Engineering Industry Trends in 2014 – Expert Insights for Engineers from Women Deans

7. What does your school specialize in in regards to engineering?

Cherry Murray

We educate general engineers, grounded in liberal arts, with depth in a fundamental engineering field who are able to work in teams across disciplines to solve real-world problems. We call these ‘T shaped’ people. The fields we teach are mechanical, electrical, biomedical and engineering sciences, with a focus on environmental engineering. We also teach computer science and applied math. Engineering design and a substantive research experience in a faculty lab are hallmarks of our program.

Dr Barbara Boyan

VCU provides engineering education in biomedical engineering, chemical and life sciences engineering, computer science, electrical and computer engineering, and mechanical and nuclear engineering. Because we are a sister school of VCU’s School of Medicine and School of Dentistry, our students have the opportunity to develop engineering skills that have application to the growing health care industry. Our Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering program is one of only two in the nation and is highly regarded for its research activities related to power and energy.

Nada Marie Anid

We offer majors in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Engineering Management, Information Technology, Computer Science, Telecommunications and Network Management, and Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology.

We have unique specializations in Cybersecurity and Big Data Analytics in conjunction with IBM within our Computer Science and Information Technology offerings. Our curriculum is certified by the NSA.

Our unique M.S. program in Information, Network, and Computer Security is offered in NY’s two campuses and globally in Vancouver, CA, and soon in Abu Dhabi, UAE. It is strengthened by industry links as evidenced by our widely covered Cybersecurity Conferences in NY and globally.

We are expanding our work on bioelectronics, telemedicine, and medical applications to wireless communications, as evidenced in this NSF-funded teacher workshop in Transformative Education and our recent partnership with the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research.

We also have a number of ‘green’ programs, such as an NSF-funded minor in Energy, Science, Technology, and Policy (ESTeP), and Master’s programs in Energy Management and Environmental Technology. Most notable on that front is our Water-Energy Nexus conference held in Beijing, China in April, 2014 and NSF workshop on Clean Water Challenges.

Dr. Candis Claiborn

We pride ourselves in offering an undergraduate experience with lots of hands-on opportunities, and for those students who take advantage of those opportunities, are vision is to prepare them to be work-ready, day one. Undergraduate research opportunities are available so our students are able to work in a face-to-face environment with some of the greatest engineers and computer scientists in the country. Outside of the classroom, our active student clubs provide leadership opportunity as well as creative outlet!