This video is (hopefully) the first in a series about different programs within the College of Engineering.  If you’re thinking about becoming an engineer but not sure what the different fields are or what they do, this series should interest you.

This video is an interview with Dr. C. David Murphy, Interim Chair of the Department of Chemical and Natural Gas Engineering.  He discusses different jobs and specializations within chemical engineering.  Hope you all find it useful!  It’s about 6 minutes long but full of good info.

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I took some video while students were working on homework for my CEEN 4317 – Computer Methods in Civil Engineering course.  The students used a structural analysis program, Risa 2D, to find the internal forces for three structures (a truss, a beam, and a frame).

I enjoy teaching this class because it gives me an opportunity to introduce students to many different types of software.  At the same time, it is a real challenge to teach because I have to familiarize myself with many different types of software.    Overall, I think the class is worthwhile and kids get out of it what they are willing to put in– like all aspects of education.

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On October 9th, the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering hosted its first ever Girl Scout Day.  I developed a program with the Girl Scouts of Great South Texas so that participants could earn a Build a Better Future patch by completing a series of activities.  We had a great time!

Thanks again to all the volunteers, student and faculty alike, who made this event possible.  I look forward to making it an annual event.

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The Javelina Engineering Student Success Center (JESSC) was launched in Fall 2010 to increase student access to registration advice, career services, and other resources.  The JESSC is located in room 114 of the Engineering Complex.  Students can use the foyer for studying or computer work.  My favorite component is the bookshelf.  Professors have donated textbooks that students may borrow.

This video is a conversation with Sheryl Custer, the JESSC director.

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Welcome back to school, everyone.  I don’t have any new videos to show you yet, but I am trying to edit a really great (but long) video I took this spring.  I spoke with several young women in our civil and architectural engineering programs about their experiences at TAMUK.  That should be coming out as a two or three part series as soon as I can figure out the video editing software. 

In the meantime, we had some really great news for the civil engineering program.  The Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET re-accredited the civil program for the full six years!  This result was the best possible outcome and represents approximately two years of hard work on the part of the civil faculty members.  The icing on the cake is that all four of our engineering programs up for re-accrediation also received six years.  So, at this point, the College of Engineering continues to offer fully accredited undergraduate programs in: chemical, civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering.

Coming soon– an initial accreditation visit for architectural engineering!

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For those of you interested in what a professor does during “summer vacation,” I thought I’d give a quick update.  Here are a few of the things I’ve done this summer (sorry, no good videos).

Right after graduation, I went to the 5th International Symposium on Computational Wind Engineering to present a research paper about wind effects on vertical, cylindrical pressure vessels (used in petrochemical plants).

The first week of June, I helped coordinate the Future Civil Engineers Summer Institute.  In conjunction with the Texas Transportation Institute, the summer institute hosted 16 middle school students on our campus.  Kids built balsa wood bridges, mixed concrete, visited the Corpus Christi office of the Texas Transportation Institute, and enjoyed other activities as they learned about careers in engineering.

For the rest of June and first part of July, I worked on writing projects.   A particularly interesting one was an ABET report.  Our architectural engineering program is going up for its initial ABET accreditation this fall, and I helped write the self-study report.  The self-study report is the first step in the process of accrediation; our next step will be a site visit this November.  Three engineers will be sent by ABET to poke and prod our program until they are sure our kids are getting a good, quality education.  Attending an ABET accredited program has important ramifications for future engineers.  To read more about this organization, check out: http://www.abet.org

Finally, in mid-July I went to Boulder, Colorado, to attend the ExCEEd (Excellence in Civil Engineering Education) workshop.  This teaching workshop is focused on improving the quality of civil engineering education.  Over twenty civil engineering professors attended to learn about educational theory, get tips for improving classroom presentations, and have our teaching evaluated by our peers.  It was a long, long week packed with activities.

So, that should give you an idea of what a professor does in her “off-time.”  I’ve also advised several graduate students on their research projects and have some new research about to get started, etc., etc., etc.  It’s been a very busy summer!  Right now, I plan to take a few weeks off to be with my family and get some rest before the fall semester.

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Stopped the previous video before I got to the civil engineers, so here is a really short video of our civil graduates.

Congratulations to our honor, AE, and CE graduates: Paul, Luis, Kyle W., Esther, Neil, Jorge, Matt, Iris, Raul, Jose L., Jose G., Elias, Blake, Colin, Victoria, Kyle H., Eric, and Julio!

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During graduation, I was sitting on the aisle, so I got to watch our students’ procession into the stadium.  This video shows honor graduates from the College of Engineering as well as our architectural engineering graduates.

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I ran into most of our graduating civil engineers right before graduation and was able to capture some of their high spirits.  Graduation is probably my favorite part of each semester.  It is great to join the students and their families in celebrating their accomplishments.

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Right before graduation, the College of Engineering hosts a ringing out ceremony for new graduates.  The ceremony idea started in a chemical engineering freshman course as a way to bring more traditions to engineering students.

In the fall, new students are provided with an opportunity to “ring in to learn”, while graduating seniors “ring out to serve” every spring.  The idea of service is an important one in engineering, because the work our graduates do directly affects public welfare.  This ceremony is a good way to celebrate accomplishments while reminding students of their responsibilities as engineers.

I have two videos of the ceremony.  The one in this post includes some introductory remarks by Dr. Chisholm (whose freshman class initiated this idea) as well as Dr. Chisholm leading the students in the pledge.

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