Alumni

Dear Tufts Engineering Graduate:

As we enter another fall semester, it's hard to believe I'm beginning my seventh year at Tufts. I take great pride in the achievements of our students and faculty and in the growth we have attained in my tenure as Dean. We've continued to recruit top-notch students—amazingly, this year's pool is even more competitive than the last. This academic year we are also delighted to welcome new faculty members in three departments, faculty who add to our critical mass in sustainable energy, sustainable water, and biomedical engineering. We've expanded and will continue to expand our programming in engineering leadership, assisted by a generous pledge from Dr. Bernard Gordon; indeed, we are on target to double enrollment in our graduate program in engineering management over the next two years, and a newly revamped engineering management minor, offered through Tufts Gordon Institute, is being launched to enhance the project leadership and business knowledge of our undergraduates.

Through our Center for STEM Diversity we are initiating a number of programs designed to enrich the diversity of our student body, and we note the continued success of our Summer Scholars program. If you missed the opportunity to see the solar-powered house designed and built by some of our engineers at our D.C. alumni event, you can check out Curio House online. Congratulations to Team Boston for its admirable showing in the Solar Decathlon competition!

Over the course of the last few years, we have been refining our aspirations as a School and positioning ourselves to play a substantial role in advancing Tufts' reputation as a premier Research I institution. As we move forward, we are also striving to maintain and enhance the liberal arts college atmosphere and dedication to education that is the foundation of Tufts undergraduate experience. We aspire to be a leader among our peer engineering schools in interdisciplinary research and engineering education, and to achieve national eminence in targeted interdisciplinary research and education programs. In keeping with our strong tradition of excellence in undergraduate engineering education, we seek to achieve an international reputation for educating engineering leaders, engineers who have the breadth, skills, and vision to shape and harness technological innovation for the benefit of society. Our aspiration for leadership in interdisciplinary research is based upon the strong scholarship of our faculty across Arts, Sciences, and Engineering, the collegial culture of the institution, and the close proximity of Tufts' extraordinary professional schools.

I have worked with department chairs, faculty colleagues, alumni advisors, staff, and students to further delineate our strategic goals and add to our faculty. To date, we have identified three interdisciplinary research/education focus areas for the School: (i) bioengineering, (ii) environmental sustainability, and (iii) innovation in engineering education.

I welcome your thoughts and suggestions on ways we can improve our communications with you and involve you further in the life of our institution.

Feel free to contact me by e-mail at EngineeringDeansOffice@tufts.edu.

Sincerely,

Linda M. Abriola
Dean of Engineering