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FEBRUARY 22, 2013
4
Oregon State University
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
2013 Oregon Stater Engineering Awards
Healthypeople. Healthyplanet.
Healthyeconomy.
Newdean laysplans
for collaboration
andexcellence
AhealthyCollegeof Engineering
atOregonStateUniversity
T
he time has never been better to
become an engineer at Oregon
State University. Enrollment is up
36 percent over the past three
years. Twenty-three additional world-
class faculty and researchers are being
hired through national searches. Plans and
funding are in the works for an additional
state-of-the-art engineering building.
Research expenditures totaling $34.5
million are fueling undergraduate and
graduate experiences. And Oregon State-
educated engineers are earning far more
out of the gate than their peers graduating
from comparable American universities.
“We are certainly on the move,” says
Sandra L. Woods, dean of the College of
Engineering. “With a total enrollment
increase of more than 900 students in the
past year, we are experiencing a much
faster rate of growth than other
engineering programs nationally. at’s a
reflection of our strength and relevance
and the fact that we care about our
students.”
“We are growing and hiring in a strategic
way,” says DeanWoods. “New faculty and
researchers are being added in ‘areas of
excellence’ — engineering areas that we
want to continue to strengthen for our
students.”
More staff, more research, and more
students means an ever-increasing need
for more space. In January, Oregon State
President Edward J. Ray announced private
support of $20 million for a new
engineering building that includes a $7
million commitment from alumnus Peter
Johnson and his wife, Rosalie. With
anticipated approval for matching bonding
from the state legislature, this
60,000-square-foot facility will address
space needs for engineering faculty, lab
space for interdisciplinary research and a
center focused on
recruiting and
retaining
engineering
students.
“ e majority of
the faculty in the
building will be
involved in chemical,
biological, and
environmental
engineering,” says
DeanWoods. “But there will be other
faculty and researchers there as well,
working together on solutions for complex
engineering problems to the benefit of the
students who observe and participate.”
With more than $30 million dedicated
to engineering research at Oregon State
this past year — a 30 percent increase over
the past three years — some remarkable
discoveries and competitive spin-offs and
licensed technologies are emerging from
the College of Engineering. “Graduate and
undergraduate education and research go
hand-in-hand,” says Dean Woods. “It
requires that we have research faculty
who are at the cutting edge in their fields
and who give our students a great
opportunity to work on compelling
problems.”
As one of only two land, air, space and
sea grant universities in the nation,
Oregon State’s institutional goal is to
continue to recruit high-achieving
students to its campuses. Engineering
students currently represent 40 percent
of those enrolled in the OSU Honors
College.
Brilliant high achievers and world-class
mentors mean Oregon State engineering
graduates have a competitive edge like no
other. “Our alumni from the College of
Engineering are among the most
successful, well-compensated degree
holders from the university,” says Steve
Clark, Oregon State’s vice president for
university relations and marketing. “Our
research shows Oregon State graduates
earn 50 percent more than their peers
nationwide. Within engineering, more
than 44 percent of our alumni are earning
more than $150,000 annually.”
Dean Woods is emphatic in her claim
that Oregon State’s College of Engineering
has always worked hard to develop
students who can think. “We teach our
S
andraWoods was named dean of
Oregon State University’s College of
Engineering in July 2012, joining an
educational discipline that is enjoying keen
interest and rapid growth. With 6,000
students and 134 faculty, researchers, and
staff looking to her
for vision and
leadership, Dean
Woods has, by
necessity, hit the
ground running.
Although she is
new to the deanship,
DeanWoods is an old
friend of Oregon
State, having served
on the faculty and in the administration
from 1984 to 2001.
DeanWoods earned a B.S. in civil
engineering fromMichigan State
University andmaster’s and doctoral
degrees in the same discipline from
University of Washington. She is an
environmental engineer who specializes in
the bioremediation and biotransformation
of environmental contaminants.
When she joined the Oregon State
faculty in 1984, DeanWoods served in a
variety of teaching, research, and
administrative roles. She served as faculty
associate to the provost and helped
launched Oregon State’s distance and
continuing education programs. She
received the College of Engineering Loyd
Carter Award for Outstanding and
Inspirational Teaching in 1998.
In 2001, DeanWoods was appointed
head of the Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering at Colorado
State University, and she went on to
become dean of CSU’s College of
Engineering. In 2010, the Colorado section
of the American Council of Engineering
Companies named her “Outstanding
Engineer in Industry” for her leadership
and contributions to engineering in the
State of Colorado.
“A dean’s job is to help other people be
successful, reduce barriers, help staff, and
serve students,” says DeanWoods. “It is
fundamental to create an environment
where people collaborate, feel supported,
and can be successful. If we can get
students, faculty, and staff tomove in the
same directionwith the same vision and
passion, we can increase our impact
exponentially.”
Photography by uy Tran
■
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makingadi erencearound theworld
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Intel LearningCompany /
freshman jumpstart
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MultipleEngineeringCooperativeProgram/
student engineers in the eld
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EngineeringTechnology Industry
Council/
fuel theOregoneconomy
School of Chemical, Biological & Environmental Engineering | School of Civil &
Construction Engineering | School of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science |
School of Mechanical, Industrial &Manufacturing Engineering | Department of Nuclear
Engineering &Radiation Health Physics
Brilliant high
achievers and
world-class
mentorsmean
OregonState
engineering
graduates have
a competitive
edge likeno
other.
Sandra L.Woods