Greetings from the East Village and welcome to the latest Shoop’s Stoop!

Our students and faculty continue to do amazing things! I encourage you to take the time to read all the articles in this newsletter. They include student activities and successes, faculty contributions and accomplishments, curricular initiatives, and alumni activities.

One of the exciting things to report is that at the end of December, we received notification that the Albert Nerken School of Engineering was selected by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) for its Bronze-level recognition, the highest level issued in this application cycle, as part of the ASEE Diversity Recognition Program (ADRP). The program was established to publicly recognize engineering and engineering technology colleges that make significant, measurable progress in increasing the diversity, inclusion, and degree attainment outcomes of their programs. This is an external peer review and recognition from ASEE confirming our commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion and inspires us to continue to improve the climate we are striving for at Cooper.

After nearly a year effort, we have published a new Research Brochure that highlights eight research concentration areas: Bioengineering; Materials and Fluids; Autonomy, Control, and Cyber-Physical Systems; Machine Learning, Data Science, and Artificial Intelligence; Theoretical and Computational Science; Signal Processing and Communications; and Pedagogy. Our website has been updated with the new research brochure content so I would encourage you to visit it and take a look!  This provides important strategic communication to both undergraduate and graduate admissions candidates, potential external collaborators, our accreditors, and even to our own students who are interested in pursuing research with our faculty.

We have had a focus this year on student success. Previously, Associate Dean Ruben Savizky developed the Academic Resource Center (ARC) which provides an umbrella for the tutoring program in the School of Engineering. He also initiated a First-Year Seminar Series that has content including but not limited to time management, dealing with stress, what is engineering, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. In January, we identified a physical space that we will dedicate to the tutoring program that also provides an opportunity for mentoring through some of our professional societies. In cooperation with several of our very best tutors, we are also developing a week-long online summer program for incoming first-year engineering students to help them make the transition from high school to the rigors of Cooper. The intent is to provide some disciplinary review of high school math, chemistry, physics, and computer science while also including topics with an overview of the academic program, study skills, time management, and mental health resources.

Finally, earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend the 2022 American Society of Engineering Educators (ASEE) Engineering Dean’s Institute (EDI). This was a gathering of nearly 200 engineering Deans from across the country. EDI provides an opportunity for engineering deans - and only deans - to gather and discuss the crucial issues facing their schools, colleges, and profession. For a few days, a single-stream program fosters dialogue between deans, industry leaders, and those in important roles in research and government. Deans share best practices, learn about career prospects for their graduates, and develop a voice for engineering education and the role of engineering in society. The major areas of discussion included diversity, equity, and inclusion, including more ethics in the engineering curriculum, the emerging role of engineers in addressing climate change, and future directions of engineering research. The keynote address by Dr. Arvind Krishna, IBM Chairman and CEO, discussed both the importance of industry engagement and the future of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), Cloud Computing and Quantum Computing. The good news is that our staff and faculty have already been discussing many of these topics, so the Albert Nerken School of Engineering is at the forefront of engineering programs!

Thank you again for sharing your valuable time with me on Shoop’s Stoop! It continues to be an exciting time to be part of the Albert Nerken School of Engineering. I look forward to sharing additional updates in future editions.

 
Barry L. Shoop, Ph.D., P.E.  |  Dean of Engineering  |  Albert Nerken School of Engineering