Power of Imagination
This issue captures 20 careers just beyond the takeoff stage, when years of effort as grad students and rookie instructors start to pay off in recognition, bigger research grants, and a practiced ease with students. Yet the faculty members we profile all seem to retain a youthful exuberance and thrill at discovery – of a new material or process, or of a teaching method that clicks. Their stories should not be seen as winning entries, but rather as examples of their generation of engineering educators. Any one of scores of nominations we received from department chairs, deans, and colleagues would have been worth including, and some may be featured in future stories. With limited space, we strove here for a varied collage of disciplines and talents.
One of the points underscored during our research and interviews was the vital importance of government grants to these rising academic stars. In hopes of helping others compete in the same leagues, we’ve collected a series of pointers, and pitfalls to avoid, in “Tips for a Winning Research Proposal.”
For a fascinating look at how an engineering school can respond imaginatively to catastrophe, read “Recovery Engineer,” a profile of current ASEE President Nicholas Altiero. Its finances drained after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, Tulane University had to shrink staff and consolidate programs. It dropped three engineering departments and merged science and engineering into a single school. Altiero, tapped to lead the combined school, turned misfortune into a new interdisciplinary vision, creating a space where scientists and engineers are able to communicate more easily, and where a number of students are majoring in both science and engineering. Altiero’s President’s Letter in the ASEE Today section offers his outlook on the year ahead for the Society. Elsewhere in the section, read about plans for ASEE’s Year of Action Diversity.
This summer brought a revival of Prism’s Editorial Advisory Board. Guidance from its seven distinguished members, chaired by Purdue Provost Debasish Dutta, influenced the redesign by Art Director Nicola Nittoli and his talented team. We hope you like it.
Mark Matthews
m.matthews@asee.org