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Engineering News Spring 2016

Dean's Message

Dean's Message

Dean's Message

Studies show a direct correlation between early student involvement in hands-on, real-world engineering projects and improved retention rates and love of learning. This issue of our newsletter celebrates student, faculty and alumni research.

Today's pedagogical studies tout the value of involving engineering students in research as a means to boost retention rates, stir curiosity, drive a hunger for learning, and add a sense of relevance to help answer the age-old question: "Why do I have to learn this?"

Recently we've asked some of our newest alumni about their time at SCU, continuing our quest to explore possibilities for current students in STEM experiences and opportunities. Time and again they've urged us to engage students early and often with hands-on, collaborative research and project-based learning.

Involving students in collaborative, hands-on research has long been a hallmark of a Santa Clara engineering education, attested to this month as we celebrate our 46th annual Senior Design Conference. You'll see a few capstone projects featured in these pages. You'll also find stories about graduate student and faculty research—as well as one about a 1985 alumnus and structural engineer who "went to bat" for his client in an innovative way that saved wildlife and helped local farmers.

We take pride in all the projects being done by our undergraduates, graduates, alumni, and faculty. We also look forward to creating new and diverse means of fostering research opportunities in the future. In the meantime, please enjoy this edition of Engineering News.

Godfrey Mungal
Dean
School of Engineering

Engineering
Godfrey Mungal, Dean's Message