2024 College of Engineering News

Faculty Awards Drs. Bridget Wadzuk, David Cereceda, Virginia Smith, Kristin Sample-Lord, Bo Li and Qianhong Wu were recognized at the 2024 Undergraduate Commencement for their contributions to the University during the 2023–24 academic year.
COE Faculty Promotions The College proudly recognizes these exceptional faculty members for their accomplishments and dedication to education, research, and the broader engineering community.
Vietnam Veterans Plaque The commemoration containing their names, Belle Air senior photos, and undergraduate achievements can be found at Falvey Library.
IEEE Student Activities Conference The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Villanova University hosted the 2024 IEEE Joint Region 1 and Region 2 Student Activities Conference in April, featuring a full day of student-oriented activities for IEEE student members from the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions.
Biomedical Engineering The interdisciplinary program, which will be available to students starting in Fall 2024, involves the application of engineering to address challenges in medicine and health care for societal needs.
E2SI Panama Open to all Villanova undergraduate students regardless of their major, the eight-week, 16-credit minor program combines rigorous online entrepreneurship courses taught by esteemed faculty members, followed by three weeks living and studying outside Panama City, Panama.
Jenna Fazio ’24 CpE During her Fulbright year, Jenna Fazio ’24 CpE will continue her studies at Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) in Finland, where she will obtain a master’s degree in Sociotechnical Systems and Sustainability Transitions.
Smart Grid: 2024 Distinguished Lecture Dr. Poor, a renowned expert in information theory, machine learning and network science, captivated the audience with his lecture, “Smart Grid: The Internet of Energy.”
Ward Lecture Deepu Talla, PhD, ’98 MSEE, Vice President and General Manager of Robotics and Edge Computing at NVIDIA, will deliver the 2024 Patrick J. Cunningham Jr. and Susan Ward ’80 Endowed Lecture in Engineering, hosted by the College of Engineering. The lecture, which is open to the Villanova University community, will be held at 2 p.m. October 4 in the Dionisio Lecture Hall, Drosdick Hall 031. No registration is necessary, and all first-year Engineering students are required to attend.
First Quarter Grants Roundup In the first quarter of the fiscal year 2024-2025, the Villanova University College of Engineering was awarded 10 grants, totaling more than $1 million. Below are the details of these awards, along with their principal investigators.
Deepu Talla, PhD, ’98 MSEE Dr. Talla, Vice President and General Manager of Robotics and Edge Computing at NVIDIA spoke about how the company is working with every AI and robotics company in the world to build a better future.
Flood Risk Grant Chenfeng Xiong, PhD, Virginia Smith, PhD, and Peleg Kremer, PhD, with support from Bridget Wadzuk, PhD, have been awarded $750,000 of a $2 million research grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a project designed to reduce the vulnerability of underserved communities to the social and environmental impacts of urban flooding events.
From Student to Mentor: Deepu Talla, PhD, ’98 MS, Pays It Forward with Endowed Graduate Fellowship Grateful for the support that shaped his future success, Talla has made a gift to the College of Engineering to create the Dr. S. S. Rao Memorial Endowed Graduate Fellowship. Starting this fall, Talla’s generosity will fund the tuition and living expenses for graduate students in Electrical or Computer Engineering.
New Faculty These faculty members bring a wealth of experience and diverse expertise to the College, enhancing its commitment to providing top-tier education and fostering innovative research. The new hires include specialists in Chemical and Biological, Electrical and Computer, and Mechanical Engineering.
Drosdick Hall Opening As the 2024-25 academic year began, Villanova University officially opened Drosdick Hall—the new home of the College of Engineering—following the completion of a $125 million, 150,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art building expansion.
Dr. Arash Tavakoli The funding will be used to research and improve our comprehension of how pedestrian infrastructure affects different aspects of human well-being.
Britney Davis ’15 ChE Davis’ career has been marked by a commitment to operational excellence and innovation, as well as the development of STEM outreach programs.
William Brown Endowed Chair To further the College’s commitment to innovative research and teaching, Dean Michele Marcolongo recently announced that William “Bill” M. Brown, ’84, ’87, CEO of 3M, has made a $2.5 million gift to the College for the establishment of an Endowed Chair in Mechanical Engineering. Sylvie Lorente, PhD, will serve as the inaugural chairholder.
NovaRacing For the members of Villanova University’s NovaRacing team, the thrill of the race was more than just crossing the finish line. It was the culmination of months of meticulous planning, late nights in the lab and an unwavering determination to learn from past mistakes.
Research Grant, Steel Dyunamics Company Civil and Environmental Engineering Professors David Dinehart, PhD; Shawn P. Gross, PhD; and Joseph Robert Yost, PhD, PE, have been awarded a five-year, $2 million grant for an extensive research program focused on the design and performance of structural steel components used in commercial buildings.
2024 Commencement Speaker Once again, this year, Villanova's deans and other administrators have selected a student from the College of Engineering.
Villanova Electrical and Computer Engineering Students Receive Awards for Outstanding Achievements The departmental awards recognize the exceptional work accomplished by students during their senior capstone course.
2024 Dean's Awards Dinner Held Thursday, April 11, at Overbrook Golf Club in Villanova, Pa., the event capped off an academic year in which about 260 Engineering students will receive their bachelor’s degrees, 133 will receive their master’s degrees and 15 will receive their doctoral degrees.
IEEE Project Award The recognition celebrates their senior Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Capstone project under the guidance of department Professor and Chair Bijan G. Mobasseri, PhD.
Marie Maguire ’69 EE The Electrical Engineering alumna started playing basketball in 1957 at age 10—in an era when that was a rarity. Her passion for the game and courageous spirit eventually laid the foundation for what would become Villanova’s Women’s Basketball program.
Drosdick Hall Villanova University President, the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD, today announced that in recognition of $20 million in support of the College of Engineering building expansion project by John G. Drosdick ’65, retired chief executive officer and president of Sunoco, Inc., the College’s soon-to-be-completed new building will be named Drosdick Hall.
Dr. Bridget Wadzuk Outstanding Faculty Research Award The professor of Civil Engineering and director of Sustainable Engineering was recognized for her work in water resources engineering and green stormwater infrastructure, most notably her research on the evapotranspiration process from green roofs and bioretention.
Dean's Awards The annual Dean’s Awards recognize students graduating within the current academic year for academic achievement and/or the meaningful contributions and service provided to the College of Engineering during their time at Villanova.
Uganda Senior Capstone Led by Assistant Professor Kelly Good, PhD, PE, Associate Professor Virginia Smith, PhD, and Professor Rob Traver, PhD, PE, the group met with residents and visited project sites in pursuit of developing a solar-powered well pump system to expand residents’ water access and designing safer latrines for students at a local school.
Northrop Grumman Grant The College of Engineering’s Center for Humanitarian Engineering and International Development is widely recognized for its international service-learning programs. Now, thanks to the ongoing support of the Northrop Grumman Foundation, the center has established its first domestic initiative with partners from the Four Corners region of the Navajo Nation.
Villanova Professor at the Forefront of Work to Tackle Quantum Threats Jiafeng Xie, PhD, associate professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is working to strengthen security against threats posed by quantum computers.
Bo Li, PhD, Nanomaterial Assembly The paper, “Universal salt-assisted assembly of MXene from suspension on polymer substrates,” opens the gate toward flexible thermal management platform under extreme environments.

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