The Unconventional Engineer 2023-24
Volume 5: Making the future since 1854
Celebrating 170 Years of History, 10 years of NYU Engineering
In 1854, two schools were founded, forming the earliest foundations upon which NYU Tandon would ultimately be built: The Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute, and the University of the City of New York (now known as NYU) School of Civil Engineering and Architecture.
Letter from the Executive Dean
I am honored to join the NYU and Tandon communities amid a defining moment for science and engineering. I have spent the last 12 years at the University of Chicago doing incredible work with exceptional colleagues, and only one thing could have driven me to make a major change: the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lead a vast science, technology, and engineering enterprise here in New York, a global center of diversity, discovery, and innovation.
As I prepared for my roles at NYU, I learned a great deal about the growing quality of research, culture of collaboration across geographics and fields, and dedication to addressing societal challenges that are the hallmarks of Tandon. Tandon researchers are making significant advances in a multitude of vital areas, from human health to the sustainability of the planet. The examples you’re about to read barely scratch the surface.
Office Hours
Researchers in Their Own Words
A vibrant group of researchers, students, technologists, and innovators is working to shape a new future. Learn about their work in Office Hours, a YouTube series about the latest research breakthroughs and what’s driving our Unconventional Engineers.
Making the Future
Engineers are at the vanguard of shaping a future brimming with possibilities, leveraging their boundless ingenuity to tackle humanity’s greatest challenges.
At NYU Tandon, our engineers are pioneering sustainable technologies, ushering in an era of renewable energy, and harnessing the power of the sun, wind, and water to create a cleaner, greener planet. They are designing smart cities that blend advanced infrastructure, transportation systems, and communication networks to craft vibrant, efficient, and resilient urban landscapes. They are building the next generation of wireless technology that will interconnect our world in even more profound ways, and establishing new methods for entertainment, education and emerging media. They are revolutionizing healthcare and biotechnology, heralding a new dawn of medical miracles. They are protecting our most sensitive digital systems from hackers, cybercriminals and bad actors of all kinds. And they are creating the next generation of AI and robotics, powered by cutting-edge advancements in data science.
To be an engineer is to dream of the future, and then build it. Our Unconventional Engineers are not merely building the technologies of tomorrow, but are creating a vision filled with hope, opportunity, and boundless potential for generations to come. We’ve been Making the Future Since 1854, but we’re only just getting started.
New Faces at Tandon
NYU Tandon’s new faculty members are exploring the possibilities of smart buildings, working to make entrepreneurship more inclusive, quantifying the risks of climate change, and a lot more. Whatever their areas of expertise, they share a focus on improving the world — and helping Tandon students do the same.