed him kindness, including Michalis Faloutsos and Eamonn Keogh. On one occasion, Faloutsos bought him lunch after seeing him in line.
Years later, those gestures remain vivid.
“I chose to give back to BCOE because people helped me when I needed it most,” Konrad says.
His philanthropy is rooted in that experience: support can arrive at a moment when something as ordinary as a meal, a scholarship, or an act of kindness can make it easier for a student to keep moving forward.
Konrad has since found another connection between his interest in technology and his desire to give. A longtime technology enthusiast, he invested in emerging areas including electric vehicles, solar energy, and artificial intelligence. As some of those investments grew, he learned he could donate appreciated stock directly to UCR rather than first selling the assets.
For Konrad, the approach offered a practical way to turn something he had built over time into support for students.
That philosophy has followed him across engineering classrooms, Army dental clinics, international moves, volunteer work, and private practice. What has remained consistent is his belief that knowledge becomes more valuable when it can help someone else.
His message to other alumni comes from that experience.
“It’s just wonderful to help the next generation,” Konrad says. “If you had a great experience and received support along your path, helping the students coming up behind you is one of the best things you can do.”
The food left at his door, the scholarship that helped him through a difficult period, and the people who noticed when he needed support have stayed with him. Now, through his own giving, Konrad is extending that same sense of possibility to the students coming after him.