COLLEGE NEWS
CULLEN COLLEGE ENTERS INTO
SCHOLARS PROGRAM BY STEPHEN GREENWELL As part of the Cullen College of Engineering's continued effort to provide robust and diverse learning opportunities, students can now apply to be part of the first cohort ever at the University of Houston for the National Academy of Engineering's Grand Challenges Scholars Program. Dan W. Burleson, Ph.D., an instructional associate professor with the First Year Experience and the Director for the Engineering Student Innovation and Design Experience (ESIDE), is spearheading the college's effort to establish the program. He saw it as a natural extension of the First Year Experience, which currently engages students with projects centered around the NAE Grand Challenges. “The Grand Challenges program itself is meant to have more longevity than just a single project,” he said, comparing it to a distinction like graduating with honors that could be put on a resume. “It's about giving students a full experience in engineering and beyond, and bringing in some components that aren't typically in an engineering curriculum. That's where you see an entrepreneurship component, a multicultural component, a social consciousness component.”
University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering
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