Letter from Dean

A Letter to our Alumni and Friends

From Dean David Brookstein

March 2005 Update

March 25, 2005

Last spring we initiated a major restructuring of our school.  We developed the only Bachelor of Science of Industrial & Systems Engineering program, www.philau.edu/ise,  in Greater Philadelphia and plan to accept our first students this fall.  To date we have 22 acceptances into this exciting new engineering program.  This week the general faculty approved our proposal to begin offering a BS in Engineering with opportunities for minor study tracks in either architectural, environmental, industrial, mechanical or textile engineering.  The latter replaces our legacy BS in textile engineering and , as a result,  students who are interested in textile engineering will have a more extensive engineering education that will not only prepare them for textile engineering but the entire field of engineering.  I invite you to learn more about our engineering study options by visiting www.philau.edu/engineering.

As a result of our new initiatives the School of Textiles and Materials Technology has been renamed the School of Engineering and Textiles.

  August 2004

After completing my tenth year as Dean of the School of Textiles and Materials Technology I am excited about what we have accomplished and where we are going.  This past year has been another exciting year for the School with many new developments, opportunities and challenges.

 New Academic Programs

 This past academic year we completed the development of Philadelphia University’s new undergraduate engineering program in the field of industrial and systems engineering (www.philau.edu/ise) .  This new engineering program will be a starting point for a new family of engineering programs that we will be developing in the near future.  As part of our due diligence, we visited several of the nation’s leading universities that offer a Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering degree.  We also commissioned Professor Harvey Wolfe, former President of the Institute of Industrial Engineers to help guide us on curriculum development.

 Our first class of BS ISEs will enter in the fall of 2005.  This past spring we initiated an aggressive recruiting program that included a brochure mailing to about 10,000 mid-Atlantic high school students.  You can download a copy of this brochure at http://www.philau.edu/ise/ISE1.pdf. We also have posted a very informative video describing opportunities for ISEs at http://www.philau.edu/ise/video.htm. This fall I will be visiting over 30 area high schools to speak with students and college guidance counselors about this program.

Philadelphia University’s first and only PhD program in the field of textile engineering and science will have its first students enroll this academic year.  Professor M. Govindaraj will be the advisor to a PhD student that will be working with him on his ongoing NSF grant.  Later this year,  Professor Les Sztandera will advise a new PhD student who will be assigned to our new Laboratory for Engineered Human Protection. http://www.philau.edu/gradcatalog/2004/docPhilTexEngSci.pdf

 We also received an additional term of accreditation from the Engineering Accreditation Council of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology for our BS in textile engineering program.

 New Research Activities at the School of Engineering and Textiles

 §         On August 17, 2004 we signed a contract with the Army for the Laboratory for Engineered Human Protection (LEHP).  The contract is for $1,724,000 and we anticipate getting additional funding from the Department of Defense. Philadelphia University’s Laboratory for Engineered Human Protection (LEHP) will add to the fundamental and extensive knowledge base of comfort and protection research already developed and published by the Natick Soldier Center. A systematic research effort focused on comfort, protection, performance, psychophysical factors and parameters, perceived user confidence data and factors based on artificial neural network analysis will be implemented with an expected outcome of determining a fundamental knowledge base and a novel experimental method and procedure that can be used to develop new and improved protective garments that offer comfort to the soldier. Gaps in the available data will be identified and “filled” by conducting additional research in the areas of textile and garment engineering, material science, psychophysics (including comfort), and protection. This research approach will enable the ultimate user to specify fabric/garment systems required for the anticipated universe of soldier and civilian first-responder missions. The new research model will be tested to determine its efficacy.   In addition, a new protective polymer/fabric/garment system that is primarily concerned with chemical protection with enhanced comfort will be researched and evaluated, and the data obtained will be added to the artificial neural network analysis.

§         Dr. Stephen Hirsch has been appointed Executive Director of LEHP and will also hold the title of Research Professor.  Dr. Hirsch, a chemist, has extensive background and experience has a industrial research manager and will bring outstanding research management skills to the University

§         LEHP researchers at the University will include faculty from many of the Schools (STMT, SSH, SBA).  Included are Profs. Govindaraj, George, Frumkin,  Frank, Pierce, Sztandera, Bock and Bhat.

§         Funding for LEHP will enable us to provide graduate assistants for both M.S. and Ph.D. students.

In addition to our funding from the US Army we continue to be a partner in the US Department of Commerce National Textile Center (www.ntcresearch.org). Our partners in this consortium include North Carolina State University, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Auburn, and University of California at Davis, Cornell, and UMASS-Dartmouth.  The primary mission of the NTC is to increase the knowledge base that will enhance the competitiveness of the U.S fiber/textile/apparel industries.  Each year we receive the NTC is awarded approximately $10,000,000 from the U.S government.

Professor Govindaraj continues to act as Principal Investigator of National Science Foundation research project entitled “ITR: Representations and Algorithms for Deformable Objects”.  Our first PhD student will be assigned to this research project.

New Facilities – Philadelphia University Research Center – PURC

As a result of our ever-expanding base of outside funded research projects, we have relocated some of our facilities to a new location in nearby Manyunk.  The following have been relocated: Grundy Product Evaluation Lab, Non Wovens Lab, Composites and High Performance Textiles and the Engineering and Design Studio.  PURC will also be the headquarters for LEHP.  We will also have a classroom at PURC and courses, which are highly lab centered, will be there.

Four new faculty have joined us for this upcoming academic year. 

• Kim DeMarco – Assistant Professor of Foundations.  Kim joins us from Rhode Island School of Design and replaces Professor John Vorlicek who retired after more than 30 years of exemplary service to Philadelphia University.
• Dr. Stephen Hirsch – Research Professor and Executive Director of the Laboratory for Engineered Human Protection.  Steve has had an outstanding career as an industrial research manager and brings this wealth of experience to our faculty.
• Dr. Fernando Tovia – Associate Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering – Fernando, who just completed his doctorate in industrial engineering from the University of Arkansas,  has a unique combination of textile engineering and industrial engineering education and background.  Prior to enrolling in the doctoral program at Arkansas Fernando was the owner and manager of several textile/apparel manufacturing firms in Mexico.
• Brittany Wittman – Visiting Assistant Professor of Textile Design -  As Professor Lisa Olson-Wong has resigned from our position as a professor in the area of weave design we are pleased to announce the promotion of Brittany Wittman to the faculty.  Brittany is a graduate of our textile design program and is soon planning to complete her MFA from the University of the Arts.

As I trust that you will note the School of Engineering and Textiles continues to flourish and adapt to the world’s changing economic climate.  We appreciate your support and look forward to serving you in the future.

 Dean David Brookstein

Dean – School of Engineering and Textiles

August 23, 2004  

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