2024 College of Engineering News

11/25/2024 Villanova University’s Research on Nanomaterial Assembly Published in Nature Communications The paper, “Universal salt-assisted assembly of MXene from suspension on polymer substrates,” opens the gate toward flexible thermal management platform under extreme environments.
11/08/2024 Grants Roundup: Engineering Faculty Receive 10 Grants in First Quarter of Fiscal Year 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.
11/07/2024 Deepu Talla, PhD, ’98 MSEE, Presents the 2024 Ward Lecture on Robotics and Artificial Intelligence 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.
11/04/2024 Engineering Entrepreneurship Summer Institute Goes International in 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.
10/15/2024 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.
10/03/2024 Villanova Researchers Awarded Major NSF Grant to Address Flood Risks and Transportation Challenges for Vulnerable Communities 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.
09/13/2024 College of Engineering Announces Addition of Five New Faculty Members for 2024-25 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.
09/12/2024 Villanova University’s College of Engineering Celebrates Promotion of Six Faculty Members The College proudly recognizes these exceptional faculty members for their accomplishments and dedication to education, research, and the broader engineering community.
09/12/2024 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.
09/04/2024 2024 Ward Lecture: Deepu Talla, PhD, ’98 MSEE, 10/4 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.
08/26/2024 Villanova University Opens Drosdick Hall, New Home of the College of Engineering 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.
08/12/2024 Dr. Arash Tavakoli Receives $200K Grant from the National Science Foundation The funding will be used to research and improve our comprehension of how pedestrian infrastructure affects different aspects of human well-being.
07/15/2024 Britney Davis ’15 ChE Selected as Recipient of the 2024 Villanova University Alumni Association Young Alumni Medal Davis’ career has been marked by a commitment to operational excellence and innovation, as well as the development of STEM outreach programs.
06/12/2024 $2.5 Million Gift from William M. Brown ’84 ME, ’87 MSME to Establish an Endowed Chair in Mechanical Engineering 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.
06/10/2024 Accelerating Excellence: Behind NovaRacing’s Resurgence 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.
06/06/2024 Villanova Engineers Secure Major Research Funding from New Millennium, a Steel Dynamics 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.
05/30/2024 Computer Engineering Grad Among 18 Villanovans to Receive Fulbright Student Grants for 2024-25 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.
05/30/2024 Six Villanova Engineering Professors Receive 2024 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.
05/28/2024 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.
05/28/2024 Electrical and Computer Engineering Hosts 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.
05/23/2024 Engineering Alum Steve Callanen ’63 ME Designs Plaque to Honor Villanovans Who Sacrificed Their Lives in Vietnam The commemoration containing their names, Belle Air senior photos, and undergraduate achievements can be found at Falvey Library.
05/14/2024 Ciara Coulter ChE ’24 Selected as Student Speaker for the 2024 Commencement Once again, this year, Villanova's deans and other administrators have selected a student from the College of Engineering.
04/19/2024 College of Engineering Recognizes Top Students at 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.
04/16/2024 Villanova Engineering Students Win 2024 IEEE Philadelphia Section Student 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.
03/22/2024 H. Vincent Poor, Princeton University Professor, Delivers 2024 Jones 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.”
03/21/2024 Villanova Engineering Launches Master’s Degree in 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.
03/15/2024 Never Stop Shooting: How Marie Maguire ’69 EE Helped Launch Villanova’s First Women’s Basketball Team 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.
03/13/2024 Congratulations to our 2024 Dean’s Awards recipients! 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.
03/11/2024 Villanova University Recognizes John G. Drosdick’s Ongoing Commitment to the College of Engineering’s Building Expansion Project by Naming the Building in his Honor 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.
03/08/2024 Northrop Grumman Grant Supports Humanitarian Engineering Projects Within Navajo Nation 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.
03/04/2024 Dr. Bridget Wadzuk Receives 2024 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.
02/13/2024 Villanova Engineering Students Tackle Water and Sanitation Challenges in Uganda 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.

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