NU ENgineer Magazine
I am pleased to present the 2009 issue of Northeastern University’s NU Engineer, which provides a glimpse of the College and its accomplishments. The 2008–2009 academic year was stellar on several fronts. With the launch of the ALERT Center, and two new awards of the VOTERS Center and the NEHCEP Center, the College now leads five competitively awarded national research centers. The College continued to expand its faculty; over two years, the number of faculty members increased from 92 to 105 through the recruitment and hiring of outstanding teacherscholars. Plans are to continue to expand, providing great career opportunities for ambitious scholars at all academic ranks. The College also grew in both the quality and size of its student body and developed three new degree programs that will launch this September.
The College’s five national centers are funded by diverse federal agencies: the National Science Foundation (two), the Department of Homeland Security, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. In this issue, our lead article covers the NIST center charged with developing Versatile Onboard Traffic Embedded Roaming Sensors, which when realized will provide real-time state awareness of bridge and road infrastructure. A second article introduces the New England Healthcare Engineering Partnership, one of four Veterans Engineering Research Centers established across the nation that will bring systems and industrial engineering concepts, technologies, and solutions to Veterans Affairs hospitals.
In September 2009, two auspicious events will occur. The College will welcome its largest (in a long time) and academically strongest (ever) freshman class. The number of incoming freshmen represents an almost 25 percent increase from 2008. The College will also begin celebrating its Centennial Year. In 1909, an enterprising and innovative young dean, Hercules Geramanos, used the newly developed concept of cooperative education to launch a full-time engineering college. We believe the current articulation of that concept represents the best model of engineering education for the 21st century; our Centennial provides the opportunity to reintroduce this concept to the world.
Recognizing the large and central importance of bio- and biomedical engineering in the research programs of the College, we are launching MS and PhD programs in bioengineering with seven distinct tracks; we introduce the programs here and provide glimpses of four exciting and diverse bio-related research programs of our faculty. We are also launching the first professional MS in Energy Systems, which combines education in engineering, technology, finance, and policy aspects of energy for professionals who wish to move into leadership in the corporate and government sectors. Throughout this issue, you will find a celebration of our faculty: our PECASE recipient, Purnima Ratilal; our latest CAREER awardee, Luca Caracoglia; new members of our faculty; faculty members who received tenure and/or promotion; and a listing of awarded honors.
You will find these articles and much more in this issue. I hope you enjoy it. Please get back to me with any comments at dean@coe.neu.edu.
With kind regards,
David E. Luzzi
Dean, College of Engineering
Previous Edition:
2008 NU Engineer