As deans of the engineer-ing colleges at West VirginiaUniversity and at WVUTech, we deal daily with theproblems facing higher edu-cation today. In particular,the rapidly increasing paceof technological change hasmade engineering educationmore complex and muchmore expensive to deliver. Atthe same time, we must dealwith many issues relating tostudent preparedness forengineering studies.

On the brighter side, wefeel privileged to work withsome of the most dedicatedfaculty members, the mostloyal alumni, and the bestand brightest students any-where. We cannot thank ourfaculty, our alumni and ourdonors enough; we could notaccomplish what we do with-out their commitment andsupport, and we are evergrateful for their friendshipand loyalty.

But, it is mainly on ourstudents that we wish tofocus our attention today.The intelligence, enthusi-asm, and drive of the manyexceptional young people inour colleges lift our spirits,renew our pride in the workthat we do, and fill us withhope for the future, not justfor West Virginia, but forour society and our world.We thought you might liketo hear about a few of thosestudents.

Kerri Beth Phillips cameto WVU from her hometownof Weirton, West Virginia. Adual major in mechanicaland aerospace engineering,Kerri not only performed atan extremely high level inher classes, she has givengenerously of her time andtalents to many studentorganizations. She has alsobeen highly involved inresearch, especially throughthe WVU MicrogravityTeam, which flew with the

NASA Reduced Gravity Pro-gram aboard its C-9 aircraft.

Of the many awards andhonors Kerri has receivedthroughout her academiccareer, probably the highestof those came in 2006, whenshe was named a GoldwaterScholar, the nation's premieraward in math, science andengineering. Kerri complet-ed her bachelor's degrees inmechanical and aerospaceengineering and graduatedsumma cum laude in Decem-ber of last year, and is nowpursuing a doctoral degreein aerospace engineering atWVU.

Morgantown native JasonGross, also a mechanicaland aerospace engineeringgraduate, had an extremelydiverse and challengingundergraduate experiencethat included floating inzero gravity, interning withNASA, serving as WVU'sstudent body president andsitting on the WVU Board ofGovernors. Jason was select-ed to attend the prestigiousNASA Academy, whichrecruits and develops aselect group of gifted stu-dents for leadership posi-tions in aerospace programs.There Jason did better thanhold his own among hispeers: At the conclusion ofthe summer, he received theRobert H. Goddard ResearchAward, the highest researchaward given by the Acade-my, for work he did over thesummer on a project relatingto the James Webb SpaceTelescope. He is currentlyenrolled in WVU's PhD pro-gram in aerospace engineer-ing.

Elkview native BrandiShafer graduated magnacum laude from WVU Techin May 2005 with bachelor'sdegrees in computer scienceand math. As an undergrad-uate, she was activelyengaged in research focused

in the area of image com-pression. Since completingher undergraduate degree,Brandi has earned a mas-ter's degree in computer sci-ence from WVU and isworking on a second mas-ter's degree in math. In hersummers she gives backthrough active participationin the 4-H program. Brandiis also giving back toyounger students at WVUTech, where she is now serv-ing as a visiting lecturer,teaching advanced computerscience, advanced math andsoftware tools. She will fin-ish her master's degree fromWVU in math in 2009.

Kerri, Jason, and Brandiare just a few examples ofthe many fine students thatWest Virginia has producedfrom its own hometowns, andthat our engineering pro-

grams at West Virginia Uni-versity and WVU Tech havehelped mold into accom-plished professionals. Wecould tell you of many others- from civil engineering stu-dents helping to develop newmaterials to replace ouraging highway infrastructureto chemical engineering grad-uates being accepted to thenation's most prestigiousgraduate programs.

Many of our students arefirst-generation college stu-dents, and some of themcome not from privilegedbackgrounds, but from diffi-cult circumstances. But, ourexcellent faculty membersmentor and encourage them,and our outstanding alumnialso provide exceptional sup-port for them through schol-arships, internships,mentoring and other support.

And, by and large, when ourstudents do the hard workthat it takes to succeed inSTEM (science, technology,engineering and math)careers, they are prepared togo on to very successfulcareers and to compete in theglobal marketplace.

Our students are why weare all here, and they moti-vate all of us at WVU and

WVU Tech to continue toprovide high-quality engi-neering education for WestVirginia.

— Gene Cilento, GlenHiner Dean, College of Engi-neering and MineralResources, WVU

James Cercone, InterimDean, Leonard C. NelsonCollege of Engineering, WVUTech

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Municipal Engineering • Land DevelopmentConstruction Engineering • Surveying

Structural Engineering• Transportation Engineering

www.randolphengineering.com

4414 Teays Valley Rd. • Scott Depot, WV 25560304.757.9217

• CAD Drafting Services

Located in South Charleston’s Plaza IV Building318-24 4th Ave • South Charleston, WV 25303304.720.2341• www.ae-repro.com

• Plotting

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Celebrating 10 years of providing “point of sale” CADdesign, custom-drawn house plans, wide formatcopying and printing services.

Contact Information:

West Virginia UniversityCollege of Engineering and MineralResources(304) 293-4821 ext. 2228www.cemr.wvu.edu

WVU Institute of TechnologyLeonard C. Nelson College of Engineering(304) 442-3161www.wvutech.edu

West Virginia University and the WVU Institute of Technology areproviding excellence in engineering education and research for the

future of our state and our nation:

• 3,000 of our region’s best students, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels

• Challenging curriculum, supportive, student-friendly environment

• Excellent and high-paying jobs in West Virginia and around the world.

• Hands-on research experience for students at all levels

• Exciting learning environment, advanced laboratories,classrooms, equipment

• Distinguished faculty members as teachers andmentors

• A growing leader in energy, biometrics,nanotechnology, advanced materials research

• Industry and government partners,contributing to economic development

Programs Offered:

Aerospace Engineering, B.S.,M.S., Ph.D.*

Biometric Systems, B.S.*Chemical Engineering, B.S. M.S., Ph.D.

Civil Engineering, B.S., M.S., Ph.D.Computer Engineering, B.S., M.S., Ph.D.*

Computer Science, B.S., M.S., Ph.D.Electrical Engineering, B.S., M.S., Ph.D.

Industrial Engineering, B.S., M.S., Ph.D.*Industrial Hygiene, M.S.

Mechanical Engineering, B., S., M.S., Ph.D.Mining Engineering, B.S., M.S., Ph.D.*

Occupational Safety and Health, M.S., Ph.D.Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, B.S., M.S., Ph.D.*

Safety Management, M.S.Software Engineering, M.S.

*Offered at Morgantown campus only

EngineeringWest Virginia’s

Future

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