Spring 2015 Meeting of the MAE Visiting Committee (VCMAE) April 10, 2015 Morgantown, West Virginia

Overview of Current State of the MAE Department Educational Programs, Initiatives and Challenges: – New Graduate Program in Materials Science & Engineering Approved at M.S. Level – Approval at Ph.D. Level Anticipated Before the End of Spring 2015 Semester – Implementation Scheduled for Fall 2015 Semester as a College-Wide Program – High Ratio of Student Credit Hour (SCH) per Faculty (251 this semester) Affects Both Teaching Effectiveness and Research Productivity, while Draining Internal Resources ($229K in Spring 2015) Result of Undergraduate Enrolment in Excess of 600 Students in MAE and 2,100 in All Engineering Majors (Fall 2014) Strategies for Enrolment Management Range from Preset Caps, Student Quality Controls, to More Faculty – Respond to National Trends in Engineering Education and Needs of New Generations of Students – Curricular Flexibility through Optional Areas of Emphasis in Senior Year, Combined with Hands-On Projects (7 in Spring 2015) – Proliferation of Advanced Information Technologies Raises New Challenges in Addressing Academic Dishonesty Recent Accomplishments, Strategies and Challenges in the Pursuit of Sponsored Research: – Air Force Young Investigator Research Award to John Christian for “Estimation of Shape and Relative Motion for Partially Resolved Objects in Optically Acquired Imagery”; broad applications in vision-based navigation systems – New Investigator Program (NIP) award of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) to Jason Gross for “Multi-Constellation GNSS, Multi-Sensor Precise Point Positioning”, to improve accuracy and robustness of GPS applications to fast moving platforms by combining it with other navigation systems – The project “Simulation-to-Flight (STF-1) CubeSat” proposed by Jason Gross and John Christian as subcontractors to NASA IV&V was selected for possible launch in about 18 months for advanced simulation and navigation. – The Pursuit of Major, Competitive Research Funding Requires Inter-Disciplinary Teaming Across Many Institutions Other Recent Faculty and Staff Awards: WVU’s Foundation Award for Outstanding Teaching to Mario Perhinschi Statler College’s Award for Outstanding Advisor to Dave Solley Statler College’s Outstanding Staff Award to Debbie Willis Changes and Searches for Faculty and Staff Members: Larry Banta to Retire Effective May 15, 2015, Sam Mukdadi and Ismail Celik on PDP Leave in Fall 2015 Semester. Chris Buchheit Hired in February 2015 as Full-Time Engineering Technician through the Research Corporation New Search for MULTIPLE TT Faculty Positions in Energy, Materials, Manufacturing, GNC, Fluid & Solid Mechanics New Searches for TWO Teaching Faculty Positions, One in AE, the Other in ME (mainly to teach 200-level courses)

Educational Mission – “Full-Blown” Preparations for the ABET Review and Site Visit on October 18-20, 2015 – Approval and Implementation in the AY of “Articulation Agreements” with Four Mexican Universities in Queretaro for M.S. Degree Tracks in Aerospace Engineering – Development of Distance Learning (DL) Courses for at Both the M.S. and B.S. Levels – Development of New Technical Elective Courses in the Areas of Materials, Vibrations, GNC, in Support of New UG Optional Areas of Emphasis, as well as Research Projects Research Mission – Submission and Approval of New Business Plan for the CAFEE, as Essential Element of WVU’s Energy Institute and Shale Gas Utilization Initiative – Formal Strategies for Establishing Long Term Partnerships with Industry, with Emphasis on the Area of Energy in General, and the CAFEE in Particular Outreach and Service – Enhance Fund Raising Efforts for Scholarships, Facilities and Student Projects by Better Leveraging the Support of the College’s Development Office, as well as the Departmental VCMAE and ADA. – Enhance the National Visibility of the MAE Department through Multiple Media and Venues by Better Leveraging the Communications Office of the College and Possibly Hiring of PR Person Enhancement of Facilities – Start Implementing the Capital Investment Plan in Conjunction with Relocation of Offices and Labs. – Pro-Active Pursuit of Equipment Donations from Industry, with the Support of the VCMAE and ADA Financial and Personnel Management – Align MAE Procedures with Changing Federal, State, WVU Policies and the New EBO Structure – Strictly Enforce New Departmental Policies for Lab Safety, in Response to DEP Inspections & Penalties – Comprehensive Review of Work Assignments to Align Them with Specific Abilities of Faculty and Staff Near Term Plans & Challenges for the MAE Department