College of Engineering Releases Research Task Force Report

In January, a task force appointed by John English, dean of the College of Engineering, submitted a report analyzing the research activities of the college.

Members of the task force included:

• Julie Carrier, professor of biological and agricultural engineering
• Jia Di, associate professor of computer science and computer engineering
• Micah Hale, professor of civil engineering
• Ajay P. Malshe, Distinguished Professor of mechanical engineering and Twenty-First Century Endowed Chair in Materials, Manufacturing and Integrated Systems
• Alan Mantooth, Distinguished Professor of electrical engineering and Twenty-First Century Endowed Chair in Mixed-Signal IC Design and CAD
• Heather Nachtmann, professor of industrial engineering
• Jim Rankin, Vice Provost for Research and Economic Development
• Ranil Wickramasinghe, professor of chemical engineering and Ross E. Martin Endowed Chair in Emerging Technologies
• David Zaharoff, assistant professor of biomedical engineering and Twenty-First Century Endowed Professorship in Biomedical Engineering.

“The task force, with tremendous input from the faculty, was able to identify several key areas forward for the College of Engineering that will make a huge difference in our overall research enterprise,” explained Mantooth. “With the proper support, the college will realize significant increases in research expenditures, scholarly output, number of graduates, and impact on the state of Arkansas.”

The central goal of the task force was to identify existing strengths and emerging areas. Existing strengths are those areas where the college is already nationally recognized. The following are the areas that the task force identified as existing strengths in the College of Engineering.

• Electronics
• Energy
• Healthcare Systems Engineering
• Nanomaterials Science & Engineering
• Transportation & Logistics

Emerging areas refers to those fields where the college has some key presence, expertise and momentum. The expectation is that these areas, with additional investment in terms of faculty, staff, labs, and leadership, will emerge into strengths that the University of Arkansas can leverage in accomplishing its goal of becoming a top 50 public research university. The task force identified the following emerging areas.

• Aerospace
• Big Data
• Cybersecurity
• Healthcare
• Infrastructure
• Materials & Manufacturing
• Optoelectronics
• Sustainability
• Systems Integration
• Water

Download a PDF of the entire Research Task Force Report.

“I’m very impressed with the results of this task force,” said English. “The work they have done--identifying our key strengths and drafting recommendations for building upon and expanding these—provides a road map for the college for the next five to ten years.”

The dean explained that he also intends to hire an associate dean for research for the college. This individual would lead subsequent efforts in setting and achieving goals commensurate with the Task Force road map.

“The College of Engineering Research Task Force has done an excellent job of reviewing the research strengths and emerging areas in the college,” said Rankin. “The college focus on increasing its level of research will be important as the University of Arkansas moves to become a top 50 public research university.”