News
As we begin the 2006-07 academic year and a new season, it is an excellent time to reflect on the recent accomplishments of the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science in order to gain perspective on what remains to be done and to formulate our vision for the future. In the last academic year, the Maseeh College enrolled a total of 1,838 students (1,329 undergraduate; 509 graduate students), conferred 372 degrees, and increased research from the previous year by 30 percent.
Portland State University is celebrating its 60th anniversary by successfully completing its Building Our Future campaign at $114 million, Portland State’s first comprehensive fund-raising campaign—nearly $24 million over the original goal established in 1999. The recently completed Northwest Center for Engineering, Science and Technology was the campaign’s centerpiece capital project.
Last spring PSU President Dan Bernstine officiated at the “ribbon cutting ceremony” at which he dedicated the Maseeh College’s new engineering building with special guests Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, and Maseeh College benefactor Fariborz Maseeh. This building, along with the adjacent Fourth Avenue Building, is known as the Northwest Center for Engineering, Science and Technology which houses all five Maseeh College departments: Civil and Environmental Engineering; Computer Science; Electrical and Computer Engineering; Engineering and Technology Management; and Mechanical and Materials Engineering.
Additionally, the new engineering building was recently awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) “Gold” certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The LEED Green Building Rating System is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard, created by the Council to encourage the development of high-performance, sustainable buildings. The engineering building features natural lighting, natural ventilation of its five-story atrium, a rainwater harvesting system that supplies water for toilets, and geothermal heating and cooling from underground springs. This building joins the University’s two LEED “Silver” certified buildings: Stephen E. Epler Hall and The Broadway, both campus housing facilities.
The Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET ’06) held its annual conference this summer in Istanbul, Turkey. This conference is held by the Maseehs College’s Department of Engineering and Technology Management and attracts the world’s leading experts in technology management from academic institutions, industrial corporations, and government agencies.
In July, at PSU President Dan Bernstine’s residence, it was a great honor to welcome Dean Nicolaos Alexopoulos from The Henry Samueli School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine. Dean Alexopoulos spoke to the Maseeh College’s Advisory Board about the process of establishing the Samueli School as one of the nation’s fastest growing engineering schools, attracting talented faculty and students. It was ranked 41st in the U.S. News & World Report 2006 listing of the best engineering graduate schools.
The Maseeh College recently completed the approval process for a Ph.D. program in the Department of Engineering and Technology Management and is in the process for a Ph.D. program in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. With the final approval of these programs, the milestone of Ph.D. programs in all five departments will have been achieved, one of the criteria for being competitive in the category of best engineering graduate schools in the national college rankings.
In closing, let me express our appreciation and gratitude to all those who have supported our programs and initiatives. We look forward to continued successes and opportunities to fulfill our vision statement: To be the university of choice for quality engineering education and research in partnership with regional industry and governments.
