Working With Corporate Partners Richard J. Puerzer, PhD (Industrial Engineering) Department of Engineering Chairperson and Associate Professor Richard.J.Puerzer@hofstra.edu One of the many ways that the Engineering Department strives to prepare our students for future careers is to stay abreast of the needs of industry and society by engaging with our Engineering Department Industrial Advisory Board. Our Board is composed of practicing engineers who, through their experiences in industry, are qualified to help us to address educational issues affecting the range of engineering fields encompassed in the department’s programs. Some of the Board members are Hofstra engineering alumni, and all of them are generous with their time and talents in helping us to offer a high quality engineering education. Two weeks before the spring 2022 graduation, a group of graduating engineering students met with several members of the Board. The goal of this meeting was for the Board members to learn about the experiences of the graduating students, and to provide them with advice as they move on to the next stage of their careers. Utilizing the information gathered from the graduating students, the Board could then help the department to understand what it is doing well, and what could be improved across the engineering curricula. By all accounts the meeting was very productive, with both the students and Board members sharing a great deal of useful information. At the June meeting of the Industrial Advisory Board, Board members reviewed their report of the meeting, including nine suggested action items for the engineering department and faculty. Included in their suggestions was the development of future opportunities for interaction between the Board members and more groups of engineering students. A meeting for second-year students on preparing for Co-op and internship experiences was recommended as well as a meeting with third-year students on strategies for seeking out career paths. The engineering department will schedule these events, most likely to occur early in the spring semester of each year. These meetings will be mutually benefical to our students and corporate partners. The engineering department works continuously to improve the quality of our engineering programs and the opportunities for our students. I am happy to report that the engineering deparment faculty has expanded with two new hires. I would like to welcome Dr. Minjeong Suh and Dr. Elliott Williams to the engineering faculty. The engineering department now has 19 full-time faculty across our degree programs, providing even more resources for Hofstra engineering students. We will continue to endeavor to enhance the opportunities and experiences of our engineering students in and out of the classroom.
[DeMatteis School Fall 2022 Newsletter]