October 2023 Five10 Report

The School of Engineering and the Summer Engineering Seminar (SES) program, for the second year in a row, received the 2023 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the largest and oldest diversity and inclusion publication in higher education. Read more on the September issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity (page 64).

Santa Clara University, through collaboration with several departments, proudly presents the Thámien Ohlone Augmented Reality Tour to celebrate Indigenous People's Day 2023. This immersive tour tells the story of our historical campus from the perspective of the Ohlone people to reveal hidden histories, spurring visitors towards critical reflection, and inspiring visions of more just future relations. The realization of this project is the culmination of nearly a year's dedicated effort by a passionate team of individuals, including Cinthya Jauregui '22, M.S. '24 (General Engineering, Engineering Management and Leadership), Tiffany Nguyen '26 (Computer Science and Engineering), Mohan Raj Chandrasekar '24 (M.S. Computer Science and Engineering), Sarah Hazel Sallee '25 (English, Philosophy), Liam A’Hearn '24 (Computer Science and Engineering), Dominic Woetzel '25 (Computer Science), and faculty Kai Lukoff (Computer Science and Engineering), Amy Lueck (English), Lee Panich (Anthropology), and Danielle Heitmuller (Art) and our partners at the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe. You can see media coverage here from ABC 7 News, NBC Bay Area, and KTSF 26 (Cantonese).

SCU Presents with the Cultural Commission of the City of Santa Clara, in collaboration with the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering, jointly hosted the opening ceremony of 'The Mechanical Horse' in the Board of Fellows North Lobby of the Sobrato Campus for Discovery and Innovation. 'The Mechanical Horse' is the creation of the talented artist Adrian Landon. Christopher Kitts (Mechanical Engineering) kicked off the "Kinetic Design Art Challenge," inspired by this interactive sculpture, which invites students to design and fabricate unique, artistic devices that incorporate mechanical motion." We encourage you to visit this incredible display that celebrates the intersection of art and engineering, which will be on display for public viewing through Jan. 21, 2024.

The Bioengineering Department and the Healthcare Innovation and Design program received funding from NIIMBL | The National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals to serve as a regional lead for the NIIMBL eXperience program in the Bay Area. The program will expose underrepresented students to the biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry through hands-on training, industry tours, and engagement with professional associations.

Jason Buenrostro ’09 (Bioengineering, Biology) was awarded the prestigious MacArthur Foundation 'Genius Grant' and named a 2023 MacArthur Fellow. Jason holds a bachelor's degree in biology and bioengineering from Santa Clara University and a Ph.D. from Stanford University. He served as a Junior Fellow at Harvard Society of Fellows and a Broad Institute Fellow from 2016 to 2018. Currently, Jason is an associate professor at Harvard University in the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology and an institute member at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard since 2018. His research has been published in prestigious journals like Science, Nature, Cell, Nature Genetics, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Congratulations, Jason!

What's the latest? Alumni/ae, we would love to celebrate your remarkable accolades, achievements, and awards. If you have an intriguing story to tell, we're all ears! Please share your news here.

Congratulations, Ruth Davis (Computer Science and Engineering), for receiving the University's President's Special Recognition Award. SCU recognizes Dr. Davis for her enormous impact on our students and engineering education. Dr. Davis initiated a Women in Engineering Dinner, celebrating its 20th year this year, where women engineers across classes and programs come together. She also led curriculum restructuring to align with our Jesuit values, fostering competent, compassionate, and entrepreneurial engineers. Her efforts revamped first-year programs and senior design experiences, embodying SCU's commitment to holistic education. 

Meet our new faculty! The School of Engineering is delighted to introduce four new faculty members joining our community of scholars this year: Hamed Akbari, M.D., Ph.D. (Bioengineering), Younghyun Cho, Ph.D. (Computer Science and Engineering), Fatemeh Davoudi Kakhki, Ph.D. and Junho Park, Ph.D. (both General Engineering). They bring a passion for teaching and a wealth of experience in their research that will undoubtedly captivate our students while enhancing our program.

Maryam Khanbaghi (Electrical and Computer Engineering) and Maya Ackerman (Computer Science and Engineering) have been promoted to Associate Professor and received tenure. Congratulations, Maryam and Maya!

Meet our new chairs! Prashanth Asuri (Bioengineering) has been named chair of the Department of Bioengineering to serve for two years. Silvia Figueira (Computer Science and Engineering) has been named chair of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering to serve for three years. Jes Kuczenski (General Engineering) was appointed as the first Chair of the new General Engineering Department for a three-year term. Michael Taylor (Mechanical Engineering) has been appointed Associate Chair of Mechanical Engineering for one year.

Laura Doyle (Mechanical Engineering) has taken the role of Director of the Frugal Innovation Hub.

Maker Club is leading the School of Engineering in participation in San Jose's annual Christmas in the Park this year. Come and unleash your creativity, bond with community members, and participate in something fun and unique as we design and craft ornaments to fill our tree. We will be holding an ornament-making event the first week of November. Contact the Maker Club if you are interested in joining the festivities!