Dear colleagues and friends,

Like all of you, the School of MME has weathered a challenging and most unusual year.

In spite of the daunting challenges, I couldn’t be prouder of all we’ve accomplished. We continue to support our students and bring positive change to our community. We have outstanding faculty and staff, students who are eager to learn, successful alumni, and an engaged advisory board. With our growing research program, the addition of new faculty members, and creative ways to provide hands-on learning, we are finding success during a challenging year.

This past year, our faculty received $9.4 million in research support, an all-time record for our school. Our faculty continue to see research success with new grants from both public and private sources, including from the National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy among many others. As highlighted in this newsletter, our research continues to have real-world impacts, affecting people’s lives and solving challenges in energy, the environment, and health. With three new faculty members having joined the school in 2020, we are very excited about the future of MME, and our significantly enhanced capabilities.

In the area of advanced manufacturing, we are pleased to welcome two new faculty members, Kaiyan Qiu and Narasimha Boddeti. Our young faculty are bringing energy to our program and are already making contributions to this important research area. Professors Amit Bandyopadhyay and Susmita Bose received a significant equipment grant for the purchase of a state-of-the-art hybrid additive manufacturing machine and a high-definition 3D printer. We are also able to train more students in manufacturing, thanks to a $1 million Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) grant that provides federal support for domestic Ph.D. students. I’m also excited that we continue to offer our online course in additive manufacturing to the industry. In the second year of the course, we taught 65 Boeing students from the U.S. and abroad.

In the area of robotics and autonomous systems, we are pleased to have Ming Luo join the school as we continue to build this area of focus. We are revising the undergraduate curriculum and are planning to offer new courses and a new track in autonomous controls. We are also working to revamp our program to promote more industry-enabled design throughout the undergraduate years.

In spite of the challenges brought by COVID-19, our school continues to grow and thrive. I remain committed to supporting all of our students, faculty, and staff, especially during these difficult times, and to providing a healthy, safe, and inclusive community for all.

 

Thank you and Go Cougs!

Indranath Dutta, Director
School of MME