Spring has arrived in beautiful Burlington. It is with this invigorating sense of rebirth that we are continuing many positive and exciting changes in the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences (CEMS). The student-centered nature of our educational experience was the primary and compelling impetus for Curriculum 21, our curriculum reform initiative. The effort is being spearheaded by Jeff Marshall, Director of the CEMS School of Engineering, and Jim Burgmeier, Chair of Mathematics and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. The objective of the reform effort is to best poise our graduates to be the creative, innovative designers and leaders that our nation needs in the 21st century. This was the subject of a recent article entitled "Holistic Engineering" that I co-authored for the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Our faculty members continue to bring great distinction to our College and University. I am delighted to announce that Computer Science professor Josh Bongard has been recently selected to receive the prestigious and highly competitive 2007 New Faculty Fellowship from Microsoft Research. There are only five such awards nationwide this year, and in their notification letter to Josh, Microsoft noted that they were "very excited by his work and the potential of that work to have a broad impact."

Mike Rosen, our Coordinator of Design Education, has been very successful this year in arranging a number of industry-sponsored senior design projects. These projects will involve interdisciplinary teams of senior engineering students, who will work on a real-world engineering project. Some of our sponsors include General Dynamics, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, CVPS Cow Power, and Qimonda.

Together we are taking CEMS to new heights! You can learn about more of our exciting initiatives in this issue of Spire.

Warm wishes to all for a wonderful summer season,
Domenico Grasso, Dean

P.S. Please drop us a line and stay in touch.

Today the role of peer-reviewed journals is critical to furthering the progress of legitimate science. The operation and review process of these journals is typically conducted under the oversight of a distinguished board of Editors. At UVM, the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences is home to many world-class scholars that serve as either Editors-in-Chief or Associate Editors of prestigious journals.

"Editorial positions are important career milestones for faculty who have achieved excellence and recognition in their chosen fields of study," says John Hughes, provost of UVM. "The comprehensive knowledge required to be an editor reflects extensive study of a specific field. We are proud to have many of our faculty serving as editors and associate editors for these important scientific research journals."

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Both educational initiatives, previously held at Brown University, will provide opportunities to experience original research at the frontiers of science with Dr. Stephen Wolfram, author of Mathematica. Mathematica is used by nearly two million researchers because the technology can seamlessly integrate numeric and symbolic computational engines, graphics systems, program languages, document systems, and advanced connectivity to other applications.

"NKS has opened the doors to dramatic new directions in research, and the UVM Complex Systems Center highlights the importance of these emerging advances," said Dr. Wolfram. "We're excited to see such rapid growth in the field and look forward to working with UVM to create new research possibilities in the future.

"UVM is gaining increased international attention for its efforts in Complex Systems. The move of the Wolfram New Kind of Science Summer School and Conference from Brown to UVM will enhance these efforts and create even more opportunities on the UVM campus," says Dr. Joseph K. DeRosa, Director of Systems Engineering, The MITRE Corporation.

"It's an honor to host both the Wolfram NKS Summer School and the Wolfram NKS Conference," says Domenico Grasso, CEMS Dean. "Our new UVM Complex Systems Center focuses on the need for technological solutions that can address the complexities of our world."

Wolfram's NKS Summer School
June 25 - July 13, 2007
This three-week school consists of lectures and individual research projects relating to core NKS issues. Students will work with project mentors to create computer experiments programmed in Mathematica, and individual presentations will be made at the conclusion of the school. more