E&M autumn newlsetter, The Juncture, from Interim Chair Dr. Linda Simonsen
Autumn 2021 newsletter, The Juncture
This autumn we were excited to welcome new and returning students, faculty, and staff back to campus. We also welcomed our newest leader Chancellor Kristin Esterberg at UW Bothell and we are excited to finally be able to meet face-to-face with our new Dean Leslie Cornick of the School of STEM. While it is exciting to be back on campus, I recognize that coming to campus amidst the COVID-19 pandemic is filled with mixed emotions. One of the benefits of the pandemic is our increased knowledge of, and comfort with, the use of technology. Our increased ability to work and teach virtually has provided us with opportunities that we never dreamed of before. I continue to be impressed with the faculty and staff adapting to the change, continuing to use technology to make their face-to-face learning environment better and more accessible for our students. Thank you!
In this autumn 2021 edition of The Juncture you will read about the new faculty and staff that joined the Division of E&M, Connected Learning Excellence Awards, faculty grants awarded, faculty promotions, a new online game to identify whale calls, an Avanade STEM scholar turned employee, and more.
Our alumni experience features Husky 100 honoree and Mechanical Engineering graduate Andrew Truong who found an opportunity to connect his time on the field playing intramural sports to his research in the lab. In the faculty spotlight we showcase recent funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for a joint research project with Dr. Joey Key, Luisa Buchman, and myself about establishing a partnership with Heritage University, an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution and Heritage University to create STEM pathways for underrepresented students of the Yakima Valley. The Division of E&M continues to explore new ways to broaden the participation of diverse learners and build a culture of inclusion.
Great progress has been made on the new STEM4 academic building, a joint building shared with Cascadia College. July 29, 2021, was the ceremonial groundbreaking and construction is going quick (check out the live camera feed of the site). Read the UW Bothell story on STEM4. We are excited to have some wonderful engineering spaces for our E&M students in the near future!
Finally, as interim chair, I’m pleased to share that Dr. Tadesse Ghirmai will be back as chair in winter 2022. I have been honored and delighted to serve as either the chair of E&M or the mathematics program coordinator for the past 11 years – I am excited about the new leadership in the Division of E&M. Dr. Tadesse shares my values, and as the Dean Leslie Cornick said in the appointment announcement, “Dr. Ghirmai’s commitment to our students, to an inclusive division, school, and campus culture, and to increasing the diversity of students and faculty in the division are all critical to our success.” Thank you Tad for taking on this important leadership position!