FROM THE DEAN

It is my honor to be leading this great College of Engineering at Northeastern as your new dean. Since I joined in March, I have felt the vibrancy of the people, students, and environment. I look forward to continuing our bold education and research efforts to further propel the college forward. Read more about my background in the Q&A article on the next page.

Education is the great equalizer. It’s a sentiment established in 1848 by Horace Mann and lives true to this day. In the College of Engineering, we are committed to developing the next generation of engineers that are reflective of our global society. In the article, “Changing the Face of Engineering,” we shine light on a few of our students’ journeys and how our innovative programs have made a difference in their lives—and how they are giving back.

As I said previously, our College is vibrant! It is also resilient. Amid the pandemic, like our faculty, our students contributed to making a difference in a variety of ways, from founding a startup to produce face shields to working on co-op on a COVID vaccine. Also, I am very proud to share that six of 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, from robotics to climate change. With such a broad scope, in this magazine edition we drill down into the many efforts underway focused on AI in the healthcare industry. See page 24.

We continue to innovate in all we do with a focus on transforming the world. Read about our dual PhD program spanning continents, and our one-of-a-kind drone testing lab and new entrepreneurship facilities at the Innovation Campus, among others.

We are very thankful for the generous philanthropy of our alumni and friends. No gift is too small and all contribute to our ability to support students and faculty with research capabilities, activities, scholarships, and so much more. Beginning on page 52, we highlight gifts to further opportunity for historically underrepresented students, as well as some inspiring donor stories.

Our Northeastern community is looking forward to a more normal fall 2021 semester. Wishing all of you renewed hope post-pandemic and well wishes in the year ahead.

Gregory D. Abowd, Dean

College of Engineering

dean@coe.neu.edu