It is hard to believe that the smartphone revolution started just 10 years ago this year, with Apple having delivered its first iconic iPhone in 2007. I often have trouble remembering my life before my first smartphone. I vaguely remember my Nokia 3210 and Motorola Razor, while also owning a digital camera and a digital calendar (PDA). I also vaguely remember a time when I could not access my email 24/7. (I’m not here to debate whether that is progress!) Continue reading
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Is Graduate Study Now Required?
In my last blog, I lamented that not enough engineers pursue graduate education (as well as the fact that there are not enough engineers eligible to pursue graduate education!). I often get asked: Why should I consider graduate school? There is an easy answer: you should never stop learning, especially in Engineering. Technology continues to move at a brisk pace and the only way to stay ahead of the game is to be continuously learning. Does it always have to be formal? No – one can stay abreast of changes by reading journals and trade magazines or attending technical conferences. But if you need to take a deep dive into a topic area, then perhaps a certificate or a master’s degree is ideal. The added benefit of these formal procedures is that they provide a credential that is widely recognized in the workplace.
American Time Use Survey: Engineering a Better Commute
Many media outlets have been reporting on the Bureau of Labor Statistics release of results from the “American Time Use Survey” There is a great deal of interesting data collected, piecing together “typical” days for Americans, segmented by various demographics, including gender, age, employment, and household occupants.
Being an engineer and an educator, I was particularly interested in two pieces of data from the survey: (1) commuting times to and from work; and (2) the amount of time spent on educational activities. The interest in the second set of data should be clear, as I work in the field of education. I am intrigued by the first set of data because, in theory, technology should help reduce this, frankly, wasted time.
UMass Lowell Wins ADVANCE Grant
With great pride, I want to share that the National Science Foundation has awarded UMass Lowell an ADVANCE-IT grant for its proposal “ADVANCE: Institutional Transformation: Making WAVES: Disrupting Microaggressions to Propagate Institutional Transformation.” According to the proposal’s abstract, the goal is
“to create an academic environment that supports STEM women to achieve to their highest potential by disrupting interpersonal and institutional microaggressions that undercut their productivity and well-being. Despite increasing numbers, women faculty are still underrepresented in academic STEM, predominantly at higher ranks and in leadership. Recent research suggests that microaggressions, as a particular expression of subtle biases, have a powerful, cumulative negative impact on access to research support and advancement.”
The Institutional Transformation program WAVES (Women Academics Valued and Engaged in STEM) proposes to holistically tackle this critical barrier for women in STEM with interventions including surveys, an informational campaign, bystander training, alternative networks for STEM women, and increased transparency and accountability initiatives.
Congratulations to the investigator team, including UMass Lowell Chancellor Jacqueline Moloney, Ed.D.; Julie Chen, Ph.D.; Meg Bond Ph.D.; Marina Ruths, Ph.D.; and Meg Sobkowicz-Kline, Ph.D.
Dr. Sobkowicz-Kline, Plastics Engineering, will serve as Engineering’s liaison for the WAVES program. To date, $1.6 million has been awarded for this effort.
Welcome Francis College of Engineering, Class of 2020!
Classes have officially started and the campus is buzzing again with activity. It is truly great to see. Having been in the education “business” for over two decades, I truly enjoy the renewal each fall season.
The College welcomes 829 new undergraduate students this year, with 577 freshmen and 252 transfer students. The total represents a 6 percent increase in new undergraduate students over last fall, including a 13 percent increase in the freshman class. The boost in enrollment was aided by the launch of our new Biomedical Engineering program, with an inaugural class of 40 students.
The Biomed freshmen class boasts the highest High School GPA and second highest SAT score of any incoming major on campus! Additionally, it has an equal number of men and women.
Mechanical Engineering remains the most popular major, with 137 freshmen and 81 transfer students, for a total of 218 new majors. However, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering is seeing the greatest increase in students among its two ABET accredited degrees, with 240 (159 freshman and 81 transfers).
While the growth in our programs is exciting, as it validates the hard work of our Faculty in delivering high quality programs, I am more excited about the continued growth in the quality of our students. The incoming freshmen class has an average High School GPA of 3.7 and an average SAT of 1221. Additionally, this class is 19 percent female, representing a 3.6 percent increase over last year and a 5.1 percent increase over two years ago. This is a trend that I hope to see continue.
I look forward to a wonderful 2016-17 academic year!
— Joe Hartman
Merrimack Valley Robotics host Women in STEM Event
This week, I welcome guest blogger, Emily Satterfield, a sophmore at Lowell High School and leader of the FRC 5962 Merrimack Valley Robotics electrical engineering team. She recently partnered with the university and local area high schools to offer a “Women in STEM” event in our Makerspace….
2016 comes to an end…
Our graduating students went out in style this past Friday!
First, we held the final presentations of our Interdisciplinary Senior Design Projects, sponsored by Raytheon, EMC, MACOM, United Technologies, and Vibram. One observer, from a company planning to sponsor a project next year, commented “Overall, I was very impressed with the student’s work. Actually, I was stunned by some of it. They should all be commended for their work.” Thank you to all the faculty advisors and our sponsors for making this pilot program a tremendous success.
We concluded our day by presenting Department and College awards at our Graduating Student Reception at the ICC. Ellen Gerardi of Civil Engineering was awarded the Dean’s Service Award while Mike Kerouac (Plastics, 1983), President of EMC Global Product Operations, and David Preusse (ME, 1985), President of Wittmann Battenfeld, were inducted into the Francis Academy of Distinguished Engineers. Thank you to all who attended, and Ms. Nancy Ficarra for organizing a splendid evening.
On a final note, it is a good time to gauge our incoming class, as the May 1 deadline for deposits has passed. To date, we have 604 prepaid students, a 16 percent increase over last year. The students have an average GPA of 3.69 and SAT of 1226 (essentially the same as last year) and the class is 18.7% female (compared with 14.2% last year).
See you at graduation!
— Joe Hartman
E-Week Alumni Night draws record breaking crowd!
Many of you participated in the culmination of Engineering Week with our celebration at the hockey game — attended by over 
450 alumni! I sincerely thank you all for showing your support of our college.
Team “UnCIVILized” took home the crown by winning the sled race, just ahead of our faculty team comprised of Drs. Sukesh Aghara, Meg Sobkowicz-Kline, Juan Pablo Trelles and Jay Weitzen. Thank you to the faculty for being good sports and participating in the sled race!
Team “The Today Show” pleased the crowd with their winning T-shirt launcher. And yes, if you were present, you saw my hair turn a royal shade of blue — fulfilling my promise to dye it at the game if we received donations from 500 new donors, including spring graduates, to the College. While it took four washes to get out, I’m thrilled that we have increased our donor base! 
Tremendous thanks to Nancy Ficarra, Erin Caples and Sally Washburn, for pulling off a great event (and week). It was fitting that our hockey team beat BC to clinch a bye week in starting our bid for a Hockey East title.
More photos from E-Week and the UML vs. BC game to come! Be sure to follow us on twitter at @umlengineering and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/umasslowellengineering.