Over the last year, a major challenge for both students and instructors was the abrupt transition to remote teaching. After a short period of time, both students and instructors have developed familiarity with these new practices and applied them successfully.
There have also been significant changes in our graduate student admissions due to the impact of the pandemic on travel and, even in that environment, we have been quite successful in getting students on campus. The circumstances affect various universities differently, but we were prepared and pleased with the outcome. The Texas A&M University College of Engineering’s Quick Admit Graduate Program was recently established and is available to students graduating from any of our engineering bachelor’s degree programs. The program provides an expedited application review process to our graduate programs for students facing one of the most precarious economies and worst hiring seasons since the financial crisis of 2007-08 due to COVID-19. This initiative will enable an increase of domestic graduate students, notably in the master’s degree programs. During the 2020-21 academic year, the College of Engineering had 275 students admitted to this program.
Despite these challenges with our graduate program, our undergraduate enrollment has continued to grow throughout the pandemic. From fall 2019 to fall 2020, the College of Engineering enrollment increased by 5.6% and our department saw an enrollment increase of 10.4% over the same time period.
We kept our classrooms open and made ourselves accessible to our students. A number of our faculty volunteered to teach face-to-face classes and maintain important direct communication with students during this time.
Several of our research activities have been steadily growing and continue to do so. These initiatives include, but are not limited to, cybersecurity, machine learning, power and energy, and biomedical and COVID-related subjects. Our power and energy group faced tremendous challenges during the winter storm in February, and the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station Smart Grid Center addressed these challenges head on. The center is currently handling a number of projects directly and indirectly related to those circumstances. Biomedical and COVID-related projects continue to come and have helped our graduate research enterprise continue. In addition, we are planning a renewed focus on applied electromagnetics, which is an area that Texas A&M was a leader in developing a couple of decades ago.
All universities are experiencing a decline in graduate admissions. It will be a problem that will continue in the future. However, we are coping with this like many of our peers, and are hopeful that more normal operating circumstances are to come by developing more active engagement with prospective graduate student candidates.
Looking back at how we’ve weathered the storm, both literally and figuratively, we feel our department has had great involvement and dedication from our faculty. We are also proud to have had full participation and support from our students to allow us to succeed in as close to normal operating procedures as possible during the pandemic. When the going gets tough, Aggies deliver.
In this publication, you will see research advancements and collaborative efforts made over the last year from both our senior and young faculty.
Sincerely,
Dr. Miroslav M. Begovic, FIEEE
Department Head and Moore Professor