Letters from the Dean

November 2024

Dear College of Engineering Alumni, Parents, and Friends:

It is my pleasure to write to you as the College and our entire campus move forward together with purpose, bolstered by the arrival of BU’s new President Dr. Melissa Gilliam. As President Gilliam continues to roll out her vision for the University, she has commended the College of Engineering for its strong, clearly articulated mission to educate Societal Engineers and advance interdisciplinary research, both of which are focused on impacting society at large.

To educate talented engineers and prepare them to identify and solve grand societal challenges, we must provide students with a welcoming and supportive environment to ensure they can thrive. Several weeks ago, we opened The Engineering Commons, a new student space to help ensure our engineering students have a place to convene, collaborate, and take advantage of opportunities for professional and academic growth. An open and inviting area for all students to socialize and for our student groups and professional societies to gather, The Engineering Commons also hosts programming focused on academic and wellness support, tutoring, mentorship, networking, and external engagement via talks by alumni and industry leaders.

Our faculty and students continue to push forward in research with the promise of transforming lives at scale. A group of interdisciplinary BU researchers including Mark Grinstaff, BU’s William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor of biomedical engineering and chemistry, and Wilson Wong, a College of Engineering associate professor of biomedical engineering, worked together to investigate the promising technology of self-amplifying RNA as a way to deliver lifesaving drugs and create more effective vaccines. And last month, a team of BU undergrads from the College of Engineering and College of Arts and Sciences traveled to Paris to pitch a soil monitor they invented that uses bacteria to detect toxic metals in farm soil. These students exemplify the concept of the Societal Engineer, working together to craft a novel solution to a major public health problem.

Since the beginning of the semester, we have enjoyed many opportunities to engage with our external community. As part of BU’s Alumni Weekend in September, we welcomed engineering alumni, parents, and friends to our inaugural Engineering Showcase held at our new state-of-the-art robotics facility RASTIC. The Showcase featured a conversation on the future of robotics between me and Tye Brady ENG’90, Chief Technologist at Amazon Robotics, and the conferring of the 2024 Distinguished Engineering Alumni Awards to bioinformatics pioneer Rhonda Harrison (ENG’98, ’04, GRS’04) and astronaut Bob Hines (ENG’97). Given the Showcase’s success, we have decided to make this an annual event around Alumni Weekend, with a rotating topic focused on demonstrating our achievements and innovation in key areas of research and education. We remain committed to expanding ways to engage with you, as you are critical to the success of our students, faculty, and staff. I hope you will consider the kind of impact you hope to have and will explore ways to get involved.