Jump to page content

From the Dean

Leah H. Jamieson

It’s again my pleasure to invite you to read about some of the many newsworthy happenings in the College of Engineering. As always, Impact Online gives you a glimpse of activities in the College through the lens of our strategic plan’s four stories.

Thrilling is not too strong a word to describe the technology that students in EPICS are pioneering. Their new, free, iPad app called “SPEAKall!” is giving severely autistic, nonverbal children the thrill of communicating with sentences they build by themselves, using photos and graphics. Major news media have been carrying this latest EPICS news; I encourage you to read all about it here.

A development attracting big attention, though it isn’t visible with the naked eye, is a single-atom transistor. Using only one phosphorous atom, researchers from Purdue have collaborated with colleagues at the universities of New South Wales, Melbourne and Sydney to create the smallest transistor possible.

In this edition we celebrate Professor Supriyo Datta’s election as a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering — the engineering profession’s top recognition.

Finally, we hope that you will join our College in pausing to honor the memory of astronaut and alumna Janice Voss, whose exceptional life was cut short in February by breast cancer. We remember her for her incalculable contributions as a role model who championed engineering for women in a rare and compelling way, and for her legacy of accomplishment that will live on forever.

Sincerely,

Leah H. Jamieson
The John A. Edwardson Dean of Engineering