2015 From the Dean

Welcome to the 2015 issue of Synergy magazine! This year marks the 20th anniversary of the School of Engineering and Computer Science. A lot has changed during the past two decades! We have grown from two to three departments, added 29 permanent faculty members, expanded from two to five undergraduate degree programs and launched two new PhD programs, all while quadrupling our total student enrollment. It has been a fruitful 20 years!

In 1995, only about one in 30 freshmen at Baylor enrolled with majors in engineering or computer science. This fall, one in nine incoming freshmen declared a major in the School of Engineering and Computer Science. While the Rogers Building is home to our engineering and computer science programs on campus, our two engineering departments now have major research laboratories in the Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative (BRIC). Seniors utilize design space in the on-campus Annex Building. In addition to expanding our facilities, we are rapidly expanding our graduate and doctoral programs by offering PhD programs in Mechanical Engineering and Electrical & Computer Engineering, and we have a pending proposal to offer a PhD in Computer Science next year. 

In this issue of Synergy, you will find a short history of our School, information on faculty research projects, an article written from one of our students on the emphasis of leadership development and some exciting news about the expansion of our general engineering program. As you read through this issue, I hope you get a sense of excitement about why many students and faculty have joined the School of Engineering and Computer Science and why we have so much to celebrate as our School turns 20.

Dr. Dennis O’Neal

Dean, School of Engineering 
and Computer Science