January 18, 2022
Many of the goals that we set out to accomplish five years ago have begun to materialize:
Curriculum changes
- The Ph.D. in Computer Science and Systems (PhDCSS) and Graduate Certificate in Software Development Engineering are off to a great start.
- The B.S. in Mechanical Engineering program started its junior year in Autumn 2021.
- We received approval for the B.S. in Civil Engineering from the Board of Regents and the North West Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU, UW’s regional accreditation body). The sophomore year of the B.S. CE program started this fall.
- We also received Board of Regents and NWCCU approval for the Master's in Electrical & Computer Engineering (MSECE) program, which started this fall.
- We are offering the Data Science Certificate, thanks to the hard work of Juhua Hu.
Construction projects
Construction has begun in the Cragle Parking Lot on the new Milgard Hall which will house ME and CE labs, the Milgard Business School’s Dean’s Suite, and the Global Innovation and Design Center. The ME labs in the academic block are slated to open this fall.
The ABET-accredited B.S. in Electrical Engineering set up a new lab with 6 state-of-the-art power system and electric machines workstations to support our engineering students.
New faculty
Six new faculty joined this fall:
- Angela Kitali, Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering
- Jeff Walters, Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering
- Lorne Arnold, Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering
- Emese Hadnagy, Associate Professor and Chair in Civil Engineering
- Matthew Ford, Assistant Teaching Professor in Mechanical Engineering
- Ling-Hong Hung, Assistant Research Professor in Computer Science & Systems
New staff
We hired new staff over the summer:
- Kira King, Undergraduate Counselor Senior, CP 133.B
- Hannah Coache, Fiscal Specialist, MDS Suite
- Haneen Hindi, Marketing/Recruiting, MDS Suite
- Victoria Olive, Graduate Advisor, MDS 207C
- Rachel Long, Program Coordinator, CP 133 Suite
We are currently in a search for a system administrator and a lab manager.
Space
The CE faculty will have permanent offices at the Center for Urban Waters and desks/cubicles in TLB on campus. The ME faculty member’s office will be in Carlton Hall with the other ME faculty and the research professor’s office will be in TLB 307C (research commons).
Advisory Board
Andrew Fry and Brian Chambers (Director of Development, School of Engineering and Technology) are working on restructuring the Advisory Board with the goal of making it more active in furthering SET’s mission.
Fundraising
Brian Chambers , Leslie Kinkade (UWT Associate Vice Chancellor for Advancement) and I had a mini-retreat in the summer on seeking new ways to improve our fundraising methods.
UW’s 10 year review
Planning has begun for the ten year review (which will occur in 2023-24) of all programs in SET. We will submit 16 reviewer names (8 internal to UW and 8 outside UW) and 5 possible dates of the review by Dec 2021. Two internal and two external reviewers will be selected before Spring 2022. We will have an initial meeting with these reviewers in Spring 2022. The self-study report is due in fall 2022 or at least 6 weeks prior to the reviewer visit.
Curriculum Day and retreat
These events will be online this year. The new UWT Chancellor, Dr. Sheila Edwards Lange, will attend our retreat.
SET Annual Report
The 2020-21 SET Annual Report (without the appendices) is available. It gives approximate enrollment numbers and a summary of SET research, teaching, and service activities.
