Interim Dean’s Message
Spring quarter and the excitement on campus is palpable! We are delighted that Dr. Elaine Scott will be our next dean of the School of Engineering, and we look forward to working with her to make her term wildly successful.
More excitement—where once stood the Engineering Center is now a massive construction site, birthplace of the Sobrato Campus for Discovery and Innovation—a landmark STEM facility slated to open in fall 2021. Construction crews took down the old engineering buildings with mind-boggling efficiency, and teams of experts began dissecting the ground that, pre-dating the Mission Campus, once held a tannery. Now, archeologists and chemical experts comb the earth, maintaining our history and safety in preparation for the building to come.
Getting us to this point has been hectic as we moved into newly remodeled facilities, but this transitional period allows us to prototype facilities for the STEM center, and we are discovering what’s working and where improvements can be made. Students quickly made these spaces their own, and the labs, classrooms, and collaboration spaces are alive with activity.
Our seniors are especially busy as they prepare to present their capstone projects on May 9. Senior Design is a culmination of all that our undergraduates have learned. It is a chance for them to show how the disparate courses they have taken over the past four years come together to create a functioning engineer. In this edition, you will find some of their inspiring stories. Enjoy!
Sincerely,
Ronald Danielson, Ph.D.
Interim Dean