ENG-23-4200-I3-Magazine_Final Version

14

15

IMAGINE•INNOVATE•INSPIRE

USD ENGINEERING

A Long

NEWS BRIEFS

For two years running, Dean Chell Roberts, Elisa Lurkis, SMSE senior director of development and alumni relations, and Charles Bass, USD senior director of development for academic affairs, have traveled to Saudi Arabia to connect back with alumni and families once students have graduated and returned to their home countries. They spent time in Jeddah and were hosted in the gracious fashion that is a trademark of the Saudis. Sumaya Dahlawi and Fawaz Halwani served as the trio’s Jeddah host family and deliv ered a spectacular alumni experience at their beautiful family home, which reunited many Toreros and families. The hosts also organized a tour of their family business, Halwani Bros. “We are working in Saudi Arabia as a thrust area for internationaliza tion through industry partnerships,” says Roberts. “Halwani Bros. is one of the most well-known and import ant food manufacturing and distri bution companies in the Middle East, with an impressive factory that utilizes cutting-edge engineering processes and capabilities. They have offered to partner with us on internships, which we hope to start in summer 2024.” From Jeddah, Lurkis and Roberts traveled to Dammam. Another USD family, Mohamed and Aseel Zakzouk, served as their hosts for this portion of the visit. The Zakzouks arranged for a meeting at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. Roberts is working to expand SMSE’s international reach into the Dammam region by “exploring executive short course education and offering a part of a degree program as an extension of our industry part ners program into the Middle East.” Lurkis and Roberts finished their trip with a visit to Riyadh, where they met with multiple USD alumni,

Connections With our GCC Toreros

Way From Home he Gulf Cooperation

New Minor in Cognitive Science Starting in Fall 2023, USD began offering a new interdisciplinary minor in cognitive science — the scientific study of minds and brains, real or artificial. The new minor helps prepare students for a wide variety of careers at the interfaces of technology, minds, brains and behavior and was created by Assistant Professor at USD: Jennifer Olsen, PhD, from the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering’s Department of Computer Science; Laura Getz, PhD, from the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Psychological Sciences; and Marilynn Johnson, PhD, from the College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Philosophy. Onboarding Six New Hires The Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering successfully onboarded six new faculty and staff members over the course of the year. In Fall 2023, we welcomed Assistant Professor Sophia Krause-Levy, PhD, as our newest addition to the computer science department and Professor of Practice Haydar Majeed for the Master of Science in Cybersecurity Engineering program. Hannah Holtzman, PhD, joined us from USD’s Humanities Center and now serves as director of the Center for Digital Civil Society and Angelo Colon now serves as our new senior academic advising specialist. Executive assistants Hattie Morgan and Ryan Smith joined USD in Fall 2022 and Spring 2023, respectively, to support our growing school. Biofuel From Local Brewery’s Wastewater University of San Diego students and professors Odesma Dalrymple, PhD, Marissa Forbes, PhD, and Drew Talley, PhD, are developing a formula for creating a sustainable biofuel using a mix of beer wastewater from Stone Brewing Company, kelp and fish or sheep waste. In 2022, Stone Brewing Company reclaimed more than 11 million gallons of wastewater using an on-site water reclamation system. The USD team is collaborating with researchers from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, in Barbados, who developed a successful formula for biofuel as a gasoline replacement, using rum wastewater, seaweed and sheep manure. Out of This World

Council (GCC) is an alliance of states that consists of six countries in Western Asia, includ ing Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. With nearly 10 percent of the University of San Diego’s Shiley by Elisa Lurkis T

Marcos School of Engineering’s (SMSE) undergraduate population coming from the Gulf Coast, the school has been developing long term plans to strengthen relation ships with alumni, students, par ents, universities and companies from across the GCC.

SUMAYA DAHLAWI AND ELISA LURKIS

including a sumptuous alumni dinner organized by Samael ’21 (ISyE) and Samaher ’21 (ISyE) Alblaihess. Alumna Mae Al Shanafey ’21 (ISyE), ’22 (MBA), also arranged for a dinner with her family at their lovely home. “It is amazing to reconnect with so many Toreros living in the Gulf Coast countries,” Lurkis reflects. “The level of enthusiasm that our alumni display upon reconnecting with their alma mater is uplifting to see.” In addition to reconnecting with alumni and establishing partnerships with companies and other universities, SMSE has implemented efforts to sup port students from the GCC region while they are studying at USD. The school has designated an office as a prayer space that can be used through out the year, with additional prayer space added during Ramadan. The school also hosted an Arabic Coffee Hour and an Eid celebration. “These are just small ways to show these students that we care and want them to feel welcome on campus,” said Lurkis, “Students from this region are a long way from home and we want to support them in any way we can. And it is an opportunity for American students, faculty and others to learn a little bit about their customs and practices. It’s a learning opportunity for all of us, which is what higher education is all about.”

Four crew members have been assigned to launch on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission for a long-duration stay aboard the Inter national Space Station. NASA astronaut Commander Matthew Dominick ’05 (EE) will join Expedition 70 and 71 crew mem bers aboard the station in early 2024 to conduct a wide-ranging set of operational and research activities.

HALWANI BROS. TOUR

MATTHEW DOMINICK