Global Horizons

STORY BY

DALE LONG

With its founder, Chauncey Rose, being from Scottish descent, it shouldn’t be surprising that Rose-Hulman has established deep-rooted global programs and international educational relations that are showcasing the fact that much of what engineers and scientists do has global implications And as progress brings economic development to billions of people around the world, Rose-Hulman leaders assert that it is vital for engineers to have a truly international perspective. That’s why the institute has reached out to welcome students from 23 international countries in the current student body (see list on Page 8), expanded study abroad with 21 countries overseas (Page 8), and increased spring and summer study courses and excursions that help teach students to be cognizant of global challenges and how to solve

Students and faculty flew Rose-Hulman’s colors proudly and celebrated a Diwali Festival of Lights on campus this fall.

International students got acclimated to life on campus and Terre Haute before starting the 2022-23 school year. them in relation to their cultural, social, political, and geographic factors. “Our global opportunities allow students to study, intern, volunteer, and engage the world in a myriad of ways. Our students want to get out and experience other things,” says Kathy Hammett, senior director of the Center for Global Engagement. The center’s focus is to partner with students, faculty and staff to foster a campus environment that supports and promotes international understanding and engagement. “Students are eager to travel and explore the world as we emerge from the (COVID-19) pandemic. They are recognizing that sustainability and climate change are global issues that need to be addressed by engineers and scientists with a global perspective,” Hammett states.

That’s why English professor Mark Minster, PhD, is planning a travel abroad trip to Belgium and the Netherlands during Spring 2023 as part of an Introduction to Sustainability course in the Department of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts (HSSA) curriculum. After learning about the fundamentals of sustainability at Rose-Hulman, students will spend their spring break visiting historic windmills and state-of-the-art wind farms, world-class solar farms, and greenhouses that cover the countryside of the two European countries. The students also will meet scientists, engineers, activists, and experts from climate and eco-power cooperatives and car-sharing initiatives. Minster says, “Our students must become aware of some of the worldwide innovative concepts that are addressing climate change. You can learn about these efforts on the Internet and in books, but to really absorb it, you need to see it and talk to people in the field who have been doing these things for several years.” Also this spring, chemistry and biochemistry professors Fumie Sunahori, PhD, and Luanne Tilstra, PhD, are leading a two-week Chemistry of Food and Drinks in Japan travel course. It will offer students a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in Japanese history and culture, where traditional and the latest technologies coexist. Meanwhile, mathematics professor Wayne Tarrant, PhD, is planning a Probability in Paris travel course, spending four weeks this summer studying a variety of Parisian engineering marvels, checking out the progress of repairing the Notre-Dame cathedral, as well as visiting artwork at the world-famous Louvre Museum.

As the world recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, several students benefitted from spanning the globe to participate in unique study abroad programs and internships. Mechanical engineering student Ruth Hammond had an educational adventure last winter and spring at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, a country that’s considered a global leader in sustainability. She studied courses in data science, high-performance computing (HPC), and machine learning while networking with respected researchers in sustainability and artificial intelligence as a parttime research assistant in KTH’s Center for High Performance Computing, the country’s leading provider of HPC services for academic research in Sweden.

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The 2022-23 student body has students from the following countries outside the U.S.: Brazil China Czech Republic Dominican Republic Germany Greece India Israel Italy Japan Kyrgyzstan Malaysia Mexico Qatar Saudi Arabia Singapore South Korea Spain Taiwan Thailand Turkey United Arab Emirates Vietnam

The Center for Global Engagement provides opportunities for students to expand their horizons to encompass the entire world through study abroad and global work abroad programs with exchange and affiliated partners at international universities in the following countries:

Ulm University of Applied Sciences Otto Von Guericke University University of Stuttgart Esslingen University of Applied Sciences Technical University Darmstadt

Kanazawa Institute of Technology Sophia University Tohoku University University of Aizu

University of Limerick (Civil Engineering)

Comillas Pontifical University

KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden

Harlaxton College

GMEO — American Center of Chengdu

St. Andrews University

University of Auckland

Global E3

(CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE) Then, Hammond returned for a prestigious software engineering research internship this past summer within IBM’s Future of Climate global initiative. Other study abroad program opportunities are available at universities in China, Costa Rica, England, Germany, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland, South Korea, and Spain. There are also worldwide programs organized by the International Studies Abroad and Global E3 programs. Hammett points out that grants are available to support students with expenses associated with these international programs. Emeriti professor Cary Laxer, PhD, and his wife, Norma, have provided an endowment fund to help computer science and software engineering students, while a scholarship fund provided by 1974 chemical engineering alumnus Mike Mussallem and his wife, Linda, is encouraging students to have international study or internship experiences. The HSSA department’s Pauley Fund also supports faculty-led educational experiences.

As Rose-Hulman’s reputation as a leader in undergraduate STEM education has grown, so has interest among students from throughout the world to attend the institute. While retaining its strong domestic enrollment efforts, students from 18 countries outside the U.S. were also among the 2022-23 first-year incoming class, arriving from such destinations as China, India, South Korea, Japan, Brazil, and Italy. And the Office of Enrollment Management reports an increase in applications from international students may mean even more students for the upcoming 2023-24 school year. “We’re striving to broaden the geographical base of our recruitment efforts, domestically and internationally,” says Tom Bear, vice president for enrollment management. The office resumed recruitment visits to India this fall, meeting with prospective students and families in Bengaluru, Chennai, Jaipur, Mumbai, and New Delhi. Visits to other international locales may be added in the future.

Meanwhile, a group of students from Japan’s University of Aizu are planning to spend three weeks on campus this spring studying computer science and English as a second language courses. This continues a longstanding educational exchange program between the two colleges. Rose-Hulman’s exchange partnership with Japan’s Kanazawa Institute of Technology, one of the country’s leading educational colleges, is still going strong after 30 years. n

Fun-filled activities were part of special orientation activities for first-year international students.

Rose-Hulman’s expanding global exchange programs are beneficial for students, faculty, and staff members.

Ten current faculty and staff members along with another 10 emeriti professors and former educators have benefitted from the Fulbright program, the U.S. government’s flagship international exchange program. Rose-Hulman has been recognized as a top producer of Fulbright faculty scholars by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, as featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Manda Riehl, Mathematics (2022-24): She spent a portion of this past summer collaborating with professors at Costa Rica’s Universidad Nacional in developing a Math for Computer Science course and working with students studying calculus. She will co-teach courses there in the future. Wayne Tarrant, Mathematics (2021-22): He spent the school year engaging with faculty and students at Nairobi’s Strathmore University on inquiry-based learning, while studying how to provide banking access to the poor. Paul Christensen, Anthropology (2021-22): He spent a portion of the school year doing fieldwork in Japan for a project on Diverging Tokyo: Poverty, Revitalization and the Shaping of a Meaningful Existence Project Narrative. This will be the basis of a book project. David Fisher, Computer Science/Mechanical Engineering (2018-19): This 2000 mechanical engineering alumnus studied ways to close the gender gap in computer science by examining successful programs at Ireland’s University of Limerick. Richard Onyancha, Mechanical Engineering (2014-15): As a visiting scholar, lecturer and researcher at Zambia’s Copperbelt University he worked to enhance universityindustry linkages with some of the country’s largest mining companies. Yosi Shibberu, Mathematics (2014-15): He returned to his birth country to teach and conduct research at Ethiopia’s Jimma University. He also facilitated international projects for Rose students as well as promote innovation and entrepreneurship between the two colleges. Matt Boutell, Computer Science and Software Engineering (2011-12): He was a senior guest lecturer and instructor in computer science at Zambia’s Copperbelt University, teaching classes in mobile and object-oriented software development. Rebecca Dyer, English (2007-08): She received a Fulbright Traditional Scholars Grant to lecture and complete research in Lebanon on the topics of ethics and third world literature contemporary British fiction, cultural studies, and film studies. David Mutchler, Computer Science and Software Engineering (2008-09): He lectured on artificial intelligence and investigated research issues in machine game playing in East Africa’s University of Maritius (Reduit, Maritius). Kathy Hammett, Center for Global Engagement (2000): She was in Japan participating in the Fulbright International Education Administrators seminar program, create connections with the societal, cultural and higher education systems of other countries.

Patricia Carlson, American Literature, Iceland; Scott Clark, Anthropology, Japan; Robert Houghtalen, Civil Engineering, Germany; Michael Kukral, Geography, Czechoslovakia; Heinz Luegenbiehl, Philosophy, India and Japan; Renat Letfullin, Physics and Optical Engineering, Uzbekistan; Michael McInerney, Physics and Optical Engineering, Philippines; Peter Parshall, Comparative Literature, Germany; William Pickett, History, Japan; Lee Waite, Biology and Biomedical Engineering, Germany; and Frank Young, Computer Science, Nigeria.