Seattle University Volume 4, Issue 2. Winter 2017

VOLUME 4, ISSUE 2. WINTER 2017

REACH

WHERE IDEAS + IDEALS CONVERGE

03

ON BEING “OTHER ORIENTED” People who hire our students say they can always recognize a Seattle U engineer or scientist because our students and alumni are “other oriented.” They are not so narrowly focused on the technical problems they are facing that they lose sight of the broader implications of the solutions they propose.

It is what they study here—and how they study it—that makes our graduates that way. Seattle University provides a liberal arts education in the best sense of the term, broadening students’ horizons while encouraging deep dives into new knowledge.

From their first day on campus, the courses they take and the books they read are chosen to open their minds. As they read and discuss the year’s Common Text, all first-year undergraduates engage in a campus-wide, Ignatian-inspired process of inquiry that emphasizes meaning-making and risk-taking.

Our core curriculum—amounting to a full year of coursework in history, literature, philosophy and other liberal arts—opens their minds to new ways of thinking.

But it’s not just the faculty in the liberal arts who embrace the university’s mission to educate the whole person. As you’ll see in this issue of REACH, science and engineering faculty members are also asking themselves, “How will my work impact my students?” They model the values and spirit of inquiry that we strive to instill in our students.

Of course, we want our students to produce first-class results. That’s why our curricula provide plenty of hands-on, problem-based experiences. Our students have opportunities to apply classroom knowledge to real-world problems very early in their studies.

We also focus on improving and enhancing our students’ oral and written communication skills. We hire professional writers to help engineering students polish their technical writing skills. Science professors collaborate with the English department to teach students how to write research papers. Students make presentations at national conferences and defend their work before groups of industry leaders.

Employers tell us this is another way in which Seattle U graduates stand out.

The breadth and depth of the education we provide is a distinguishing characteristic of a Seattle U education. It’s the reason our students are uniquely qualified to apply their skills to the world’s big problems. It is why our alumni stand out from the crowd.

I am grateful to the “other-oriented” graduates from the College of Science and Engineering who are generous with their talent, time and treasure. Some of our alumni return to mentor students, share their professional expertise and even review student resumes. Others sponsor engineering design projects or serve on advisory boards. Many of our alumni generously give of their financial resources. Not content with their own success, they are working to pave the way for those who come after them.

Michael J. Quinn, PhD Dean, College of Science and Engineering

04

A COMMUNITY OF SCHOLARS “ARE THESE GRADUATE STUDENTS?” It’s an easy mistake to make. But the students who have been producing synthetic glycoproteins are undergraduates. So are the students exploring taxicab geometry, and the computer science major who spent the summer examining new issues in cybersecurity. Some are on the verge of publication-worthy results. Others have run up against stumbling blocks and need to regroup. All of them are developing important transferable skills and a passion for discovery that will serve them well, both in and out of the lab.

Seattle U undergraduates who collaborate with faculty researchers learn how to approach questions nobody knows the answer to. As for our faculty, they will tell you that guiding student research is their most important and rewarding work.

“ THIS IS THE NEXT SET OF PEOPLE WHO WILL MAKE NEW DISCOVERIES IN THE FIELD.” BRETT KAISER, PhD Assistant Professor, Biology Each summer, Dr. Kaiser usually has two Seattle U student researchers working with him full time, conducting biochemical experiments characterizing DNA-cleaving enzymes as part of his ongoing collaboration with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. During the academic year, students in his lab-intensive biotechnology courses delve into projects he says are like “biotechnology on steroids.” A major goal is for them to push through frustration and learn the skill of problem solving. Dr. Kaiser says, “I am impressed with how well the students can quickly get up to speed. It’s gratifying to see that undergraduates can contribute in a meaningful way to my research.”

MAKE AN IMPACT. MAKE A GIFT. SEE PAGES 10 & 11.

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“The biology professors have taught me to be a leader in and out of the classroom.

I have had many opportunities to take initiative, especially in the lab.”

BRITTANY TAKUSHI, ’18, CMOL, CHEM

“ UNDERGRADUATES CAN BE QUITE AMBITIOUS—AND VERY RESILIENT.” SHINY ABRAHAM, PhD Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering As a researcher specializing in the Internet of Things (IoT), Dr. Abraham has experienced the transformative power of undergraduate research, especially when students are innovating and building their own IoT devices. “We have a nine-month-long junior lab sequence during which students acquire hands-on skills and encounter challenges that hone their design thinking process,” she says. “By the end of that sequence, students are quite resilient.” Dr. Abraham invites her IoT students to collaborate on her research, and some of her recent publications have student co-authors. Rising seniors and juniors have been assisting her with developing supplementary exercises for the IoT curriculum, funded by W. M. Keck Foundation. One of Dr. Abraham’s biggest rewards is when students who have joined the workforce return to share the impact their research experience has had on their career paths.

“ARE YOU STUCK? GREAT! THAT MEANS YOU’RE WORKING ON SOMETHING IMPORTANT.” STEVE KLEE, PhD Assistant Professor, Mathematics Funded in part by grants from the National Science Foundation and by supporters of our undergraduate research program, Dr. Steven Klee has been working with students from SU and beyond for the past five summers.

“Our students have a fresh perspective. They come up with awesome ideas we would never think of,” he says. A rising senior brought Dr. Klee a problem he didn’t believe anyone had worked on before. “He was right,” says Dr. Klee. “And he’s crushing it!” Another group of students working on a problem in combinatorics observed a nice pattern in a sequence of numbers they had been studying. “They wanted to explore it,” says Dr. Klee. “We kept coming back to it, and based on their proof, we now have an interesting paper in The American Mathematical Monthly. Our fields are always advancing. The skills students develop now will be useful as they go out and enter the STEM workforce.”

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THE POWER OF EIGHT FOCU want to create an inclusive, “ Isupportive and academically

most important thing I hope my While we are dedicated to I hope that our students “ The “ “ students take away from my classes helping students learn the graduate from our program

challenging learning environment

is that mathematics is a beautiful,

essential concepts of

with knowledge in the

where personal attention from

complex, structured, abstract,

science, we involve students

foundations, desire to learn

faculty, peer mentoring, collaboration

growing realm and that, by exploring

in research so they also

more and confidence to

and hands-on projects help our

this realm, students will develop

learn to do science—the

ask good questions and to

students reach their potential. I

important skills that not only allow

whole messy, challenging,

adapt to the ever-changing

believe the best learning happens

them to better navigate and

uncertain, embracing,

field of computing.

when students feel that they

appreciate mathematics itself, but

thrilling experience.

ROSHANAK ROSHANDEL, PhD

belong to a community; they are

any area of human thought.

LINDSAY WHITLOW, PhD

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR &

inspired not only to excel in their

DYLAN HELLIWELL, PhD

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR &

CHAIR, COMPUTER

courses but also to innovate.

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR & CHAIR,

CHAIR, BIOLOGY

SCIENCE

AGNIESZKA MIGUEL, PhD

MATHEMATICS

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR & CHAIR, ELECTRICAL & COMPUTER ENGINEERING

07

USED ON STUDENT SUCCESS in science and technology I want to help my students I want to maximize each “ Advances “ “ come from young minds pushing into develop a strong understanding student’s potential by

is the center“ Research piece of our curriculum,

the unknown. As professors teaching

of the fundamentals and see

understanding their interests

and our faculty view the

courses and in supervising under-

how these principles are

and aspirations and by

mentorship of under-

graduate research, my colleagues

applied in practice. If they

creating a program that will

graduate researchers as

and I emphasize this creative spirit

leave here excited about civil

help them be successful in

their most important and

of inquiry, and not just learning what

engineering and the impact

life and career.

fulfilling work.

has been already established. An

they can have on society, then

TEODORA SHUMAN, PhD

JOSEPH LANGENHAN, PhD

open mind is more vital than ever.

I have done my job.

PROFESSOR & CHAIR,

PROFESSOR & CHAIR,

DAVID BONESS, PhD

KATIE KUDER, PhD

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

CHEMISTRY

PROFESSOR & CHAIR, PHYSICS

PROFESSOR & CHAIR, CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

08

COMPUTING FOR ALL An Educational Foundation for a Lifetime of Success Computer Science is the fastest growing department at Seattle University, boasting four undergraduate programs, two graduate programs and three graduate certificates including a careerchange certificate program. Department chair Roshanak Roshandel, PhD, is justifiably proud of her department’s engagement with industry and the contributions her faculty and alumni are making throughout the greater Seattle tech community.

Dr. Roshandel’s vision is supported by a flexible curriculum that allows students to pursue other areas they are passionate about, combined with a major or minor in computer science.

Last year, two students leveraged this option and graduated with double degrees—one in CS + Communications, the other in CS + Theater. This educational path balances ambition with pragmatism, truly focuses on educating the whole person and is available to all Seattle U students.

“More exciting than our current growth and projections for future growth is how computing and computational thinking are becoming an indispensable component of many different disciplines,” she says. “My vision is that we will serve many more students beyond our department’s majors by offering classes in programming, problem solving, design, machine learning and analytics to the broader community of SU students. Whether they’re majoring in humanities, arts, business, or science and engineering, all Seattle U students should have the opportunity to take computing courses that would enable them to apply computational approaches in their disciplinary areas.”

This integrated expansion to the entire student body will prepare Seattle U students to enter the workforce ready to tackle the many challenges and opportunities that the future holds. “Imagine the day when every Seattle U graduate will have enough computing knowledge to gather data, use an algorithm to form a representation of the problem they are trying to solve, and predict outcomes,” says Dr. Roshandel.

That day, she believes, is right around the corner.

“In our program, we teach foundations of computational problem solving, analytical reasoning and critical thinking. We also teach teamwork, leadership and communication skills. Our curriculum delivers the fundamentals that enable students to adapt to changes in the rapidly changing technology and its advances throughout their careers.”

ROSHANAK ROSHANDEL, PhD ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR & CHAIR, COMPUTER SCIENCE

DRAMATIC GROWTH IN COMPUTER SCIENCE UNDERGRADUATES & GRAD STUDENTS

2013

184

STUDENTS

2017

352

STUDENTS

2022

450

STUDENTS

09

MAKE AN IMPACT. MAKE A GIFT. SEE PAGES 10 & 11.

ENGINEERING WITH ENGINEERS A Revolution in Engineering Education Today’s mechanical engineering majors already experience the Seattle U difference: small class sizes, a dozen lab-based courses, teaching methods nationally recognized to enhance student learning, collaboration with professors doing cuttingedge research and a rigorous curriculum that combines a strong theoretical foundation with hands-on experiences. Now, a recent $1.86M National Science Foundation grant—one of the largest in Seattle U history—will revolutionize the student experience for mechanical engineering majors and dramatically increase Seattle U’s strong ties to the engineering community. In fact, it just might change engineering education across the nation.

When the new program kicks off in the fall of 2018, mechanical engineering majors will be immersed in the culture of professional engineering. They will get hands-on real-world engineering problems beginning in their first year of study. They will connect theory to practice under the guidance of a professional Engineer in Residence, and benefit from opportunities to attend national conferences. Still in the planning stages are department-wide Makeathon Days, where students will team up to design, build and test their solutions to industry-relevant problems assigned by engineering professionals.

“This grant will bring engineering practice to students, and students to engineering practice, and help our students develop their identities as engineers,” says Teodora Shuman, Mechanical Engineering Chair and PACCAR Professor. “We believe the new program will have a positive impact on all students, including women and underrepresented minorities.”

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IDEAS. IDEALS. “The difference between Seattle University and other institutions is its Jesuit focus around transcendentals—honor, faith, trust, humanism and community. As we live in a world that is rapidly being recast by technology, SU gives us a fundamental understanding of how important our humanity is by giving us those core compass points.”

DAVE SABEY, CHAIRMAN AND PRESIDENT, SABEY CORPORATION AND SABEY DATA CENTERS. CO-CHAIR, SEATTLE UNIVERSITY COMPREHENSIVE CAMPAIGN

11

IMPACT. Our students are innovators and inventors. Researchers and collaborators.

Strategic thinkers and problem solvers. No matter what their career goals might be, they have one thing in common: They are counting on your support.

PARTNER ENGAGE GIVE

Open doors for the next generation of leaders in the STEM fields.

Sponsor an engineering design project or serve on an advisory board.

Network with our students and share your expertise! Deliver a lecture, lead a departmental seminar or mentor a young inventor or researcher.

Support Dean Quinn’s strategic priorities with your gift to the Dean’s Fund.

Our students are counting on you!

MAKE YOUR YEAR-END GIFT TODAY. Use the enclosed envelope, or visit seattleu.edu/giving and choose the College of Science & Engineering Dean’s Fund.

Would you like to discuss your gift?

Contact Michelle Finet, Senior Director of Development.

206-296-2846 / finetm@seattleu.edu

Seattle University 901 12th Ave PO Box 222000 Seattle, WA 98122

Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Seattle, WA Permit No. 2783

MAKE AN IMPACT. MAKE YOUR YEAR-END GIFT TODAY! Visit seattleu.edu/giving and choose the College of Science & Engineering Dean’s Fund.

Or contact Michelle Finet, Senior Director of Development: 206-296-2846 / finetm@seattleu.edu

Michael J. Quinn, PhD Dean, College of Science and Engineering

seattleu.edu/scieng Printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper free of chlorine chemistry. Printed with bio-renewable inks.