Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering 1996 Annual Report [text version]

Whiting School of Engineering 1996 Annual Report

Central to the Whiting School’s mission is a commitment to prepare its students for leadership in an increasingly technological society. In addition, the Whiting School is sensitive to opportunities for research collaboration within the University and also with external organizations. The past 18 months witnessed much activity in both areas.

Teaching

The Whiting School Establishes a New Major...
As the computer industry matures, the need for scientists who can design, develop, and use modern high speed digital computers increases. A recent Bureau of Labor study indicates that between 1992 and 2005, the number of positions available for computer engineers and scientists will grow by 112 percent. To help meet this growing need, the Whiting School developed a new bachelor of science degree program in computer engineering, available to students in fall 1996. The new program bridges the gap between existing degree programs in electrical engineering and computer science and is the first major of its kind in the Baltimore metropolitan area. Students will have the option of focusing their programs on several different areas within the field of computer engineering, such as networks, intelligent systems, and VLSI design.

“Students who graduate from the program will have the background necessary to work in industries that specialize in computers, computer networks, communication networks, aerospace electronic systems, biomedical electronics, intelligent robotic systems, biomedical sensors, and even financial services,” states Frederic Davidson, professor and chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and program chair for the new major.

...And a New Minor
While many corporations continue to downsize through the 1990s, opportunities have appeared for small businesses to fill niches once occupied by larger firms. This fundamental change in the way big business is structured holds implications for the education of today’s engineering students. Graduates who secure positions with smaller companies may find that their careers require a grounding in business and management practices in addition to their engineering skills. To help students prepare for leadership roles in the private and public sectors, the Whiting School added a new minor in entrepreneurship and management to its overall engineering curriculum in fall 1996.

John Wierman, chair of the Department of Mathematical Sciences, led the development of the program and comments, “We want to improve the education of engineering students and hope the new minor will be an important supplement to their Hopkins experience.” Program courses fall into five categories: business and finance, international trade, leadership and organizational behavior, operations, and quantitative methods. Even though the minor is geared for engineering undergraduates, students in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences can also enroll.

Research

Cardiovascular Mechanics Research Center Organized
Understanding how the heart works has interested scientists for centuries, beginning with William Harvey’s observation of heart function and the circulatory system in 1616. Today, the area of cardiovascular mechanics alone touches many disciplines, with engineers, scientists, and health care professionals all performing important basic research. At Johns Hopkins, the Schools of Engineering, Arts and Sciences, Medicine, Hygiene and Public Health, and the Applied Physics Laboratory all have researchers with active interests in cardiovascular mechanics. To coordinate research and teaching initiatives in this area, the Whiting School and the School of Medicine have established the Cardiovascular Mechanics Research Center (CMRC). The CMRC provides an intellectual framework that allows researchers to explore additional dimensions of their own research by collaborating with colleagues throughout the Hopkins family. Artin Shoukas, professor of biomedical engineering, and Frank Yin, professor of medicine with a joint appointment in biomedical engineering, are the Center’s co-directors.

U.S. Army and Engineering Join Forces
In 1995, the Whiting School received formal notification of a $5.6 million contract over approximately six years with the Army Research Laboratory (ARL). The contract establishes the Microelectronics Research Collaborative Programs (MRCP) with ARL’s Physical Sciences Directorate at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. The program will develop collaborative research and education projects in five areas, including electrochemistry and energy science, piezoelectronics, manufacturing science, high-resolution display technology, and microelectromechanics. The MRCP principal investigator is James Wagner, chair of the Whiting School’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

Faculty in several engineering departments, affiliated centers, and selected professional staff at Hopkins’ Applied Physics Laboratory will work with ARL personnel as they move their operations to Adelphi, Maryland.

MRCP’s educational support component includes developing courses in microelectronics; encouraging ARL scientists and engineers to participate in seminars and lectures and as adjunct faculty in the Whiting School’s Part-Time Programs in Engineering and Applied Science; establishing graduate fellowships; and designing a formal program for ARL professionals who wish to earn advanced degrees.

Teaching and Research