From the Dean

image placeholderWelcome to the first College of Engineering e-newsletter. Through this forum, we plan to occasionally share some announcements and newsworthy information about what’s happening in the College to keep you up-to-date with scheduled events as well as the accomplishments of your colleagues and students. As you know, we recently adopted the slogan “Getting Noticed,” to reflect our emergence as a cutting edge research and teaching facility with a dynamic undergraduate and graduate student population. This e-newsletter will show you just a few of the reasons why UMass Dartmouth’s College of Engineering is making such a name for itself. Enjoy!

The College’s first Annual Report (2005-2006) was distributed to all faculty members last week. The report highlights the outstanding accomplishments within the College during this period. The report contains an omission that we would like to rectify. Congratulations to Dr. John Buck, who was the recipient of the 2005 Mac Valkenburg Early Career Teaching Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Education Society. The award recognizes educators who have made outstanding contributions to the field early in their professional careers. If you notice additional omissions or see a need for additions/corrections, please let us know by emailing coe@umassd.edu. An updated electronic version of the report will also be kept online.

Antonio H. Costa
Dean

College Trends

Enrollment in the College of Engineering has remained stable or increased in our various departments. Notably, our incoming freshmen class was the largest since 2002, reaching 265 students-an increase of 18% over the prior year. With an aggressive recruitment and retention program underway, we expect that growth to continue—while still maintaining our high admission standards. Visits to high schools within a 50-75 mile radius have successfully helped to get the word out to prospective students. Measures including an overhaul of the IMPULSE program continue to make the College an attractive and affordable choice for aspiring engineers.

Web Updates

When you visit the College of Engineering homepage and more specifically, the Research category, some new features merit mention. A search form is available to locate faculty members by their areas of expertise. The search can be done either by typing in the subject area and searching the entire College of Engineering or individual departments. For example, if you type in the word, “rehabilitation,” you will be linked to information about Professors of Electrical and Computer Engineering Lester W. Cory and Philip Viall, the director and assistant director of the Center for Rehabilitation Engineering. It is important that faculty members keep their areas of research and interest up-to-date in order to keep this form relevant. Updated, uniformly sized faculty & staff portraits will be available soon.

For comprehensive information concerning the College’s revamped, restructured Cooperative Education and Internship Program visit the CEIP homepage. The site is designed as a resource for students, employers, parents and faculty and includes helpful documents such as facility site visit reports, evaluation of work terms, the schedule for school/work paths and 'post a job' forms. The beneficial aspects of this “fantastic learning journey,” for all involved are emphasized and visitors can also access a complete list of participating employers.

image placeholderComprehensive information about our undergraduate degree programs can be found under the Undergraduate category on the College's homepage. Included in both web and printable PDF format is the complete curriculum program in each department for the class of 2010 as well as a curriculum flow diagram and a listing of all course descriptions. These tools will be invaluable when advising students within your department.

Several new online resources are available to faculty and staff. Link into the College’s Resources category to learn more. In both Microsoft Word and PDF format, you can access official letterhead forms for your department and the College. Certification forms for undergraduate and graduate degrees as well as minors, graduate certificates and Co-op completion certificates may be accessed. Various other documents such as travel reimbursement and authorization forms, change of major, prior approval, part-time lecturer hiring forms, employment continuation forms, and many others are a click away for your convenience. Check it out.

Engineering students and faculty can search Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC)’s publicly accessible collections as well as display or download scientific and technical information using the Public STINET service. The service is free.  Paper copies of a report or document found in STINET may be purchased. In addition, researchers with USA military contracts or grants can register to search DTIC sensitive and classified information. They must obtain the sponsorship of the officer administering the contract or grant and register online. For more information, contact Paige Gibbs at  pgibbs@umassd.edu or 508 999-8886.

Research & Scholarship

image placeholderDr. Shelley Zhang on team developing project for U.S. Air Force

Dr. Xiaoquin `Shelley’ Zhang of the Computer and Information Science Department is among a team of researchers, united by Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories, that has won a $22 million, 48-month contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

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Feature Story

image placeholderGrant from UMass President’s Fund will help College  researchers build on bioengineering strengths

A UMass President’s 2006 Science and Technology Initiatives Fund grant totaling $150,000 will make it possible for the College of Engineering to build on its research strengths in biomaterials, cell preservation and rehabilitation engineering and expand into areas including tissue engineering and implantable devices.

Dr. Alex Fowler of the Department of Mechanical Engineering said that the grant will enable the College to expand on collaborations that already exist between UMass Dartmouth faculty members and researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital, Tufts University, UMass Lowell and other institutions as well as industry. In addition, he said the grant would support creation of a “virtual engineering center,” that would tap into the bio-medical talents at Brown University, University of Rhode Island and other regional hospitals.

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Student News

Akhilesh Shrestha, a Ph.D. electrical and computer engineering student placed second in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Region 1 Graduate Student Technical Paper Contest. The paper, titled, “Reliability Modeling and Analysis of Wireless Sensor Networks,” was co-authored by ECE faculty members, Dr. Liudong Xing and Hong Liu.

In 2006, Shrestha earned a MS in computer engineering. Since receiving his degree, his research focus has been electrical engineering, specifically the reliability of wireless sensor networks.

Program News

Observatory to re-open

Following a two-year closure for renovations, the university’s observatory is re-opening in time for the second semester beginning Jan. 29.

Dr. Alan Hirshfeld, professor of physics, said, “For more than a decade, the observatory has been a valuable resource for education and public outreach, allowing thousands of students and local residents to see the wonders of the cosmos. I’m thrilled, not only that the observatory will be up and running again, but also that it will be the basis for the physics department’s new cooperative outreach program with the Astronomical Society of Southern New England.”

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image placeholderFreshman Summer Institute prepares new engineering majors
for university life and academic work

The College of Engineering’s Freshman Summer Institute program is a valuable tool to bridge the transition from high school to university life, according to participants, educators, and parents.

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Faculty News

Seminars, Events and More