College of Engineering
Message from Dean Collins
Our goals for the next decade will propel the College of Engineering to the forefront of education and research in Engineering and a position among the top-five best engineering schools in the United States.
First, we will broaden our students’ technical knowledge and skills, while also fostering their development as leaders who are truly global. We will continue to produce Ivy League graduates who possess advanced knowledge in the humanities and social sciences, along with unparalleled engineering expertise. We recruit our students nationally and globally, many aspiring to high levels in large corporations or to create tomorrow’s leading companies. We give them outstanding opportunities to study in a variety of settings -- including project work in other countries -- that broadens their view of how to impact the world.
previous entriesOur Strategic Vision
Vision. To create a better future for all through leadership in research and excellence in engineering education by fostering a challenging, enlightened, and collaborative academic environment and a supportive environment for ground-breaking discovery and problem solving.
Mission. Make a direct impact on some of the biggest problems facing our world, and produce leaders who take the world in new directions, solving problems and creating new opportunities
Aspiration. The College of Engineering at Cornell University will be widely recognized as a top-five engineering college in undergraduate and graduate studies.
Our Plan
Largely due to the generosity of its alumni, parents, and friends, Cornell University’s College of Engineering has flourished, enabling greater funding of professorships, programs, and facilities. This tradition of giving is more critical now when Cornell University overall embarks on the most ambitious capital campaign in its history and the College of Engineering, supported by CornellNOW!, strives to reach goals that propel us to our vision. We will make strategic investments in the following areas of special focus:
Recruit, retain, and enable a diverse community of exceptional faculty, students, and staff. At the absolute core of achieving top-five recognition is superb people in every category–a goal that drives all our strategic objectives. Numbers are not enough. Our objective is to attract the best people to Ithaca and to the College of Engineering.
The Role of Research
We are already recognized as international leaders in three important areas that continue to present new opportunities to address worldwide challenges: Advanced Materials; Nanoscience; and Complex Systems, Network Science, and Computation. We will be actively expanding coordination across disciplines, such as the proposed transition of the Center for Applied Mathematics (CAM) and Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) into a single entity, Computational and Applied Mathematics.
Two other research areas stand out in terms of the magnitude and criticality of world challenges and the contributions Cornell can make because of our extensive talent: Bioengineering; and Energy and the Environment. Careful cross-disciplinary coordination around Bioengineering and Energy and the Environment will allow us to leverage our existing resources effectively.
We will support activities at these intersections while our departments maintain their critical focus areas.
Highlights of Recent Gifts
Some of our recent gifts reflect the College of Engineering’s focus over the past year:
Michele ’85 and Burt Kaliski have recently committed to a $250,000 gift to the College of Engineering: $125,000 seed funding to launch the Innovators Award Competition in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, with an additional $125,000 in two years, pending the successful launch of the program. The competition will award $10,000 cash prizes annually to six teams that design and develop a commercially viable technology based on electrical and computer engineering. Part of the Kaliskis’ gift will go towards establishing the endowed Ronald ’57 and Frederick ’86 Fichtl Innovation Fund, named in honor of Michele's father and brother, respectively, who both also graduated from the College of Engineering.
Jim Ricotta ’81, a former member of the Cornell University Council and a newly appointed member of the College of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council, has made a $250,000 gift to the College of Engineering in support of faculty recruitment. The funds will be used at the dean’s discretion to support hiring efforts and start-up costs in the college. Trustee and Major Gifts Committee member David Croll ’70 was instrumental in furthering Jim’s relationship with Cornell and cultivating this major gift.
Thomas Moore ’67, MEN ’68, has made an advised bequest of $1,182,700, discounted to $662,312, for an undergraduate scholarship for students in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.
Ed Plummer ’82 also took advantage of the scholarship match and established an endowed scholarship in the College of Engineering in honor of his wife, Susan C. Schnabel ’83. Preference will be given to women studying engineering. This was the couple’s first major gift, and they each received credit for their respective 30th Reunions.
- College Naming Opportunities
- Faculty Renewal And Recruitment
- Graduate Fellowships
- Excellence in Education Intitiatives
- College Fundraising Opportunities
Our Priority Areas
Faculty Renewal and Recruitment
Graduate Fellowships
Excellence in Education Initiatives
Sustainability & Energy Initiatives
Undergraduate Scholarships
Annual Fund
Biomedical Engineering
Faculty Diversity
Faculty Renewal And Recruitment
The College of Engineering faces a difficult period over the next 5 years to recruit and retain nearly a third of our faculty who will be retiring. It is imperative that we engage unique ways of doing this and not wait till the need is right upon us. New funding will now allow us to be opportunistic and set up programs to find and hire the best faculty, which will include underrepresented minorities and women. Priorities will be funding additional professorships and increased research capacity in areas such as Energy and Bioengineering.
Graduate Fellowships
To remain competitive, Cornell’s College of Engineering should be in the position to offer fellowships to every first year graduate student. Being able to recruit top talent nationally and internationally to work with Cornell faculty requires providing more assistance in the form of graduate fellowships. Currently the college provides fellowships to less than half of it graduate students. The majority of graduate students recieve financial support. However Cornell's support for graduate fellowships lags behind most of our peer institutions. Increasing the number of graduate fellowships and offering stipends that are competitive with peer universities will enable Cornell to sustain and reach beyond its current level of excellence in fundamental disciplines and in key interdisciplinary domains. Graduate students are among the univerity's most valuable assets, and Cornell remains committed to providing advanced education to a large, diverse, and intellectually impressive cohort of student scholars.
Excellence in Education Intitiatives
The College of Engineering has an Engineering Learning Initiative program that facilitates cooperative learning, undergraduate research, and peer tutoring.
The College of Engineering seeks to raise $10 million in endowment to:
Sustain Student Teams program in perpetuity, support existing experiential learning opportunities and seed new programs
College Fundraising Opportunities
There are many types of gift designations that are beneficial across the College. These include support for faculty positions, undergraduate and graduate student support, and discretionary funds for use by the Dean or by department chairs and school directors. The naming opportunities below can be established at the College level or can be directed toward individual Schools or Departments.
- School & Department Priorities
- Applied & Engineering Physics
- Biomedical Engineering
- Chemical & Biomolecular Eng.
- Civil & Environmental Engineering
- Earth & Atmospheric Sciences
- Electrical & Computer Engineering
- Materials Science & Engineering
- Mechanical & Aerospace Eng.
- Operations Research & Info. Eng.
College Naming Opportunities
For those whose most profound interest is in the specific needs of a School or Department, there are unique giving opportunities within each area that can have an impact.
Applied & Engineering Physics
The School of Applied and Engineering Physics (AEP) boasts one of the premier applied physics research programs in the world as well as the country's premier undergraduate engineering physics program. Our faculty members, their research groups, and the quality of our educational programs and graduates are all internationally recognized.
The mission of the School of Applied and Engineering Physics is to create and disseminate knowledge in intellectual areas at the interface between physics and traditional engineering or scientific disciplines, using the techniques, skills and principles commonly associated with physics. We create knowledge through research and scholarly activity. We disseminate knowledge both by educating undergraduate and graduate students and by performing service to industry, government and professional societies. In all of the endeavors required to fulfill this mission, we aim to maintain the highest standards of excellence.
See additional priorities below.
Biomedical Engineering
The primary mission of the Department of Biomedical Engineering is to educate students to understand the human body as an integrated system and the mechanisms of disease through quantitative engineering analysis, and to use that understanding to design better therapeutic strategies, devices, and diagnostics to improve human health.
The Department of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University is building research and educational programs around a vision that a quantitative understanding of the human body can be used as a foundation for the rational design of therapies, molecules, devices, and diagnostic procedures to improve human health.
See additional opportunties below.
Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
Great teaching. Ground-breaking research. Cornell’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, combines these in a highly collaborative environment. They’re just some of the reasons that CBE is internationally recognized and has been highly ranked among the top programs in our fields.
We have two complementary missions:
To prepare our students for life-long achievement through education in the principles of chemical engineering by methods which encourage the development of communication, teamwork and leadership skills, and by guidance on the application of these principles and skills to societal needs.
To advance, through research and scholarship, an understanding of the fundamentals of chemical engineering and apply those principles to the creation of new devices or strategies for the solution of societal problems
See additional fundraising opportunties below.
Civil & Environmental Engineering
The School of Civil and Environmental Engineering has a distinguished history and a tradition of excellence in teaching, research, and service. The School currently offers premier educational and research programs in three broad intellectual areas: Civil Infrastructure, Environment, and Engineering Systems and Management.
The Mission of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering is:
To educate future creators, innovators, and communicators who will employ their grounding in engineering to become leaders in many spheres of society.
To discover and develop new knowledge and sustainable technologies that improve the practice of engineering in service to society.
To serve and improve the University, the engineering profession, and society at large.
The Vision of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering is:
Undergraduate, professional, and graduate education that inspires students, confers mastery, and promotes ethical behavior.
Research that transforms the art and practice of engineering.
Flexibility in innovation and expertise that meets the growing challenges of human society through technology advanced, yet sustainable solutions.
See additional fundraising opportuinties below.
Earth & Atmospheric Sciences
EAS is part of a fast moving, interdisciplinary, field of knowledge. Our research responsibility is very broad: to gain a better understanding of how the natural earth systems function, and to work with others to apply this knowledge to develop sustainable relationships. Current challenges call upon us to help society meet its many needs. We are dedicated to training the next generation of specialists who will use earth system sciences in their careers and to providing broad education to the campus community and society beyond Cornell. Join us in learning about geosciences, atmospheric sciences, ocean sciences, and many interdisciplinary variations.
EAS’s mission is to advance knowledge of Earth's natural systems and history, and to develop future leaders.
EAS’s vision is to understanding of Earth's system is essential to the prosperity and future of society. Our graduates will be leaders in the application of earth sciences to betterment of life, in setting public policy, in education of an earth-savvy public, and in better understanding the earth system.
See additional opportunites below.
Electrical & Computer Engineering
Electrical and Computer Engineering is among the largest schools in College of Engineering, and consistently ranks among the top ECE schools nationally.
Our programs encompass digital and computer systems, embedded processors, digital signal processing, RF (wireless) systems, optical communications, atmospheric and space plasmas, energy and power engineering, solid-state electronics, integrated circuit design and fabrication, bioelectrical devices and circuits, and biomedical applications such as image processing, sensors, and signal analysis, and more.
Cornell ECE remains at the forefront of these fields, educating and training the next generation of engineers while driving the leading edge of technology.
See additional opportunties below.
Materials Science & Engineering
The Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Cornell University is one of the premier MSE programs internationally. We earned this position through our leadership in innovative interdisciplinary research and our dedication to providing an exceptional education at all levels.
Our vision is to be a vibrant, supportive community of materials scientists and engineers developing fundamental understanding, enabling advanced technologies, and providing world leadership through education and innovative research.
Our mission is to:
Create a stimulating and nurturing educational environment broadly preparing students at all levels for successful careers;
Advance a fundamental understanding of materials properties, processing and applications by performing leading edge, world class research in collaboration with industry and academic leaders;
Engage in collaborative research efforts with corporate and academic partners worldwide;
Train the most highly valued materials science and engineering students in the nation;
Lead the advanced materials effort at Cornell University;
Maintain partnerships with the premier materials research centers housed on-campus.
Promote a greater understanding of the role of materials science in society; and
Actively participate in national and international professional societies.
See additional opportunities below:
Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
The Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering has roots at Cornell that go back to the founding of the University in 1865. Since then the Sibley School has grown to become one of the largest academic units in the University. Currently housed in Thurston, Kimball, Upson, Grumman and Rhodes Halls, the Sibley School is home of the mechanical engineering (ME) B.S. degree program as well as graduate programs in the fields of mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering (AE) and theoretical and applied mechanics (TAM).
Our mission is to conduct visionary research in pursuit of the world's next great advances while providing a world-class education to tomorrow’s leaders in the fields of mechanical and aerospace engineering.
See additional opportunitties below:
Operations Research & Information Engineering
The School of Operations Research and Information Engineering maintains a leading international reputation resting on core expertise in optimization, probability and statistics. The high quality of ORIE students and faculty ensure that Cornell will retain its preeminence in the world of operations research.
ORIE focuses on fundamental principles and methods but also uses contextual learning and design experiences to integrate the science with engineering. Our approach to engineering education, both graduate and undergraduate, emphasizes broad mastery of core areas of the discipline:
methods of optimization
applied probability modeling and statistical analysis
manufacturing systems design and operation
systems analysis and methodology.
See additional opportunties below.
Engineering Events
September 19th
2013 CNF Annual Meeting
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Events
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