Greetings from Northwestern Engineering
A message from Dean Schuh
Like many universities across the country, we began this school year still facing significant headwinds. Yet at the same time, we welcomed a record undergraduate class, an outstanding cohort of new faculty, and exceptionally strong classes of MS and PhD students. As our students returned to campus, I was inspired by the energy and excitement they brought.
That is because engineers prosper in times of uncertainty. Watching our students, faculty, and staff innovate in both the lab and classroom—creating solutions that benefit society—is one of the true pleasures of my job. This issue highlights just some of the wide range of projects that both solve problems and lay the groundwork for a bright future.
One area of immediate impact is water. Our faculty members are working to help people access safe drinking water by developing technologies to detect and remove contaminants from water supplies. They are also studying how to put those contaminants to new and better uses.
This issue also features our impact in materials research—a longtime strength of Northwestern Engineering. Our teams are using new methods to design materials that can help batteries last longer and structural materials that are stronger and more sustainable.
Finally, to lay the groundwork for the future, we continue to focus on providing adaptive and innovative education that meets and anticipates the needs of today and tomorrow. You might wonder how we are handling the rise of generative AI tools in our computer science courses. We want our students to learn the fundamentals of CS without using shortcuts, but we also know that students need to understand how to use these tools in their careers. I hope you’ll read more about our approach.
I am inspired by the continued momentum for our school. We have come together to meet this moment, and I know our efforts will continue to pay dividends. I’m grateful to the alumni and friends who have shared their support over this past year, and I’m excited to move forward together.
Dean, McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science