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Annual Report 2020
Brandy McKnight and Estevan Garcia
Spring Quarter presented unexpected challenges for Louisiana Tech and the College of Engineering and Science. Efforts by the State of Louisiana to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus changed the way professors offered classes and students learned, as all classes within our College, including labs, were moved online in an extremely short time. Many of our traditional events were canceled or postponed, and students, faculty and staff missed opportunities to gather as we shifted to an online community. We have met these setbacks with the flexibility and innovation that define engineering and science at Louisiana Tech.
As you read our 2020 Spring College Report, you’ll see examples of faculty and students who inspire innovation through their hard work and unique perspectives. We highlight two professors who are leading their fields in world-changing research. Dr. Amin Amir and a team of interdisciplinary students and faculty are designing a new method for Facebook to lay fiber optic cable. Dr. Kasra Momeni is leading multiple grants that will have applications in a variety of fields, including in-space manufacturing and quantum computing.
You’ll learn about senior chemistry student Sierra Napoleon’s experiences in research and about the unique experiences provided by our Grand Challenge Scholars Program and our annual Cyber Storm hackfest.
I am proud of the work that Engineering and Science students, faculty and staff have done for the 2019-2020 academic year and their perseverance during the Spring Quarter.
-Hisham Hegab, Ph.D., Dean and Max Watson, Sr., Professor
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College Report Fall 2019
Brandy McKnight and Estevan Garcia
Dear COES Friends,
As we finish the 2019 Fall Quarter, I would like to express my appreciation to our students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends. Our students provide leadership throughout campus, volunteering for projects that enhance the College and University, while faculty and staff continue to find increasingly effective ways to engage students. I am appreciative that you, our alumni and friends, continue to support our students by devoting time to industry boards and student organizations. I believe that, together, we are creating an environment built for success.
On that note, I am pleased to announce that students will begin using learning spaces in the Integrated Engineering and Science Building this winter quarter. In this report, you’ll learn more about the building. You’ll also learn about senior Mechanical Engineering student Luke Moreau’s family ties to Louisiana Tech, Dr. Elisabeth Fatila’s dedication to students learning chemistry and how students in the CyberCorps® Scholarship for Service program are preparing to protect us from cyber threats.
Building a Legacy, the theme of this report reflects on both the content of these articles and the community that we are building together. I hope you enjoy this snapshot of the Louisiana Tech University College of Engineering and Science.
Best Regards,
Hisham Hegab, Ph.D.
Dean and Max Watson, Sr., Professor -
College Report Spring 2019
Brandy McKnight and Estevan Garcia
Dear COES Friends,
I would like to thank you for your continued generosity and commitment to the College. Your giving, both financially and through interactions with our students has helped us continue to provide an unparalleled educational experience for our students.
As I write this message, we are preparing for the 2019 COES Senior Projects Conference. Each senior will present the products or findings of his or her senior capstone project in a conference setting. Many of you take time out of your busy schedules to attend this event each year, and your participation gives the students valuable experience speaking to experts within their fields.
In this report, we highlight a few examples of the innovative leadership and research being conducted by our faculty and students. Among these highlights, you’ll find a spotlight on Electrical Engineering senior John Aguillard, who will make a presentation at the conference and discuss his team’s results on their attempt to set the world record for unmanned aerial vehicle autonomous flight. Professors like Dr. Joan Lynam and Dr. Arden Moore, also featured in this report, continue to provide research opportunities that help students like John grow into the problem solvers of the future.
Within this report, you’ll also find a spotlight on the 2019 Deep South Conference, which the Louisiana Tech chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers/American Institute of Steel Construction organized and hosted. Leaders within the organization did an exceptional job making sure the conference was successful and are working on plans to compete at nationals this summer.
I invite you to visit our website to discover more stories about the amazing successes that our faculty and students have achieved this year. Many of those successes have been funded through your donations and motivated by your engagement with the students. You have provided startup funds for research labs and materials for hands-on projects that help propel our students to national recognition and high-profile internships. Your support, along with the commitment of our students, faculty and staff, is a key component to our continued success. Thank you.
Best Regards,
Hisham Hegab, Ph.D.
Dean and Max Watson, Sr., Professor -
Annual Report 2017
Brandy McKnight and Estevan Garcia
Dear Friends,
I am pleased to say the College of Engineering and Science (COES) at Louisiana Tech University is breaking new ground in a variety of ways. We are thrilled to announce that our new Integrated Engineering and Science Education building will likely start construction at the beginning of next year. The new 128,000 square-foot facility will greatly enhance our ability to provide an unparalleled education to our students and help attract the best faculty and staff to support our College’s future growth.
We are also breaking new ground in our College’s academic programs. Our newest bachelor’s degree program, Instrumentation and Control Systems Engineering Technology, started this fall and now provides our engineering technology students a project-based, hands-on freshman curriculum similar to the Living with Lab curriculum that is taken by our first-year engineering majors. Our first in the nation bachelor’s degree program in Cyber Engineering is off to a solid start and continues to grow while it undergoes its initial accreditation review by ABET this year. We have recently expanded our online programs to offer a master’s degree in industrial engineering, as well as a graduate certificate in Six Sigma Black Belt training.
As you will read in this report, our students are leading the way by establishing new student organizations like our Aerospace Engineering Club, creating new products and services through innovation and serving the people of our community. Our faculty are passionate about working with these students to help them become our country’s future leaders in engineering and science. We are particularly excited to have 19 new faculty in the College bringing their new ideas and energy to help us expand our efforts.
As we continue to break new ground in preparing the BEST engineers and scientists for tomorrow, I would encourage you to stay connected with us, and I invite you to visit us in Ruston and see the impact that our students, faculty and staff are making in this world.
Best Regards,
Hisham Hegab, Ph.D.
Dean and Thigpen Professor -
Annual Report 2016
Brandy McKnight and Estevan Garcia
Dear Friends,
It has been another exciting and productive year for the College of Engineering and Science at Louisiana Tech University. Our students and faculty continue to have an impact internationally, nationally, regionally and locally as you will read in many of the articles in this year’s annual report. As we begin the 2016-17 academic year, we are welcoming our largest and probably most highly qualified class of freshmen. The average ACT score of our 800+ incoming freshmen is 26.1, and nearly 300 of them are part of the College Honors Program. It will be exciting to see the new ideas and enthusiasm these students bring to our College during the next few years.
I believe these students are choosing Louisiana Tech because we provide an unparalleled, integrated educational experience not found in most engineering and science programs across the nation. Starting this fall, the Living with Cyber curriculum is being implemented for all incoming Computer Science and Cyber Engineering majors. Modeled after our internationally recognized Living with the Lab engineering curriculum, this year-long series of courses teaches fundamental concepts and skills such as algorithm design, data structures, computer architecture and programming through engaging, hands-on projects to provide relevant frameworks for their applications.
To further expand our capability to offer exciting curricula like with Living with Cyber, we hope to break ground on the new Integrated Engineering and Science Education Building this academic year. The $37million facility will provide the College an additional 128,800 square feet of classrooms, laboratories and project spaces, and it will be located on Dan Reneau Drive near Nethken and Bogard Halls. This new space is critically needed, as we have experienced a 25 percent increase in College enrollment over the past three years as well as a 75 percent increase in our incoming freshman class during the same period.
The leadership of our College is dedicated to this mission and has revised our strategic plan to focus on five critical initiatives to continue to advance our College’s prominence in integrating engineering and science in education and research. These focal areas are student learning and success, student quality and outreach, research and economic development, national recognition, and promoting diversity and inclusiveness. I invite you to join with us as we continue to strive to prepare the BEST engineers and scientists for tomorrow.
Thanks again for your unwavering support of our students, faculty and staff.
Best Regards,
Hisham Hegab, Ph.D.
Dean and Thigpen Professor -
Annual Report 2015
Brandy McKnight and Estevan Garcia
Dear Friends,
The College of Engineering and Science is continuing to “Make a World of Difference” in engineering and science education and research. We produced the nation’s first Cyber Engineering graduates this past spring. The majority of these cyber engineers landed positions with one of our leading industrial partners, Computer Sciences Corporation. Our integrated and innovative approach to engineering and science education continues to inspire our students and faculty to pursue their passions beyond the classroom. In this year’s annual report, you will see many examples of how our students continue to gather national and international recognition for their accomplishments as we fulfill our vision for being the best college in the world at integrating engineering and science in education and research.
This engaging environment is helping us to attract outstanding students to our programs. As a result, this fall we welcomed an outstanding freshman class of 811 Engineering and Science students with the highest average ACT score (25.9) in our history. Our new $37million Integrated Engineering and Science building is coming at a critical time for our continued growth. It will provide the College an additional 128,000 square feet of classrooms, laboratories and project spaces specifically designed for active and project-based learning. These are exciting times in the College of Engineering and Science at Louisiana Tech, and I hope you enjoy catching up on our latest progress.
Best Regards,
Hisham Hegab, Ph.D.
Dean and Thigpen Professor -
Annual Report 2014
Brandy McKnight and Estevan Garcia
Dear Friends,
As an alumnus and 19 year member of the faculty at Louisiana Tech University, I am invested and passionate about our College’s role in preparing the BEST graduates to respond to the needs and challenges of our ever-changing world. I believe my mechanical engineering degree from Louisiana Tech provided me with that preparation, and I aspire for us to continue to build and enhance our legacy of innovation and leadership in engineering and science education. We are also focused on transformative research that leverages our strengths and strategic opportunities. Both of these priorities are elevating our national recognition as evidenced by our University’s consistent rise in national, rankings despite the challenges of higher education budget cuts.
While there have been many changes and challenges for our College this past year, there are still many exciting accomplishments to report. Our theme for this annual report is ”Success Beyond the Books,” as we have highlighted a variety of programs and activities that provide our graduates with learning experiences that go beyond just a classroom lecture. This fall, we are expanding our highly successful hands-on, project-driven ”Living with the Lab” first-year curriculum and piloting a first-year ”Living with Cyber” curriculum for our Computer Science and Cyber Engineering students. Our student organizations continue to be highly active and engaged, participating in regional and national conferences and competitions such as our American Society of Civil Engineers concrete canoe team (Deep South Conference winner), American Institute of Chemical Engineers senior design team (first place at National Spring meeting), Eco-marathon team (Design award winner), Society of Women Engineers (National Outreach Award), National Society of Black Engineers (two time National Chapter of the Year), and Cyber Engineering forensics team (fourth place national competition).
In graduate studies and research, we are continuing to produce outstanding interdisciplinary graduates at the masters and doctoral levels, and we graduated 20 Ph.D. students during 2013-14, with over $16 million in research expenditures in the previous year. Our faculty continue to make national and international news for their research as they fulfill our vision for being the best college in the world at integrating engineering and science in education and research.
Our ”beyond the books” experiences are fueling an increasing demand for our programs. Last fall, we experienced a nearly 30 percent increase in our first-time freshman enrollment in the College, and, based on orientation registrations this summer, we expect another 20 percent increase this fall. I am thankful for the outstanding support of our Engineering and Science Foundation Board in successfully completing our Capital Campaign for our new Integrated Engineering and Science Education Building. It will provide critically needed space to support our ”Living with the Lab” and ”Living with Cyber” curricula.
I hope you enjoy reading about the many successes of our faculty and students in this report. Their hard work continues to grow the prestige and legacy of our College producing theBest Engineers and Scientists for Tomorrow.
Sincerely,
Hisham Hegab,
Dean and Thigpen Professor -
Annual Report 2013
Catherine Fraser and Estevan Garcia
Dear Friends,
As we end the 2012-2013 Academic Year, I will begin a new assignment as Vice President for Research and Development at Louisiana Tech. While I am excited about what lies ahead, this is a bittersweet moment for me. Although my office will move to Wyly Tower, I will still be on campus and hope to continue working with alumni, faculty and students in my new capacity, and see you when you are here for Tech events or advisory board meetings.
As I look back over my tenure as dean, I am so proud of our faculty, staff and students and what we have accomplished together. Our innovative, hands-on approach to undergraduate education is being emulated around the world, and our scientists and researchers are putting Louisiana Tech on the map. Our faculty has been involved in ground-breaking science, like the discovery of the Higgs-boson, in advanced research in critical areas and in the development of innovative technology for solutions to immediate challenges. Our students have also been recognized. The Eco-marathon team has won awards every year they have competed at the annual Shell event, and our National Society of Black Engineers chapter has been named National Distinguished Chapter of the Year two consecutive years.
I am especially proud of our Engineering and Science Foundation Board of Directors. They have stepped up their support of our Campaign for a New Integrated Engineering and Science Building, and I expect we will achieve our goal of raising $7.5M in private funds by the end of the calendar year. I plan to remain involved in this project even as I move into my new role as Vice President. I still believe it is the single most pressing need of the College today.
In closing, I will not say good-bye. I will say thank you for your support and guidance, and look forward to seeing you around campus!
Sincerely,
Stan Napper,
Dean and Thigpen Professor -
Annual Report 2012
Catherine Fraser and Estevan Garcia
I hope you will enjoy reading about our faculty and student successes and take pride in the accomplishments of the College. We continue to do our best to advance each student who walks through our doors, in spite of continued state budget cuts. In the summer of 2012, I had to make some of the hardest decisions in my tenure as dean of the College of Engineering and Science. These cuts have affected our ability to replace faculty who have retired or taken other positions, to purchase needed equipment and supplies, and much more. I have asked our faculty and our Leadership Team to move forward with me in spite of these budget cuts and to continue to “lead the way” in innovative STEM education and transformative research.
Meanwhile, we have much good news to share. This year, the College of Engineering and Science rolled out its Cyber Discovery Camp to a national audience, with support from the Cyber Innovation Center in Bossier City and funding from the Department of Homeland Security. This successful program, which was created within our College, is now being duplicated at colleges and universities across the U.S. Additionally, our highly successful Living with the Lab first-year curriculum is also being emulated, both in this country and around the world. We have had faculty from New Zealand, Florida and Massachusetts visit our College this past year to learn more about this exciting new learning environment.
Our faculty continues to make national news in research. Dr. Erez Allouche, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering and Director of the Trenchless Technology Center at Louisiana Tech University, has won Technology Product of the Year honors from the Louisiana Technology Council and the North Louisiana Economic Partnership for his innovative green geopolymer concrete technology. Dr. Lee Sawyer, Dr. Dick Greenwood and Dr. Markus Wobisch, physics professors at Tech, were actively involved in the discovery of the Higgs boson — one of the most significant scientific discoveries in 30 years. Additionally, this fall we will begin offering a pioneering, interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Molecular Sciences and Nanotechnology, as well as the new B.S. in Cyber Engineering.
As you read this report, I hope that you will feel a sense of pride in the accomplishments of our faculty, staff and students who continue to excel under difficult conditions. I realize that many others are facing similar problems, so I appreciate your support and words of encouragement more than ever.
Sincerely,
Stan Napper
Dean and Thigpen Professor
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