As part of an expansion of its science and technology programs, Norfolk State University (NSU, Norfolk, VA, www.nsu.edu) has created its first engineering department, and will soon be graduating optical engineers with skills in both medical and communications technology.
The new department offers one of the few optical engineering bachelors and masters programs in the U.S. - there are only two others - and the first in Virginia. The program was created in response to industry's growing demand for engineers specializing in optical materials andÊopto-electronics, says engineering department head Dr Christopher Washington.
Modest beginnings
Although NSU's department of engineering was formed in September 2002, students have studied engineering at the university for decades. Previously, they earned electronics engineering degrees through the physics department.
Today, after two years of developing curriculum and staff, the new engineering department has ten faculty members and fifty students. Seventeen students are in the optical program and the rest are in an electronics engineering option. There are ten masters students in each program.
Students in optical engineering can choose a five-year BS/MS program that includes research at national laboratories. The standard BS and MS programs also give students opportunities to do research for credit at major national and international research facilities. Research areas include quantum optics, nanotechnology and optoelectronics. Students completing the program will be prepared for careers in industry, research or further graduate study.
The initial funding for the department came from a 2001 agreement between the U.S. Dept of Education's Office of Civil Rights and the Commonwealth of Virginia that helped finance state masters programs in criminal justice, computer science and engineering at previously segregated public colleges and universities.
Recruiting nationally
The department accepted undergrads for the 2003-2004 school year, and will begin its graduate program in both disciplines in the fall of 2004. The applications are coming in, and Washington says NSU is recruiting nationally for both graduate and undergraduate candidates.
Washington came to NSU in 2002 from Hampton University (Hampton, VA), where he headed up EE and was assistant dean of its school of engineering and technology. Since he arrived he has been busy hiring faculty and publicizing recruitment activities.
Washington says most students enter the program directly from high school, although some transfer in from community colleges. "We like two-year college transfers because they've finished the general course work and are ready to start the program," he notes.
A place to grow
Sharisse Felton began her studies in the NSU program. She learned about it while still in Oxford Hill (MD) high school. "I was floating around engineering trying to make a decision," Felton says, but she was hooked when she heard Norfolk State recruiters talk about the optics courses.
Felton graduated from high school in 2003 and started at the university that fall. She took core engineering classes to learn about electronic circuits and how to program. The course work, she says, is challenging, but "I was expecting that.
"This is a place to grow," she says of the NSU engineering department. "Faculty is very supportive. Anything you need, they're there for you. It's very close knit and you can voice your opinion."
Stepping stone to research
Thomas James, Jr graduated from NSU in 2003 with a BS in EE and math. He hopes to be one of NSU's first EE grad students. James, an African American, graduated from Huntington High School (Newport News, VA) in 1967, served in the Army and worked for several decades at the Newport News Shipyard as an electrical test engineer. James says he took courses toward his BS at NSU before enrolling full time.
With a masters degree he hopes to find a position doing what he likes best: research. During his time at NSU he completed three successive internships through NASA Langley's Aerospace Summer Scholar program.
"NSU has a great program," James says. He describes the department as close and accessible, with administrators and faculty who are approachable and willing to help. He adds, however, that the course work is challenging and meeting that challenge is an individual's responsibility. "Engineering is grueling," he says. "If it was easy everyone would be doing it. If you aren't willing to work you won't get through."
He adds, "You have to set your own course. Do some internships to see the other side." James says the combination of NSU classes and NASA internships helped him gain considerable aerospace engineering experience. Still, he says, it takes more than the program to make a good student. It takes motivation. "An engineer is a problem-solver," he says. "As soon as you get to school you start solving problems."
Providing academic support
For students at any level who hit academic stumbling blocks, the university offers the Science and Technology Academicians on the Road to Success (STARS) program. STARS provides tutoring that helps students stay in the program.
About half the engineering department is female and so are the majority of students at the university. Washington says, "In general we find that the women are more serious and focused than the men," but the men catch up as the program moves along.
NSU engineering students are finding internships with employers like NASA, Dell and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center as well as research programs at the Universities of Arkansas and Michigan.
Washington predicts that employers will find optical engineering students very attractive in coming years. While most universities hesitate to start an optical department because of costs associated with the program and equipment, Washington says employer demand will likely spur the creation of more departments in the future. But "Those who came into it early will have a strong foothold," he says.
The department of engineering has an advisory board made up of national leaders from government, academia and industry. The electronic engineering curriculum is designed to help students understand electronic systems and methods of design, application and analysis. Although it emphasizes the fundamentals of electronics engineering, the program also covers modern topics, according to Washington. The goal is to produce graduates who perform well in both industry and in graduate school.
Although the department is still new, Washington predicts students will find internships and jobs in their field as long as they work hard. "Engineering is still a good field to find a job," he says.
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