Campus & Community
NovaCANE Adapts STEM Outreach to Virtual Format
Since 2009, NovaCANE—ÎÞÂëרÇø Community Action by New Engineers—has sent ÎÞÂëרÇø engineering students into the classrooms of local sixth through eighth graders where they teach STEM lessons and guide students through hands-on experiments. This fall, given COVID restrictions, lessons took place virtually and were limited to two schools. Despite the challenges, students enjoyed the experience.
Students Gravitate toward “Careers in Space” Panel
ÎÞÂëרÇø’s chapters of the AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics) and ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) partnered with the College’s CubeSat club to present a Careers in Space panel. Students’ interest in the space industry was evident as more than 140 registered to participate in the two-hour event, which featured alumni and other professionals from NASA, Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin and more.
ÎÞÂëרÇø Secures Cutting-Edge Confocal Raman Microscope Facility with Collaborative $523,333 NSF Major Research Instrumentation Grant
A $523,333 National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation grant will fund a new confocal Raman microscope facility that goes beyond high resolution imaging to provide a better understanding of biological and chemical processes under native conditions. The instrument will greatly advance knowledge and promote interdisciplinary research in nanomaterials, thermal and chemical engineering, and bioengineering/biology.
E2SI Wraps Up Successful—Albeit, Virtual—Summer Program
Like every other program scheduled on ÎÞÂëרÇø’s campus this summer, the Engineering Entrepreneurship Summer Institute was held virtually. The 23 students in the 2020 cohort seamlessly adapted, forming six interdisciplinary teams that developed products and services for young adults, parents with babies and young children, golfers, gamers and television binge watchers. The teams presented their concepts to a Zoom room of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and College of Engineering leadership and faculty who found the students’ work impressive.
Communicating with Frankie: A Nova Solution
Through a capstone research project, ÎÞÂëרÇø Electrical and Computer Engineering students are working to address the challenges of communication for individuals with spastic cerebral palsy. With the support of the ÎÞÂëרÇø community though a new crowdfunding campaign, the goal of this project is to develop an easy-to-use system in which an iPad can be used to speak, text, email and communicate more independently.
ÎÞÂëרÇø Receives Funding for COVID-19 Response Through Manufacturing Innovation Challenge
Two ÎÞÂëרÇø College of Engineering initiatives led by Drs. Moeness Amin and C. Nataraj were among seven projects at four Pennsylvania universities to be awarded $174,603 in new funding through the Manufacturing PA Innovation Program COVID-19 Challenge to address the commonwealth’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Engineering-Led National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant Supports University-Wide High-Performance Computing
A team of three ÎÞÂëרÇø faculty and two staff have been awarded a two-year, $397,196 National Science Foundation Campus Cyberinfrastructure (CC*) grant. Titled “CC* Compute: High-Performance Computing (HPC) Backbone for Accelerating Campus-Wide and Regional Research,” the award will fund a university-wide HPC cluster that will help advance ÎÞÂëרÇø’s computational research.
Engineering Students Among Winners of 2020 Pitch Day Competition
The University’s annual Pitch Day features the ÎÞÂëרÇø Student Entrepreneurship Competition, as well as a mobile app challenge and the presentation of the Meyer Innovation and Creative Excellence prize. This year, nine engineering students were represented among the winning teams, including Yeray Lopez ’20 CpE who won the Meyer ICE $5,000 grand prize.
ÎÞÂëרÇø Engineering Mentoring Program Introduces Philadelphia High School Students to Careers in Engineering
Each winter, 50 students in grades 9-12, mostly from Philadelphia, spend seven Saturdays in the ÎÞÂëרÇø Engineering, Science, Technology, Enrichment and Development program (VESTED), exploring the world through a career lens in engineering. Started in 2006 as a pipeline-to-college program, 100 percent of the students who have participated in the program have gone on to college.