This is such a great and heartwarming news! Congratulations!!
But also, a time to ponder deeper.
DEVESH as the leader, and several outstanding members of his SME team along with the facilities and students are best-in-class that one may find in the world.
And I say this humbly after having been deeply engaged with some of the world's top engineering schools during my long global career.
TWO quick personal points to share:
- First One, is my first-hand experiences with Georgia Tech's MSME in 1999 onward: Way back then, I headed the GE Energy's Technology programs, and one of the answers we were looking for was "what is the residual life left in a Power Plant" at any given time?
This was important to know. And no one knew.
We had reached out to so many other good schools in the country - and they all politely told - there is nothing like that in the books or labs.
They all gave their very narrow answers but this school - MSME - was willing to look at the problem in a much more holistic way - and I recall - the school's leadership - was willing to engage a number of other schools and make it a multi-disciplinary initiative to come up with a much better coordinated approach and answers. We invested heavily into R&D at MSME, Aerospace, Combustion, Industrial Systems, Single Crystals, GTRI, and so on. And that even triggered the discussions to form a Strategic Energy Institute. A role-model interdisciplinary research institute (IRI) on campus
What a fascinating outcome - not perfect - but way better than what we knew- and that knowledge created tremendous about new business growth ($$s).
I continued to serve on the MSME Board for several years, and clearly saw their willingness to take on tough problems.
I could sense how the Tech was poised for excellence. I fondly recall some of the legendry names of that era like Dr. Ashok Saxena, Dr. Jean-Lou Chameau, Dr. John A. White Jr, Dr. Ben Zinn, and some of the younger faculty then e.g., Dr. Tim Lieuwen contributed in a game changing way - and then have gone on to make a difference to several other institutions.
Excellence is a journey too.
Second point is: Real challenge always is how do you stay on top?
I think, we must continuously innovate and never rest on the past laurels. Today, the Higher Education is overdue for disruption - maturity of AI tools and technology, advance in materials, manufacturing, and entrepreneurship have changed the game. The old models may not work. We must INNOVATE OR PREISH otherwise others will leap frog.
Any thoughts?
The George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering is ranked No. 2 in the nation, according to the 2025 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings of undergraduate mechanical engineering programs. The position is unchanged from last year, and once again places the Woodruff School first among public universities.
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Industrial Engineer | Quality Assurance Intern
2moThe session was truly exceptional. Huge thanks to Mohammad Fakhoury and Farah Shaheen for all their efforts and valuable insights