Dean’s Message

The UAA School of Engineering continues to enjoy steady enrollment growth. Since the turn of the millennia, students choosing UAA for engineering education have increased over 450 percent to our present enrollment of nearly 1200 students, 90 percent of whom are Alaska residents. During that time we have increased our ABET-accredited undergraduate programs, our graduate programs, and our professional continuing education services to meet growing demand in the metropolis of Anchorage, the populous surrounding region, and all corners of the state. The School’s 40 faculty members and our professional staff work hard to hold a high standard of excellence.

The School’s most important priority is to increase its specialized teaching and research space to match the growth of our service. We use our present space well, but need more to improve. Plans are ready to build a new 75,000-square-foot building, along with renovation of the existing 40,000-square-foot Engineering Building and an adjacent new parking structure. The Alaska State Legislature has appropriated half the funds to construct this important educational infrastructure. The second half could be appropriated in 2013 to allow completion of the project in 2016. Support of this endeavor is support for building the future of Alaska by homegrown engineers. Alaska is important to the nation and Anchorage is a great city. They deserve a great university. Please call or write for suggestions of what you can do to help.

Orson P. Smith
Interim Dean

New Dean of School of Engineering

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Tien-Chien Jen, Ph.D., has accepted the position of dean of the SOE and will begin at UAA on May 2, 2013. Dr. Jen comes from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, where he has served as the interim dean for College of Engineering and Applied Science since 2010. Prior to joining the faculty at UW-Milwaukee in 1997, Dr. Jen taught at Oakland University and served as an assistant research engineer at UCLA. Dr. Jen earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from UCLA, specializing in thermal aspects of grinding.

In 2011, he was elected to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Fellow, which recognized his contributions to the field of thermal science.

Dr. Jen's significant accomplishments include: as Department Chair, he significantly increased research funding from $100K to over $3 million and fostered the growth of junior faculty; as interim Dean, he led the college through ABET accreditation, launched the Research Incentive Program to reduce teaching load, initiated the development of two potential NSF Industry University Collaborative Research Centers, developed on-line/hybrid education programs, delivered a 2012-2017 Strategic Plan for College of Engineering and Applied Science, reached out to industrial partners such as Johnson Controls, GE Healthcare and Caterpillar, promoted international collaboration and education, and secured funds from active fund raising activities.

Computer Science & Engineering Curriculum Changes

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Beginning in Fall 2013, the Computer Science & Engineering Department is adopting a revised curriculum. Please click here for details.

New Building & Renovation Projects

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