In August, our engineering program will move into 50,000 sq. ft of newly remodeled space in the recently renamed Engineering and Geosciences Building (formerly the Health and Human Services Building).  Engineering will occupy the first and ground floors of the building, which has been designed to accommodate the full spectrum of engineering activities from problem finding and framing to solution design, prototyping, testing and delivery.  The first floor will have dedicated spaces for ideation, validation and data analytics, three design studios, a research wing, and eight team meeting spaces. The faculty and staff will finally be located in one central space.  The ground floor has three excellent shops for making various level prototypes, two spaces for long-term work on capstone prototypes, two testing labs, and a suite of student community spaces including a learning center, and computer lounge.  This space, and its multimillion dollar university investment, are signs of the continued successes of Madison Engineering.  After more than three years of planning, design, and construction we are eager to begin moving into new spaces as the program nears its 10-year mark. We will be hosting an alumni-focused Open House during 2017 Homecoming (October 27-28, 2017) to show off our new spaces.  We look forward to having you back on campus then.

This past year has brought considerable recognition of our program’s reputation to the national stage.  We were invited to join four notable national networks: (1) the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN), (2) the National Academy of Engineering’s Grand Challenge Scholars Program (GSCP), (3) the National Academy of Engineering’s Infusing Ethics into the Development of Engineering. and (4) a national network of engineering leadership programs called COMPLETE. 

 

KEEN is funded by one of the nation’s largest private foundations, the Kern Family Foundation.  KEEN’s mission is to catalyze modernization of engineering education in a way that is more beneficial to industry and society — namely through mindset shifts oriented with curiosity, connections, and creating value (rather than simply engineer as problem solver). Through our project-based curriculum (we now have major projects every semester of the curriculum) Madison Engineering was recognized by KEEN as a national leader in the design and delivery of such curricular reforms, and formerly invited to the network in December. We are happy to join 24 other excellent engineering programs.  For more information check out www.engineeringunleashed.com.

 

The GCSP is another national network, this of about 30 engineering schools, that have committed to offering a multifaceted learning opportunity aligned with the NAE’s Grand Challenges of Engineering. Students craft a five-part learning plan with global, entrepreneurial, research, service learning, and interdisciplinary experiences.  We launched this officially in January with our first cohort and look forward to growing this; we’ve found the ecosystem of opportunities at JMU, provide a rich and customizable array of possibilities for our engineering students with the passion to explore smart solutions to grand challenges.

 

The NAE’s Ethics network is a national effort to explore, design, and deliver effective integration of ethical reasoning and practice throughout the nation’s engineering programs.  This network launched with a national meeting in DC in January, at which our current and planned efforts were presented. We have been able to capitalize on the campus-wide Madison Collaborative initiative on ethical reasoning and are beginning to work with the Collaborative’s leadership on more intentional positioning and scaffolding of ethical reasoning across the engineering curriculum.

 

Finishing its third year, our Madison Engineering Leadership Program, has been invited to join a dozen other leading engineering programs around the country in COMPLETE, a network aiming to create engineering leaders. Our program, a three semester experience for juniors and seniors, is open to about 20 engineering students most ready to level-up and deliver value to the department.  Led by Prof. Gipson, the program annually attracts participation from many JMU leaders, as well as thought leaders from off campus.

 

All of the above networks were made possible by the past hard work of our students and faculty. All would be richer with alumni involvement.  Feel free to contact me if you would like to explore ways to connect.

This year, we hired Dr. Callie Miller to our faculty.  Callie is joining us from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where she was recently a post-doctoral researcher.  Callie’s Ph.D. is in bioengineering from the University of Pittsburgh. She is an expert in tissue and cell engineering, and will be engaged in a range of courses in our program from our first-semester course, Engineering Opportunities, to sophomore design, to electives in bioengineering. Importantly, she already sweats purple, Callie received her undergraduate degree in mathematics from JMU.  In the Fall, we will be searching for three new engineering faculty to accommodate our growth and new developments.

October 27-28, 2017

Our first alumni have been out for five years, time to celebrate!  We invite you to come “home” to JMU.  More information will be coming in late summer, but here’s when to head back to Harrisonburg:

 

Join us for the five year alumni celebration, a space tour and alumni panel.

Would your organization like to sponsor a capstone project? Recruit at the new College of Integrated Science and Engineering Career Fair? Sponsor the Engineering xChange?  Interact with students and faculty in our classes? These and many other opportunities await organizations joining our new Industrial Partnership Program. Feel free to reach out if you would like to explore becoming a founding member of this important group.

Kyle Gipson and Jacquelyn Nagel both were tenured and promoted to Associate Professor this summer. Kyle has also stepped into directing our first-year engineering student program.  He also concluded his third year leading our nationally recognized engineering leadership program.  Jacquelyn and students have been collaborating with NASA on a capstone project involving sterilization of medical equipment in space, and leading a research effort on bio-inspired design. In her spare time, and with a little help from Robert Nagel, she launched a new startup last July — baby Karen Nagel!

Did you know there are now more than 350 engineering alumni? Did you know those alumni have been hired by more than 220 companies? And our alumni have gotten graduate degrees in more than 20 disciplines?

 

In the future, this section will highlight you; you each have great updates to share, big and small.  Being our first alumni newsletter, here are a few simple ways to get this going.

 

a.) Site visits  — I’d like to visit as many of you at your place of work, as possible.  On site, I’d like to see where you work, hear what you do, and capture some of your stories to share.

 

b.) Phone interviews — If we can’t make an onsite visit happen, it would still be great to talk, hear what you do, and capture some of your stories to share.  Maybe you can send a photo or two to make the stories richer.

 

c.) News to share in future alumni newsletters  — And if post-student life is so busy we can’t connect in person or on the phone, feel free to send updates via email.  Where are you working? What’s your job title?  What’s been your favorite project to date?  What do you hope to do in the future? Why are you really happy that you got your engineering degree from JMU? Now looking back, what would you recommend current students do to best prepare themselves?

 

With your permission, I’d like to share your stories in a few important ways. First, with prospective students to help them see the diversity of pathways with greater fidelity. Second, to current first-year students to help them better understand what real engineers do in practice. And third, with our alumni and faculty, to remind everybody how careers and life roll along.

Madison Engineering will be starting its 10th year this Fall.  Where does the time go?  We plan to host several special events to mark this anniversary, as well as the 5 year anniversary for our inaugural class of 2012.  More details will be forthcoming via email, but here are a few dates to reserve in your calendar — it would be great to have you back.

 

October 27, 2017 — Engineering Open House — an engineering alumni VIP tour of our new spaces; join an alumni panel to share wisdom with our current students

 

October 28, 2017 — JMU Homecoming Pre-Game gathering — college wide Party on the Patio prior to the Homecoming game

 

Saturday April 21, 2018 — 2018 Madison Engineering xChange — major projects by every engineering student, keynote talk, alumni panel, and much more