Fast Facts

2003 Total UCF Enrollment 42,000
2003 Total College Enrollment 5,780

2003 Fall Freshman Class 1168*
Male 995
Female 173
* Largest engineering freshman class in the state for 3rd consecutive year

Average SAT 1205
Average ACT 25.0
Average GPA 3.87

Baccalaureate Degrees Conferred (2002) 613
Male 489
Female 124

Masters Degrees Conferred (2002) 231
Male 177
Female 54

Doctoral Degrees Conferred (2002) 36
Male 32
Female 4

ASEE 2002 Profile Says We Are Tops Nationwide

Top 8% in undergraduate enrollment
Top 5% electrical and computer engineering bachelor's degrees awarded
Top 10% civil engineering bachelor's degrees awarded
Top 11% mechanical engineering bachelor's degrees awarded
Top 6% bachelor's degrees awarded to Hispanics

Dean Search Committee Includes Two Alumni, Time Line Released
by: Wayne Weinberg

Two College alumni, JoAnne Puglisi of Lockheed Martin and Jennifer McDaniel are members of the 15 member search committee to choose a new dean. College of Business Administration Dean Tom Keon is chairing the process. In Provost Terry Hickey’s words, an “aggressive” time line has been established to select a new dean for the College.
The time line is: October and November: receive applications and conduct telephone interviews. January: candidates visit campus. March: name new Dean. Early summer: New Dean arrives on campus.
Dr. Hickey is looking for the following qualities in the next Dean: a strong academic record so he or she is respected as a colleague by faculty and staff in the College; collaborates in multi-disciplinary research; has an institutional perspective that fits with the goals of UCF; is able to interact and become involved with industry, business and the community; delegates authority (is not a micro manager); can fund raise; and inspires trust and confidence.

click here for Dean Application

The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) has recently given the full six-year accreditation to the College of Engineering and Computer Science for the undergraduate engineering, engineering technology, and computer science programs for the 2002 accreditation review cycle. A full six-year accreditation by ABET is a significant recognition for the College; less than one-third of the engineering programs accredited by ABET receive the full six-year accreditation. Based on this important criterion, the College is in the top one-third of all engineering programs. Not many engineering colleges can achieve this distinction. This was a team effort, all faculty and staff have contributed to this honor. Many students, individuals from other units on campus, and members of our industrial advisory boards played a vital role as well. This great mark of distinction shows that we can increase research while improving the quality of our undergraduate programs.

Improving Greatness: Industrial Engineering Earns Major Grant
by: Wayne Weinberg

The College's Industrial Engineering and Management Systems Department is the only IE Department in the nation to receive a nearly one million dollar National Science Foundation grant to modernize and enhance an already outstanding IE undergraduate program. The prestigious NSF grant of $950,588 will be used for two important purposes.

Department Chair Dr.Lesia Crumpton-Young says, the grant will be used to "reengineer the undergraduate program to prepare students for industries of the future" and "to develop the best instruction strategies." "The strategies," said Dr. Young," will improve effective learning and enhance student performance."

The Civil and Environmental Engineering Department has been chosen to help the government improve noise and air quality at the nation's major airports. The Department is a part of the team, selected by the Federal Aviation Administration, as the Air Transportation Center of Excellence for Aircraft Noise Mitigation. The College's partners include MIT (the lead University), Penn State, Florida International University, Boise State, Purdue, Stanford and UCF. Dr. Roger Wayson, director of the UCF Community Noise Lab, is leading the effort for UCF. Dr. Wayson notes that "the center will allow UCF to partner with prominent universities to conduct mainstream research to improve noise and air quality at major airports such as the Orlando International Airport." The FAA intends to provide long term funding investing up to $1,750,000 in the first year that will be divided among the member Universities.

Research Spawns Hope for Longer Life
by: Barb Abney

Beverly Rzigalinski, assistant professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology and at the Biomolecular Sciences Center, and Sudipta Seal, associate engineering professor at the Advanced Materials Processing and Analysis Center and the Department of Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering, will receive $1.4 million from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging to study the reasons behind the reaction and possible future applications.

Dean Outlines College Direction
by: Marie Aguilar

In a welcome back social held in Engr 2, Interim Dean Dr. Louis Chow identified key areas that the college will be concentrating on during this transition period.

College Priority Areas
1. Communicate needs and aspirations
2. Keep educational programs current and relevant
3. Retain, recruit and develop outstanding individuals
4. Promote multidisciplinary research
5. Align college strategic directions (educational and
research) with university initiatives

Photo by: Marie Aguilar
Dr. Nnadi votes for her candidate

After the overview, faculty used high tech clickers to vote for university representatives to the Promotion and Tenure, and Sabbatical Committees. This year Dr. Donald Malocha, electrical engineering professor will be representing the college in the Promotion and Tenure Committee. His alternate is Dr. Faissal Moslehy, professor mechanical engineering. Dr. Jose Sepulveda, professor industrial engineering will represent the college to the Sabbatical Committee.

To make a gift or receive further information, please contact:

Jeff Snow, Major Gifts Officer
College of Engineerinng & Computer Science
jnsnow@mail.ucf.edu or 407-823-5883
or
Wayne Weinberg, Director of Development
College of Engineering & Computer Science
wweinber@mail.ucf.edu or 407.823.6742

Faculty Kudos
by: Marie Aguilar

Congratulations to Dr. Samuel Richie, associate professor electrical engineering. He was promoted to Assistant Dean-Distributed Learning.

Dr. Sudipta Seal received 2 best poster awards in nanotech research from the Microscopy Society of America.

Dr. C. Suryanarayana, mechanical, materials and aerospace engineering associate professor has been appointed chair of the Nanomaterials Technology Task Force. ASM International organized this committee to provide direction to the materials community by overseeing and identifying niche areas for development of services.

L-R: Nancy Knobbs and Dr. Louis Chow
Photo by: Marie Aguilar

Alumni Kudos

And the College's Professional Achievement award goes to…
by: Wayne Weinberg

Governor Jeb Bush's chief of staff, Denver Stutler, will receive the College's distinguished Professional Achievement Award. Stutler who received his undergraduate (87) and master's degrees (89) in civil engineering from UCF, will be honored at the annual Alumni Association's Annual Black and Gold Gala on October 21st at Hard Rock Live. Stutler, worked in Orlando for the engineering firm Camp Dresser & McKee before joining the State Department of Environmental Protection in 1999. Stutler played football at UCF and was elected Student Body President.

Senate's First CIO
by: Jason Miller

Greg Hanson who earned his doctorate in computer science from UCF, is the first chief information officer (CIO) for the U.S. Senate Sargeant at Arms.

Before coming to the Senate, Hanson was the chief technology officer for Universal Systems and Technology Inc. of Centreville, Va., and Telos Corp. of Ashburn, Va. He also was a chief software engineer for the Air Force and served as a lead computer scientist for NATO’s Central Region Headquarters, where he managed a $200 million command and control development effort and built the organization’s largest LAN.

click here for complete story

by: Marie Aguilar

Javier Salcedo, electrical engineering graduate student won the 2003 Graduate Student Fellowship of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.) Electron Devices Society. The international award is given in recognition and support of graduate students with proven history of academic excellence and significant ability to perform independent research in the field of electron devices. This year only two students were awarded worldwide. Salcedo won the Americas Division and Yu-Long Jiang, Fudan University-China for Asia-Pacific Division. The award includes a $5,000 stipend, $1,000 grant Electrical Engineering Department, $1,000 grant to Dr. J.J. Liou (Salcedo's Advisor) and travel subsidy to attend the IEDM ceremony in Washington, DC in December.

Electrical engineering student, Aniket Vartak, won the Excellence in Documentation award for his paper entitled "Artificial Nueral Networks for Medical Imaging" by the Instrumentation, Systems and Automation Society.

Mechanical Engineering Graduate Turns Author
by: Lisa Chuck

Steve Chastain, a 2003 UCF graduate in Mechanical Engineering has been publishing how-to books on furnace construction and the heating mechanics of scrap metal since 2000. The books detail how to build furnaces for under $200 that can be used in a variety of ways, from machinists making parts for cars to artists casting sculptures. Sales of his books paid his way through college. The books can be bought on Amazon.com, lindsaybks.com, or in catalogues. Chastain's most recent publication made the cover of the July/August 2003 issue of "The Home Shop Machinist" magazine. He has had 6 articles published since enrolled in UCF.

President Bush Praises Wanielista
by: Wayne Weinberg

During a special program honoring Dr. Marty Wanielista for his decade as Dean of the College, he received several communications of praise. The following are excerpts from those communications.

Letter from President George Bush “I commend you for your dedication and hard work. By helping young people to learn, you have enabled them to achieve their dreams and live rich, full lives.”

Letter from Governor Jeb Bush “Your many accomplishments make you a role model for leaders of other higher education institutions in the state.”

Proclamation from Orange County Chairman Rich Crotty “The Orange County Board of Commissioners joins with the residents of Orange County to express our appreciation and admiration to Marty Wanielista for 10 years of excellence as Dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science.”

Dr. Wanielista resigned August 8th to return to research and to teach again. He is the founder and director of the College’s Stormwater Management Academy. An endowment to support students has been established in his name.

Annual Alumni Chapter Scholarship
'Fun'drasier in Roaring 20's Style

On Saturday, November 15, 2003 the College's Alumni Chapter will once again turn the massive Atrium of the Engineering II into a Roaring 20's Speakeasy, complete with games like blackjack, roulette, craps and much more. Come dressed in "Roaring 20's" or cocktail attire. Corporate sponsorships range from $1,000 to $2,500. The High Tech High Rollers package includes a complimentary happy hour, dinner buffet and a "stake" for each player for the casino games. Silent and live auctions will also be held. Individual tickets are also available. For more information, please contact Jill Baker at the UCF Alumni Association at 407- 823-2586 or e-mail knights@ucfalumni.com.

High Tech High Rollers 2002

Flappers

click here for High High Rollers Poster