FROM THE DEAN
I
t is my honor to be leading this great College of
from robotics to climate change. With such a broad scope,
Engineering at Northeastern as your new dean. Since I
in this magazine edition we drill down into the many
joined in March, I have felt the vibrancy of the people,
efforts underway focused on AI in the healthcare industry.
students, and environment. I look forward to continuing our
See page 24.
bold education and research efforts to further propel the college forward. Read more about my background in the Q&A
We continue to innovate in all we do with a focus on
article on the next page.
transforming the world. Read about our dual PhD program spanning continents, and our one-of-a-kind drone testing lab
Education is the great equalizer. It’s a sentiment established
and new entrepreneurship facilities at the Innovation Campus,
in 1848 by Horace Mann and lives true to this day. In the
among others.
College of Engineering, we are committed to developing the next generation of engineers that are reflective of our global
We are very thankful for the generous philanthropy of our
society. In the article, “Changing the Face of Engineering,”
alumni and friends. No gift is too small and all contribute
we shine light on a few of our students’ journeys and how
to our ability to support students and faculty with research
our innovative programs have made a difference in their
capabilities, activities, scholarships, and so much more.
lives—and how they are giving back.
Beginning on page 52, we highlight gifts to further opportunity for historically underrepresented students, as well
As I said previously, our College is vibrant! It is also resilient.
as some inspiring donor stories.
Amid the pandemic, like our faculty, our students contributed to making a difference in a variety of ways, from founding
Our Northeastern community is looking forward to a more
a startup to produce face shields to working on co-op on a
normal fall 2021 semester. Wishing all of you renewed hope
COVID vaccine. Also, I am very proud to share that six of
post-pandemic and well wishes in the year ahead.
our faculty received National Science Foundation CAREER Awards this year—more than ever before. All this and more can be found in the “Campus Beat” section. With an engineering strength in artificial intelligence coupled with Northeastern's newly established Institute for Experiential AI—College of Engineering researchers are working on interdisciplinary AI solutions across disciplines,
IFC1 Engineering @ Northeastern | SPRING 2021
Gregory D. Abowd, Dean College of Engineering dean@coe.neu.edu
