FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
ANNUAL 2017 2018 REPORT
civil
information sciences computing
environmental biomedical construction
mechanical
electrical
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Table of
Contents 2-3 4-5 6-7 8-9 10-13 14-15 16-17 18-19 20-21 22-24 25
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Advisory Board Members Message From the Dean Student Success New Programs & Degrees Preeminent Programs Research Faculty Accomplishments Industry Partnerships Alumni Highlights Events & Community Outreach Points of Pride Administration & CEC in the News
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FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
STAVROS GEORGAKOPOULOS
Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering Inventor of foldable origami antenna systems. Read story on page 10
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Advisory Board
ANNUAL REPORT 2017 - 2018
Chad Moss ’94 Chairman Moss & Associates Nicholas Alexopoulos University of California-Irvine
Robert Lepore Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.
Humberto P. Alonso, Jr. Atkins
Carlos Mallol Stantec Consulting Services
Allan Arch Southern Gear and Machine, Inc.
Felix Miranda NASA Glenn Research Center
Agustin Arellano NV2A Group
Sunil Navale Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems
Manuel J. Becerra Assurant Solutions
Charles Nielson Nielson, Hoover & Associates
George Calienes Daikin Applied Americas
Bryan J. Olnick Florida Power & Light Company
Robert T. Carballo ’86 Stantec Consulting Services, Inc.
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & COMPUTING
Ronald Lavin ’94 Boeing
Gus Pego HNTB Corporation
Charles Chase Lockheed Martin Corporation
Christa Petros Sirius XM
Jessica Coots Harris Corporation
Susan Racher Wallace H. Coulter Foundation
Hal Delgado ’01 Ethicon Inc., a Johnson & Johnson Company
Matt Reynolds Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
Christopher Drumgoole General Electric Kurt Dyer ’02 Dyer Strategy Group Eric Evans MIT Lincoln Labs Gary Goldfarb Interport Logistics
Claudia Rodriguez ’00 Motorola Solutions Adam Rogers Ultimate Software Kelly Romano Gryphon Investors Eduardo Siman Intradeco Apperal
Paul Johnston Watsco
Erdem Topsakal Virginia Commonwealth University
Danny Katz ’74 DBK Concepts
Emmanuel Tormes The Boeing Company
Leo Kempel Michigan State University
Scott Trapp Lockheed Martin Corporation
Tim Kuebler Titan America
Dan Whiteman Coastal Construction
Dean John L. Volakis
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FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
Message from
The Dean Dear Alumni and Friends of the College of Engineering and Computing at FIU, We just closed a remarkable 2017-18 academic year, and I am happy to share some highlights of our many accomplishments in research, education and entrepreneurship. FIU has been recently ranked among the Top 100 Worldwide Universities Granting U.S. Utility Patents in 2017, and the college constituted 58 percent of the patents issued to the university. Our ASEE and NSF HERD rankings are notable. We rank #11 in the continental U.S. in awarding bachelor’s degrees to Hispanic students and #91 to African-Americans. Nationwide, the college ranked # 51 in the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded in computer science and #352 in computer science R&D expenditures. Furthermore, we were recently ranked #14 by Best College Reviews for online master’s in engineering programs in the nation. We hired top notch faculty who will play a transformational role in carrying out largescale, multi-disciplinary research to grow our research expenditures, degree production and patents, and educating future entrepreneurs and leaders of the nation. The School of Computing and Information Sciences (SCIS) launched a new B.A. degree in computer science, and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) introduced a new B.S. degree in Internet of Things (IoT), the first in the nation, aimed at preparing our students for a future workforce. In total, our college instituted 12 new degree programs that have already led to improved graduation rates.
We launched the School of Universal Computing Construction and Engineering Education, SUCCEED, as the first engineering education department at a minority-serving institution to research and promote evidence-based approaches that broaden participation and improve the educational success for all engineering and computer science students. Our leadership in wireless communications was recognized by the recent Air Force Office of Scientific Research award to establish a Center on Reconfigurable Communication Systems, a five-year, $4.8M program to train a large class of graduate students and undergrads in an area of future growth. And we are pursuing leading research and faculty growth in cybersecurity, big data and artificial intelligence. The recent college growth and remarkable diversity of our students are unique and in line with our vision to be a top public engineering and computing college in the nation and a global leader in educational innovation, research, and entrepreneurship. In this exciting technological period, we are committed to enabling our students reach their dreams, be notable innovators and be prepared for lifelong learning. Sincerely,
John L. Volakis Dean & Professor, College of Engineering and Computing Florida International University
American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) 2017 NSF Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey 2016
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Student
Success
ANNUAL REPORT 2017 - 2018
Witherspoon twins
Twins land identical jobs with IBM
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & COMPUTING
Identical twins Shonda and Shalisha Witherspoon do everything together, including graduating with master’s degrees and getting their first jobs. The School of Computing & Information Sciences grads first made headlines two years ago after earning their bachelor’s degrees in information technology and being recognized by the university as Worlds Ahead graduates. They returned for their master’s in IT with a concentration in software engineering. The sisters grew up in a family of six children, were homeschooled and were the first members of their family to graduate college. While taking full-time classes, they worked as research assistants at FIU’s High Performance Database Research Center. Under the mentorship of Professor Naphtali Rishe, they worked on Terrafly.com, a highresolution geo-database website. They were also members of the Golden Key Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi, Delta Epsilon Iota Academic Honor Society, and the Sigma Alpha Lambda Leadership and Honors Organization. These experiences and hard work helped prepare them for their new jobs as software engineers at IBM’s T.J. Watson Research Center in New York to work on distributed artificial intelligence projects. Their long-term goal is to move to Japan and start their own software engineering business.
Daniella Bernal
Aiming for the stars Daniella Bernal became an FIU student at just 16 years old with an FIU Presidential Scholarship. From the time she visited Cape Canaveral with her family, she decided to study mechanical engineering so that she could one day work in space travel. When she learned about a company named Space X, Daniella set her sights on her future job and ensured each step of her educational career would lead her to her goal. As she embarked on her senior year at FIU, she landed the opportunity to work on the Falcon 9 – the workhorse of Space X’s operation that launches rockets and satellites into space. She moved to California to work for one of the world’s most innovative companies while maintaining her status as a full-time student and completing her senior year. “Space is my sweet spot,” said Daniella. Her dream was to have something she worked on in space by the time she was 25 – something she achieved at just 20 years old when a wire harness she designed was used on the Merlin 1D engine, the powerhouse of the Falcon 9 rocket. Daniella, a Worlds Ahead graduate, continues to work on the cable interconnects between different flight computers, batteries, actuators and valves on the engines of the Falcon 9 vehicle and on what she calls “mind blowing” designs of future interplanetary vehicles.
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This year, the College of Engineering & Computing had
Left to right: George R. Nash, Jr., 2018 Chair of the ABC National Executive Committee; students Carol Brea, Adays Leon, David Jervis, Maria Lourdes Rizek (team captain), Anouk do Pico Sforza (team co-captain), Adam Quinones; and Thomas MacCabe, competition co-chair.
Students from the Moss School of Construction, Infrastructure and Sustainability took home first place at the annual Construction Management Competition at the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Convention 2018 in Long Beach, California. The FIU team, sponsored by the ABC Florida East Coast Chapter, also got top honors in quality control, estimating and project management, and they beat 15 teams from colleges and universities nationwide. The FIU team, under the direction of Ayman Morad, were Maria Rizek, Adam Quinones, Adays Leon, David Jervis, Anouk do Pico Sforza and Carol Brea.
CyberCorps pays for students’ education, gives them job opportunities
“My researcher gene is excited with the challenges of cybersecurity projects, while giving back all the things that this great country has given to me and my family. This is exactly what you get while working for the federal government, and this is the main reason why I applied to this program. The CyberCorps program gives opportunities to people with responsibilities outside of school. I’m a parent, and this program allows me to continue my education while also taking care of my family.” – Leonardo Babun, doctoral student & CyberCorps recipient
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FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
Construction students win first place at national competition
Leonardo Babun, a doctoral student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, arrived in the U.S. a decade ago. He didn’t speak a word of English and only had $100 in his pocket. Today, he is part of the CyberCorps Scholarship for Service, which awards him a full-tuition scholarship, an annual stipend for living expenses, plus separate annual funds for books and healthcare. When he graduates in 2020, he’ll have a job in cybersecurity waiting for him at a federal, state or local organization. Currently, Babun is part of a prestigious internship at the Department of Homeland Security where he works on a data analytics-based cybersecurity project. The CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and co-sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It provides education and job opportunities for electrical engineering students with a strong interest in cybersecurity. CyberCorps is offered nationwide at 70 colleges and universities. Selcuk Uluagac, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, was instrumental in bringing the program to FIU this summer.
10 Worlds Ahead GRADUATES. Worlds Ahead graduates exhibit outstanding perseverance, intelligence and personal strength during their time at FIU. They are nominated by faculty members and personally honored during their commencement ceremony for their ingenuity, compassion, intelligence and courage. Summer 2017 Amirmasoud Hamedi Ph.D. in Civil Engineering Fall 2017 Mohammad Asadikiya Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering Daniella Bernal B.S. in Mechanical Engineering Jose Maldonado B.S. in Computer Science Alexis M. Smoot B.S. in Environmental Engineering Spring 2018 Chunfei Li Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering Daniel Rivera B.S. in Biomedical Engineering Nicole Sevilla B.S. in Biomedical Engineering Tiffany Ascanio B.S. in Mechanical Engineering Jenniffer Bustillos B.S. in Mechanical Engineering 5
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New Programs
& Degrees
“FIU’s College of Engineering and Computing is one of the largest in the United States and serves a diverse student population. Research that improves our educational outcomes will be transformative nationwide. SUCCEED has the potential to impact many thousands of engineering students nationwide.”
ANNUAL REPORT 2017 - 2018
– Mark Weiss, Interim Director of SUCCEED
Mark A. Weiss with students
SUCCEED
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & COMPUTING
The college launched a new school – SUCCEED – in conjunction with the STEM Transformation Institute to focus on engineering education. It will offer a B.S. in interdisciplinary engineering and a Ph.D. in engineering education. SUCCEED is the first engineering education department at a minority-serving institution. The goal is to research and promote evidence-based approaches that broaden participation and improve the education success for all engineering and computer science students. Faculty in the new school will work collaboratively with the STEM Transformation Institute, and as appropriate, with other departments in the college, including mechanical, biomedical, civil, electrical and computer engineering and others to conduct innovative education research throughout the K-12 spectrum in their discipline. The goal is to advance the transformation of undergraduate engineering and computer science education nationwide, and to improve educational outcomes of FIU CEC students. It will be universal in researching and implementing best educational practices in all modalities: face-to-face, hybrid, and online.
Active Learning Classrooms One of the new important initiatives throughout the college is to incorporate active learning into courses throughout the curriculum. Classrooms in the Engineering Center are being remodeled to use flexible seating that facilitates the use of active learning along with peer assisted instruction. 6
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FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
“We are proud to lead in this field and provide our students the opportunity to be equipped for the technology-driven jobs of the future.” - Kenneth G. Furton. FIU Provost
New B.S. in Internet of Things (IoT) In the next few years, billions of IoT devices will be connected worldwide. This new wave of technology will spearhead the demand for highly trained IoT specialists. FIU is the first university in the nation to offer a bachelor’s degree in managing these growing networks of smart things. The Internet of Things degree allows our students to get and create great jobs, many of which don’t exist today. The new bachelor of science offered by the College of Engineering & Computing address the four major areas of IoT – hardware, software, communication and cybersecurity.
11 new degree programs launched for Fall 2018: • B.S. in electrical engineering (online) • B.S. in computer engineering (online) • B.A. in computer science (online) • M.S. in biomedical engineering – orthotics and prosthetics track • M.S. in data science & data science 4+1 program • M.S. in logistics engineering (online)
• M.S. in engineering management – general track (online) • M.S. in engineering management – logistics engineering track (online) • M.S. in engineering management – production and manufacturing track (online) • M.S. in engineering management – enterprise systems track (online) • M.S. in engineering management – engineering entrepreneurship track (online)
Mark Allen Weiss Mark Allen Weiss is the interim director of SUCCEED. Weiss is the associate dean for undergraduate education in the College of Engineering & Computing and an Eminent Scholar Chaired Professor. He is an IEEE fellow, AAAS fellow and ACM Distinguished Educator. In 2017, he received the IEEE Taylor Booth Education Award. He is also a recipient of the 2015 ACM SIGCSE Award for Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education. Weiss, whose interests include data structures, algorithms and education, is best known for his highly-acclaimed data structures textbooks which have been used at universities worldwide. He received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from The Cooper Union and his Ph.D. in computer science from Princeton University. 7
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Preeminent Programs PREEMINENT PROGRAMS
A Preeminent Program at FIU is defined as a collaborative endeavor that demonstrates extraordinary success in providing unique learning opportunities, pioneering research and engagement while expanding FIU’s financial base. Designation as a preeminent program is recognition for outstanding contributions to advancing FIU’s BeyondPossible2020 strategic plan and enhancing the university’s reputation at the national and international level.
EMERGING PREEMINENT
ANNUAL REPORT 2017 - 2018
An Emerging Preeminent Program is a collaborative endeavor with high potential to be designated preeminent.
Institute for Resilient & Sustainable Coastal Infrastructure
$20M Cybersecurity@FIU
$15M
Cybersecurity@FIU
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & COMPUTING
Cybersecurity@FIU focuses on digital defense and protection issues that impact the global cyber landscape and examines complex human and social questions related to privacy policies and trust. Taking a multi-faceted approach, the university combines technical cybersecurity strength in areas such as cyberphysical systems, the Internet of Things, and cloud computing and storage with complementary expertise in international and public affairs, business and law. These competencies together establish a comprehensive foundation for the continued advancement of research, education, workforce development and international capacity-building activities. Collaborative efforts that draw upon a wide variety of disciplines contribute to the kind of innovative, integrated exploration needed to both move forward and secure the world’s rapidly evolving digital technology arena.
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FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
Wall of Wind (WoW) Research conducted at the Wall of Wind supports the efforts of another preeminent program – The Extreme Events Institute (EEI), a globally involved center for research, education, and training in natural hazards and disaster risk management. The WoW is one of eight Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) Experimental Facilities nationwide, designated by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to research the impacts of earthquake, wind and water hazards. WoW’s research focuses on wind effects on infrastructure and how to prevent these wind events from becoming community disasters. The NHERI WoW is powered by a combined 12-fan system capable of repeatable testing in up to 157 mph wind speeds through its flow management system.
Institute for Resilient & Sustainable Coastal Infrastructure The Institute for Resilient and Sustainable Coastal Infrastructure (InteRaCt) identifies engineering solutions for challenges faced by aging infrastructure and develops innovative and economical solutions for resilient and sustainable communities. Infrastructure includes buildings, bridges, transportation systems, water resources facilities, power lines, airports, waste water systems and roadways. The economic prosperity of our nation is closely related to the health of our infrastructure. InteRaCt is an umbrella organization that incorporates bridge engineering, the University Transportation Center (ABC-UTC), the Lehman Center for Transportation Research and focus groups for water resources engineering and corrosion engineering.
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Research Air Force awards FIU $4.8 million
to establish a center for origami antennas
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & COMPUTING
ANNUAL REPORT 2017 - 2018
Stavros Georgakopoulos
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The Air Force Office of Scientific Research awarded FIU a $4.8 million grant to launch the Center for Physically Reconfigurable and Deployable Multifunctional Antennas. The center will be led and directed by researcher Stavros Georgakopoulos, associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and inventor of foldable origami antenna systems.
change their shape to dynamically adapt to varying operating conditions, as well as antennas that can be compactly stowed, easily collapsed and quickly deployed. These antennas will provide unprecedented electromagnetic and mechanical performance to aerospace systems and will also increase the agility of soldiers and ground personnel in the battlefield.”
The goal of the center is to develop innovative and advanced origamibased antenna technologies for nextgeneration Air Force and Department of Defense systems.
Georgakopoulos pioneered the development of the first-generation origami electromagnetic systems through a previously awarded National Science Foundation (NSF) Emerging Frontier in Research and Innovation (ERFI) grant, which was co-funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Inspired by the Japanese art of paper folding, origami electromagnetic systems include reconfigurable, foldable and deployable multifunctional antennas and antenna arrays, adaptable “smart skins” for communication and sensing, and compact/collapsible wearable antennas.
“These technologies will provide groundbreaking capabilities to Air Force and military communication, reconnaissance, sensing and energy harvesting systems that are used by aircraft, drones and satellites,” said Georgakopoulos. “Specifically, the center will use geometric origami, computational design methods and novel materials to enable the development of antennas that can
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When antenna systems are launched into space, they must fit into very small compartments. While in orbit, they must effortlessly deploy into very large sizes to communicate with ground stations on earth. Also, soldiers have traditionally relied on heavy, bulky and static antennas to share intelligence from the field. Origami antennas will revolutionize airborne and spaceborne systems and increase soldiers’ mobility on the ground by providing ultra-compact stowage, easy deployment, reduced weight and multifunctional utility. “Such antennas will be crucial for the military as they are smart, dynamic, lightweight, and easy-to-launch,” continued Georgakopoulos. “Soldiers can easily carry them in their backpacks.” The center plans to establish partnerships and collaborations with the government and private companies in the industry to become a research and development hub that will focus on discovering cutting-edge antenna technologies.
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NSF Research Center supports partnerships FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
Ranu Jung
The NSF FIU-FAU-Greenwich-Dubna Industry/ University Cooperative Research Center for Advanced Knowledge Enablement (CAKE) helps develop long-term partnerships among industry, academia and government. The center conducts industry-relevant studies and performs R&D on computational transportation, health information technology and precision medicine. The center’s director, Naphtali Rishe, is the inaugural outstanding university professor and the principal investigator of $55 million in grants.
NSF Engineering Research Centers
FOCUS ON INNOVATION: Restoring independence to hand amputees
Upper-extremity amputees may soon be using a prosthesis that is directly connected to their nervous system, thanks to new technology developed by Ranu Jung. She is the Wallace H. Coulter Eminent Scholar and the chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Jung holds six patents related to the development of neural-enabled prosthetic hand systems; some of these could enable direct neural control of a prosthesis and others are for restoring sensation. In recognition of these and other innovations, Jung was recently named fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. Her team has developed the first fully implantable, wirelessly controlled device that can directly stimulate nerves to restore sensation to amputees. They have also developed computer algorithms to interpret recorded nerve signals for controlling a prosthesis. The technology will allow people who have lost an arm to be one step closer to successfully picking up everyday objects such as a cookie or an egg. Prostheses currently on the market don’t allow amputees to easily manipulate delicate and small objects “because they can’t feel them,” Jung explained. In contrast, her system for sensory stimulation — which has the potential to interface with several advanced prosthetic hands that are being developed — “is intended to restore the sense of touch, which would allow users to precisely differentiate the size and fragility of various objects.” The FDA has granted an investigational device exemption for the first-in-human trial of the sensory feedback device. Trial participants will be able to use it outside of a laboratory setting on a daily basis. If the current trial is successful, Jung and her team plan to continue testing through larger studies and eventually seek such approval for commercial distribution.
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Faculty from the Departments of Mechanical & Materials Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Electrical & Computer Engineering have been involved in four NSF Engineering Research Centers to carry out preeminent research in materials for energy, health and sensors. The four centers are: CELL-MET: Led by Boston University. FIU principal investigators are Arvind Agarwal (Co-PI), Chenzhong Li and Jin He. PATHS-UP: Led by Texas A&M University. FIU principal investigators are Jessica Ramella-Roman, Chunlei Wang and Norman Munroe. ASSIST: Led by North Carolina State University. FIU principal investigator is Shekhar Bhansali. E3S: Led by University of California, Berkeley. FIU principal investigator is Sakhrat Khizroev.
30
%
of our faculty are fellows in their societies and
four
are members of the National Academy of Inventors. 11
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School of Computing & Information Sciences (SCIS) Mark A. Finlayson was awarded a prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award to develop new artificial intelligence techniques to automatically uncover and confirm the fundamental structures underlying narrative. Ram Iyengar, Ryder Professor of Computer Science and director of SCIS was awarded the Most Distinguished Ramamoorthy Award at the Society for Design and Process Science (SDPS 2017) Conference.
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & COMPUTING
ANNUAL REPORT 2017 - 2018
Monique Ross received an NSF Grant to research the implications of online learning and engagement. Her work addresses the underrepresentation of women in computer science through a cyberlearning environment as a strategy to enhance the learning, engagement and identity development of women in computing.
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
The WoW receives 2018 Charles Pankow Award for Innovation The National Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) Wall of Wind (WoW) Experimental Facility was awarded the 2018 Charles Pankow Award for Innovation by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The award recognizes outstanding organizations that have collaborated to practice innovative design, materials, or constructionrelated research and development. The NHERI WoW EF uses a 12-fan system to provide experimental capabilities including generating wind speeds up to 157 miles per hour, or Category 5 Hurricane winds. This simulation allows civil engineers to understand the effects of extreme wind and rain on civil infrastructure systems, explore mitigation and resiliency techniques and promote sustainable design practices. By testing sustainable and resilient engineering systems with the NHERI WoW EF, civil engineers can work to mitigate hurricane impacts and prevent wind hazards from becoming community disasters. The NHERI WoW EF was created by a team of nine members led by Principal Investigator Arindam Chowdhury. Chowdhury leads the scientific and operational vision of this innovative facility while facilitating educational and outreach activities.
“This award recognizes the Wall of Wind’s pioneering research, where the faculty are committed to improving building standards and practices and achieving safer and more hurricane-resistant communities.” – Richard S. Olson, director of FIU’s Extreme Events Institute and International Hurricane Research Center (IHRC). WoW is a collaboration between the IHRC and wind engineers in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at FIU’s College of Engineering & Computing.
Left to right: ASCE Executive Director Tom Smith; WoW team: Richard Olson, Arindam Chowdhury & Ioannis Zisis; CEC Dean John L. Volakis; and 2018 ASCE President Kristina Swallow
CEC Points of Pride
$25
million in annual research expenditures
44
patents
13%
12
faculty have NSF CAREER Awards
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Building Bridges FIU’s Accelerated Bridge Construction-University Transportation Center hosted its three-day Parent/Child Bridge Engineering Summer Camp. Students, along with their parents, had the opportunity to hear from various experts about bridge engineering. They learned how different types of bridges carry forces, about prefabricated elements and systems and how they can expedite construction, and 3D printing and its future in bridge engineering. Students got to participate in hands-on activities such as working on balsa wood and paper bridge projects. The camp served approximately 20 children and their parents from underserved communities. Experts who led the camp included Atorod Azizinamini, professor and chair of the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and the director of the Accelerated Bridge Construction University Transportation Center; David Garber and Kingsley Lau, both assistant professors in the department.
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FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
RF COM LAB –
The Next Wave in Telecommunications The RF Communications, MillimeterWave and Terahertz Laboratory (RFCOM Lab) conducts pioneering research across entire radio, millimeter wave and terahertz spectrum. It is devoted to research in wireless communications, body-worn electronics, antennas, RF systems, sensors and sensing, wireless power transfer, THz, photonics, propagation, scattering, signal processing, and sensor fusion, operating from 10 MHz up to 115 GHz. The lab members are paying particular attention on the ultra-wideband (UWB) communication systems including UWB arrays, reduced hardware and power efficient communication back-ends, and millimeter-wave technologies for 5G applications and Left to right: Satheesh Bojja Venkatakrishnan and Rimon Hokayem. secure communications. Faculty and researchers are also focusing on Simultaneous Transmit and Receive (STAR)-enabling high isolation RF front-ends to increase spectral efficiency across large bandwidths. A significant effort is also on wearable health and fitness devices using energy harvesting. The group demonstrated a collection of ambient Wi-Fi and cellular signals through wearable textile surfaces to power temperature sensors, LED devices and fitness trackers. The RFCOM Lab at FIU has an extensive array of RF equipment, including network and spectrum analyzers, signal generators, mixed signal oscilloscopes, MIMO emulators, wideband arbitrary waveform generators, 20 Gsps data acquisition system, photonics probe station, 3-D printers, anechoic chambers, PCB printers and much more to cater for current and future projects. A sample portfolio of our research projects includes: • Wireless neural recordings for understanding the brain
• Antenna engineering
• RF energy harvesting
• Implantable devices
• Device modeling
• RF/Photonics for imaging
• 5G secure communications
• Origami RF structures
• Textile electronics
Pixie
New way of entering passwords SCIS Ph.D. student, Mozhgan Azimpourkivi, co-advised by Umut Tokara, Bloomberg LP and SCIS Associate Professor Bogdan Carbunar, have created Pixie, which relies on users taking a photo of a personal object to use as a password. The photo replaces the cumbersome process of using crypto-based hardware security keys or entering verification codes received via SMS or voice call.
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Faculty
Accomplishments
Student with Jessica Ramella-Roman
ANNUAL REPORT 2017 - 2018
Researchers take fight against cervical cancer abroad
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & COMPUTING
Jessica Ramella-Roman, an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, has pioneered an easy-touse imaging system for the diagnoses of cervical cancer, which is potentially life changing for many women with little or no access to specialized health care. RamellaRoman and her team of graduate students developed a cost-effective, hand-held device that uses optical technologies to detect subtle changes in cervical tissue that may indicate early stage cancer. The device works like a camera, and the imaging is done through a speculum, a tool used for dilation. The imaging takes less than five seconds to complete. Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide, and 80 percent of these deaths are from developing countries that lack effective screening programs. Like all cancers, early detection and diligent monitoring increase patients’ chances for successful treatment.
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In India, for example, people have very limited access to hospitals or health care providers in rural areas. With no real
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program for annual checkups, the only access women have to medical care is typically one exam over her lifetime. The device works as easy as taking a photo with a camera. The complexity of the device is in analysis of the data, which is done by software. The software’s response notifies the patient’s risk of cervical cancer in a localized area of the body. To test the system, Ramella-Roman collaborated with Purnima Madhivanan, associate professor of epidemiology in the Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work. Madhivanan is also the director of the Public Health Research Institute of India (PHRII) in Mysore, India. The duo traveled together to Mysore and screened a group of 23 volunteers in health camps in the surrounding area of Mysore and the PHRII clinical facility to test the performance of the device for detection of cervical cancer. These camps are hospitals created by the non-profit organization, where physicians are brought in to provide yearlong care and also have the capabilities of administering these cervical exams.
In the Spotlight: Pezhman Mardanpour, from the Department of Mechanical & Materials Engineering won a Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) grant titled "DIC and Data Acquisition System for Experimental Verification of the Constructal Theory in Design of Multi-scale Aeroelastic Systems" from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). Michael Christie of the Department of Biomedical Engineering was named a 2018 Top Black Educator by Legacy Magazine. Joshua Hutcheson in the Department of Biomedical Engineering was awarded this year’s “Stop Heart Disease” Researcher of the Year Award from the Miami Heart Research Institute.
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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), under the Department of Labor, awards grants to nonprofit organizations through its Susan Harwood Training Grant Program. Jose Faria, interim director of the Moss School of Construction, Infrastructure & Sustainability, received a Susan Harwood Training Grant for $155,000 to provide three hours of free training services to at least 600 English- and Spanish-speaking workers and employers in the construction industry across Miami-Dade and Broward countries. The grant focuses on fall prevention in construction as falls are the leading cause of worker deaths in the construction industry. The training also includes a brief overview of anti-retaliation provisions, employee rights, employer responsibilities, whistleblower laws and OSHA’s Complaint Investigation Procedures. Nipesh Pradhananga is co-principal investigator on the grant.
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
Jose Faria awarded grant to focus on fall prevention
Jose Faria with students
BEIL Lab
researches ways to improve construction site safety
The Moss and Associates BUILT Environment Informatics Lab (BEIL) uses virtual reality to research how to improve construction safety. Under the direction of Nipesh Pradhananga, an assistant professor in the Moss School of Construction, Infrastructure & Sustainability, BEIL can place construction workers in a virtual reality setting where they can encounter hazardous situations on worksites, but in the safety of a lab. Workers are connected to sensors that monitor their physiological reactions, such as increased heart rate, when encountering worksite hazards. This research helps them learn how they would react in real life situations as well as how to lift loads correctly and prevent dangerous falls. The BEIL Lab was established with a $250,000 gift by Chad Moss and his family. Moss is the executive vice president of Moss & Associates, a national construction management company. 15
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Industry Partners New approach to industry partnerships
Workforce development in construction The Certificate Program on Construction Trades is the result of a partnership between Florida International University and the Lennar Foundation. The free, 10-week certificate program prepares workers for entry level construction jobs in Miami.
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & COMPUTING
ANNUAL REPORT 2017 - 2018
Students participate in one of three cohorts where they learn the basics of working in construction to qualify for construction jobs hiring in Miami. Participants spend four weeks in a classroom for a total of 80 hours of learning, and six weeks getting hands-on experience for a total of 120 hours. Space is limited to 45 students per session. Upon completion, graduates will hold various certificates required for working in entry level construction jobs in Miami.
Under the direction of new dean, John L. Volakis, the College of Engineering & Computing has launched a corporate affiliates program that customizes recruitment and engagement opportunities for industry partners to hire engineering students for internships and jobs. The dean continues to work with faculty on innovative research that can be mutually beneficial for companies to enhance their brands.
Meanwhile, through the generosity of donors, the college continues to achieve its mission of educating students and creating new knowledge while impacting communities. The college is also growing and expanding alumni relations through mentorships, industry-specific networking, executive inresidency programs and by hosting alumni to come back and speak to students.
Computing students to train in predictive analytics for the airline industry The School of Computing & Information Sciences partnered with Farelogix – a recognized leader in the travel industry known for groundbreaking technology – to form the new Data Science for Airlines Informatics (DSAI) program, an advanced training program focused on airline data analytics and decision sciences. The program is dedicated to the study and implementation of advanced predictive analytics for the airline industry, using machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). Graduate students work collaboratively with the Farelogix data and analytics team to develop new data models for optimizing airline revenue management and generating dynamic offers.
“Incorporating AI, machine learning and predictive analytics into airline revenue management … is the new frontier in air commerce. This joint program with FIU – the fourth largest producer of computing talent in the U.S. – will conduct world class research, develop and curate best practices and standards, and prepare data science graduates for work in the airline industry.” – Jim Davidson, CEO of Farelogix
Left to right: Vernon Blanson, senior marketing communications manager; Alberto Fuentes, manager – IT operations (FIU alum); Roonney Mendez, lead change management (FIU Alum); Nadesha Ranasinghe, VP of technology; Toni Pruitt, talent acquisition director; Gabriella Aub, executive assistant (FIU Alum); and Constanza Barrionuevo, IT support (FIU Alum)
Partnerships paving the way
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Florida Power & Light (FPL) + Energy, Power and Sustainability (EPS) Group Through a major partnership with Florida, Power & Light (FPL), the Energy, Power and Sustainability (EPS) group in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering analyzes data from the canopylike solar array, which shades more than 400 parking spaces, to study the impacts of intermittent solar power on the electric grid in South Florida’s tropical climate. Our researchers also look at historic weather patterns to develop predictive models to forecast the reliability of solar power generation.
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Nicklaus Children’s Hospital + Biomedical Engineering Jorge Riera, an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, is collaborating with the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital and the Miller School of Medicine for the translation of his animal studies into clinical practice to improve surgical outcomes in epilepsy. AMERI + Magic Leap The Advanced Materials Engineering Research Institute (AMERI) has a series of projects with Magic Leap to provide materials processing and testing services
to the company. Magic Leap has also hired several students from the Department of Mechanical & Materials Engineering. Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering + Green Paving Initiative The Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and the Green Paving Initiative launched the Paving Academy. The academy is about improving technicians’ and operators’ understanding of paving and enhancing their ability to build highquality roads.
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FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
FIU receives
largest gift from an alumnus
Chad Moss ’94 has made the largest donation from an alumnus in FIU history. His $10 million gift to the College of Engineering & Computing created the newly named Moss School of Construction, Infrastructure and Sustainability. The contribution comes through the charitable foundation of his company, Moss & Associates. With more than half of the world’s population living in urban environments, the school’s creation reflects a broader view of the industry and new approaches and methods for building a sustainable urban infrastructure. The donation will create three endowments to help students succeed and access higher education. Earnings from the Moss Endowed Chair in Construction Management will be used to recruit a nationally distinguished director. Another endowment will be dedicated to helping students through scholarships. Each scholarship is inspired by and named after outstanding colleagues and professionals from Moss & Associates. The Sasha Seco Women in Construction Scholarship and the Kevin Love Fostering Success Scholarship are both namesakes of alumni now working at the company. The other endowment will support key areas that will expand the school and the students’ learning opportunities, such as faculty and post-graduate research and technology resources. Chad Moss
“Chad Moss has shown incredible vision and entrepreneurship in Miami and across the country. This generous and history-making donation will help us educate a new generation of construction professionals who will have an impact on our community and beyond.” – FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg
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Moss & Associates is a billion-dollar national construction management company with extensive experience in a variety of sectors. The company has received more awards than any Florida-based construction services firm and has worked on numerous large-scale projects.
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Alumnus recruits engineering talent from Engineering Alumnus Carlos Banks ’11, MS ’13 is on a mission to keep FIU engineering talent in Miami.
“I said to myself, if I’m going to do this, I want FIU… FIU produces talented engineers. Their graduates are sought out by companies like Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and Cummins, and I want to keep that talent here in Miami.” — Carlos Banks Carlos Banks
ANNUAL REPORT 2017 - 2018
Banks is the engineering and quality manager at Vossen Wheels, a local manufacturer of luxury wheels and authorized dealer of custom rims. He began working at Vossen, located in Doral, three years ago as the company began the development of their now TÜV Verified Forged Factory, where team members work on everything from concept to the design of computer models to testing materials and milling. Banks leads the team of engineers and programmers in developing innovative wheel products. He credits his enthusiasm and preparedness to his coursework at FIU. Having worked his way up at Vossen, Banks was tasked with recruiting more employees. He sees this new role as an opportunity to give FIU students a shot at implementing what they’re learning in the classroom in a professional setting.
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & COMPUTING
Vossen Wheels began inviting student organizations and clubs to tour their facilities and apply for internship positions, leading to the development of their internship program. FIU’s chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has been part of this program, participating in annual tours and having several members work as Vossen interns. Current
student, Erick Almeida, toured the Vossen Wheels facility this past fall with the SAE team and, having submitted his resume for review, was given the opportunity to work as an intern. He says the internship allows him to further apply his coursework and the work he does as the SAE team’s powertrain manager. “It helps FIU’s students acquire experience needed to grow in this ever-competitive job market,” Almeida says. “The experience I have with CAD, making and modifying parts for manufacturing and working with software became second nature.” Some of Vossen Wheels’ interns have even been hired. Christian Gonzalez’s three-month internship led to a full-time position programming CNC machines used for industrial manufacturing. When asked about Banks’ passion for hiring FIU students and alumni, Gonzalez said, “Carlos has confidence that students that are hired as interns or full-timers are going to have the technical knowledge and the work ethic that is desired from everyone here at Vossen.”
Claudia Rodriguez FIU Alumna, ‘00 Corporate Vice President, Chief Procurement Officer, Business Operations Motorola Solutions
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FIU Alumna Claudia Rodriguez (‘00) joined Motorola in 2000 and is now the chief procurement officer. In her career, she has overseen product and business management, technical sales, business development, learning and training, operations and competitive intelligence for both the U.S. and international markets. Rodriguez is the former president of the Women Business Council at MSI, where she worked to drive inclusion and diversity in the company and create networking and engagement opportunities for employees. She is also a recipient of the 2014 Most Influential and Powerful Woman Award – Illinois. Rodriguez holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Florida International University and is an Honors College graduate. Claudia also serves on the FIU College of Engineering & Computing Dean’s Advisory Council.
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FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
Got my first job!
Working for Google
JOB PLACEMENT Krista Shuckerow
71%
of spring 2018 engineering & computing graduates are employed or self-employed
Name: Krista Shuckerow Degree Earned: B.S in statistics, second major – economics; minor in computer science Hometown: Harmony, Rhode Island What is your job title, and where will you be working? Engineering resident working at Google in Seattle, Washington How did student life at FIU help you in your job search? As a sophomore, I went to my first hackathon, MangoHacks, at FIU in spring of 2016. I walked in, joined a team, built a project and demoed how it worked at the end to a number of judges. One of them was an FIU alumnus who works at Google. He was impressed with our project and gave me, and all the other people on my team, his work email. I emailed him asking what I needed to do to get better. It was basically learn more programming languages, learn theory better, practice, practice, practice. So I did. How did you finally get the job at Google? I started applying for full-time jobs. Tech companies pick who they want out of college early. Companies like Uber, Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook started looking at doing recruitment from FIU. Why did they start coming here? I’ll never know for sure, but I think it has a lot to do with the fact that FIU students were making noise in the programming/hackathon community, and companies were noticing. I interviewed with a few companies, including Microsoft, Capital One and Google. In the end, I decided to accept the offer from Google. What surprised you the most about landing your first job? It was that feeling of “what I do is actually useful.” That someone wants me for the skills I have. Yes, I had made projects before, but getting a job offer was a validation that someone thought my skills and experiences were good enough to work in the industry. Also knowing I don’t have to worry about where I’m going after college is relieving. What’s is the coolest thing about being hired by Google for your first job? I think the coolest thing is just the opportunity for growth at a big company like Google. They’re involved in so many different projects that I’m bound to find something interesting to work on. It’s also nice that the first person to give me encouragement as a professional (from my first MangoHacks project) was a Google employee, and now I get to go work there. Also I hear new people get hats with helicopter propellers on top. I like hats.
Top companies that hire our students Florida Power & Light (FPL) Northrop Grumman Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Lockheed Martin Boeing JP Morgan Ultimate Software Microsoft Citrix Medtronic HeartWare Cummings Kimley-Horn and Associates National Security Agency (NSA) Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Huntington Ingalls 19
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Events & Community Outreach
eMerge Americas ANNUAL REPORT 2017 - 2018
eMerge Americas is a two-day conference connecting North America, Latin America and Europe. The college highlighted three projects: • Robots to remove nuclear waste: FIU’s Applied Research Center (ARC) developed robots to assist with cleanup efforts of contaminated sites across the nation. These robots allow people to work remotely, protecting them from harmful radiation. The wall crawler scales walls and moves around pipes, while the pipe crawler travels through pipes. The mini rover, or “mouse,” travels on top of the pipe crawler.
2018 Engineering Expo The Engineering Expo attracts more than 1,000 elementary, middle and high school students from 44 area schools. The event exposes students to science and engineering to encourage them to consider STEM careers.
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & COMPUTING
• Protecting smart devices: Billions of Internet of Things (IoT) devices will be connected worldwide, ranging from smart phones and smart watches to many home security systems and autonomous vehicles. They’re all vulnerable to hacking. The first university to offer an IoT degree in the country, FIU is producing engineers to safeguard these gadgets. These highly trained IoT specialists will also meet the demand for jobs in this emerging field. At eMerge, they simulated security breaches. • Securing the nation’s power grid: A blackout can leave millions of households without power and cost the economy billions of dollars. In an age of increasing cyberattacks, FIU is working to defend the smart grid, an electricity supply network that uses digital communications technology to detect and react to local changes in usage. FIU is conducting research as well as training a generation of engineers uniquely qualified to prevent malicious intrusions that put communities at risk. 20
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Engineers on Wheels The Engineers on Wheels (EOW) program is an initiative that brings engineering students to South Florida K-12 schools. EOW was launched in partnership with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles through a grant from the FCA Foundation. The program provides students with hands-on activities to expose them to careers in STEM.
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FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
Spotlight shines on soon-to-be engineers and their senior design projects A solar and electric-powered trolley, a transfer system that moves patients from one hospital bed to another, and a virtual roll call for police officers. What do all these efforts have in common? They were all senior design projects conceptualized and built by engineering students and displayed at the College of Engineering & Computing’s first-ever Senior Design Project Showcase. The event, held at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center, brought together more than 500 engineering seniors to show their problem-solving skills. In order to graduate, CEC students break into teams, identify a problem in their discipline and come up with a solution that becomes their senior design project. “This was an excellent opportunity to showcase our student talents to the university and the community at large,” said John L. Volakis, dean of the College of Engineering & Computing. “Our students are tackling real-world problems and identifying relevant solutions by integrating their knowledge from the classroom. This is an essential step in exploring their teambuilding and commercialization skills. We look forward to holding this event each semester.” Rossana Zotti, a mechanical engineering student, and her teammates developed the Patient Transfer System. They built a frame with three clamps that attaches to a hospital bed and allows a patient to be transferred among beds by pulling them on a bedsheet. The idea came about after Zotti’s mom suffered a stroke, and she saw nurses struggling to move her from bed to bed. “Patient transfer is difficult,” said Rossana. “Our goal is to alleviate [the strain on ] nurses – to save their backs and allow them to gain independence.” Often, a nurse has to wait for someone to be available to help them transfer a patient, and, in the case of a female nurse, it may be more difficult to lift heavier patients.
This system solves those problems. The event attracted various recruiters scouting for engineering talent. “I hope employers realize we have students here that have the competencies they are looking for – talented, driven and ready to get out into the workforce,” said Emmanuela Stanislaus, associate director for Career & Talent Development at the Engineering Campus. Shirley Bryant, a recruitment manager from FPL/NextEra Energy, Inc., was excited to see all the projects come together in one signature event. “We have lots of relationships with FIU, from the call center and internships to hiring students full-time,” she said. This event, she added, allows her to see how the projects relate with their business and to continue that partnership growth. Microsoft was also on hand looking for fresh talent. This past year, the company hired 11 students and is looking to increase its hires of FIU students. “We look for passion, for technology,” said Brian Caudra, university recruiter, Microsoft. “You can demonstrate that in a variety of ways.” The company wants to hire program managers and software engineers. Some of the student projects have already found their way to the marketplace. Juan Hernandez from the School of Computing and Information Sciences (SCIS) created a virtual roll call system with Police Chief Samuel Ceballos Jr., from the Village of Pinecrest Police Department. The software allows police officers to log on to their computers inside their vehicles and get the same information as in a live roll call. Among the benefits, this software helps officers to spend more time policing.
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By the Numbers
STUDENT PROFILE
ANNUAL REPORT 2017 - 2018
Admissions & Enrollment
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & COMPUTING
90%
Domestic Students
Degrees Offered and Awarded
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FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
RANKINGS Bachelor’s Degrees Awarded
#34
In U.S. among 300 schools
#3
in Florida
#1
To Hispanics
#9
African Americans
#58 To Women
#5
Computer Science
#13
Computer Engineering
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ANNUAL REPORT 2017 - 2018
FACULTY
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & COMPUTING
RESEARCH & INNOVATION
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John L. Volakis Dean Anthony J. McGoron Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
CEC
in the News • Press Releases: 13 • Media Placements: 132 National: 64 Local: 68
Osama A. Mohammed Associate Dean for Research Mark A. Weiss Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education Jose A. Faria Interim Director Moss School of Construction, Infrastructure & Sustainability
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
College of Engineering & Computing
• FIU News/ Magazine Stories: 73 • Text Videos for Social Media: 5
S.S. Iyengar Director, Ryder Professor of Computer Science School of Computing & Information Sciences
Coverage by Strategic Areas of Focus
Mark A. Weiss Interim Director, Eminent Scholar Chaired Professor of Computer Science School of Universal Computing, Construction & Engineering Education (SUCCEED) Ranu Jung Chair, Wallace H. Coulter Eminent Scholars Chair Department of Biomedical Engineering
Student Success
Atorod Azizinamini Chair, Vasant H. Surti Professor of Civil Engineering Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering Shekhar Bhansali Chair, Alcatel-Lucent Professor Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering Arvind Agarwal Chair Department of Mechanical & Materials Engineering
Economic Development
14% 9%
Community Engagement
20%
Research
60%
Chin-Sheng Chen Program Director Enterprise and Logistics Engineering
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Big Data Smart Grid
Neurosensing
BACK COVER / PAGE 24 [LOGO/CONTACT INFO] Sustainability Health Cybersecurity
Radio Frequency Communications
Environment
Materials Energy
cec.fiu.edu Transportation
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18016_ENG_8/18
Florida International University 10555 W. Flagler Street Miami, FL 33174 305.348.2807
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