FIU College of Engineering celebrates 25th anniversary

By Susan Feinberg

The FIU College of Engineering and Computing celebrated its 25^th anniversary with an event at the Engineering Center, its 250,000-square-foot home, November 18. The event included speeches by FIU President Mark Rosenberg, current Dean Amir Mirmiran and former deans; a presentation about the College’s history; and a discussion regarding its future direction.

Some of the people who helped chart the College’s future, guiding it to its current position as South Florida’s leading engineering education resource — including former professors, alumni and industry leaders — were recognized.

The College’s roots go back to FIU’s College of Technology, which dates back to the early 1970s as one of the university’s first academic units. The fledgling school was geared toward producing engineering technologists rather than engineers, offering programs such as construction technology and civil engineering technology.

Although the college launched its first engineering program in 1982 under the leadership of Dean Lambert Tall, it wasn’t until 1984 that the College of Technology became the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences under its first dean, Gordon Hopkins.

In the 1990s, the focus shifted to graduate education, and the College began offering doctoral programs. The next decade saw a period of dynamic academic growth and a greater emphasis on developing the institution’s research capabilities. The Biomedical Engineering Institute, funded by a $10 million endowment from the Coulter Foundation, was launched in 2000. During Dean Vish Prasad’s tenure from 2001-2007,  the Department of Biomedical Engineering was established, the Advanced Materials Engineering Research Institute (AMERI) – a state-of-the-art laboratory facility – was founded, and programs in areas including materials engineering, nanotechnology and biomedical engineering grew exponentially.

The college has come a long way in 25 years. Today it is home to 120 nationally renowned faculty members and approximately 4,400 baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral students who have access to quality programs that are consistent with the best in the nation.

Nearly 13,000 skilled engineers have graduated from the College and moved on to leadership careers in government and private industry around the country, many of them working in South Florida in fields such as computer and information sciences, biomedical engineering, construction management, and civil and environmental engineering.

The College is ranked as the 22^nd largest undergraduate engineering program in the nation by the American Society for Engineering Education. Most of its programs rank among the 30 largest in the country.

Research is an integral part of the College’s mission and its success. In the 2008-2009 academic year, research expenditures grew to $14.9 million, up 20 percent from the previous year, and research awards surged to $15.3 million, an increase of 8 percent from the previous year.

The College’s richly diverse student population is one of its greatest strengths. Drawing from the demographics of Miami-Dade County, it is ranked nationally as a top producer of Hispanic engineers at all levels and eighth in the nation for B.S. degrees awarded to African-Americans.

As the College moves forward, Dean Mirmiran said its future goals include enhancing its research capabilities and graduate education as well as improving graduation and retention rates.

“As impressive as our accomplishments have been over the last 25 years, the best is yet to come,” Mirmiran said. “Our exciting future lies in propelling our research engine to drive FIU to a higher level of research activity and stimulate economic development in South Florida.”