Message From The Chair - April 2021

Dear alumni and friends,

I hope you and your loved ones are well. Thank you to all of you who submitted class notes. It is gratifying to hear about what is happening in your professional and personal lives, and about the positive impact of your CHEE education.

Graduation Events: We Listened

CHEE faculty and College of Engineering leadership continue to communicate closely with students as they wrap up another year of mostly remote learning. The overarching message from students is that they long for in-person activities.

As a result, The College of Engineering is holding a socially distanced in-person commencement ceremony for students, faculty and up to 4 guests per graduate. The event, taking place at 7 p.m. Arizona time on Friday, May 14 in Arizona Stadium, will be virtually broadcast.

CHEE has also planned a virtual convocation ceremony at 10 a.m. Arizona time on Friday, May 14. It will include graduation greetings from students and faculty and award presentations for academic and service accomplishments.

Zoom Meeting Link: https://arizona.zoom.us/j/83777515836
Password: CHEEGRADS!

In addition, the department is hosting two outdoor picnics in a large tent on the UA Mall – one for graduating seniors, and another for graduate students receiving MS and PhD degrees. Our students are thrilled about the picnics and the opportunity to safely get together and celebrate their accomplishments.

CHEE Research Expenditures at All-Time High  

Expenditures are an important indicator of faculty research productivity, and CHEE faculty have steadily improved funding success rates for the last several years. We jumped from $5.7 million in 2019 to $6.7 million in 2020!

Since January, several of our new faculty members have landed grants, including associate professor Erin Ratcliff and assistant professors Adam Printz and Suchol Savagatrup. We are pleased that our newest faculty are succeeding!

2021 promises to be another amazing year for CHEE research.