ODU BOARD OF VISITORS APPROVES CREATION OF M&S ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM
Old Dominion University's Board of Visitors unanimously endorsed the creation of an undergraduate program in modeling and simulation (M&S) engineering at its April 2 meeting. Pending approval of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), the university, by 2012, will be able to instruct students from high school right through to the doctoral level in the rapidly expanding field.
Once the SCHEV hurdle is cleared, ODU hopes to offer freshman and sophomore years of the fully accredited program as early as the 2009-10 fall semester.
"About a decade ago, when ODU engineering college introduced the graduate studies in Modeling and Simulation, the first PhD program in this field and one of only two master's programs in the country, we were cautiously optimistic that they would be well received," said Oktay Baysal, dean of the Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology.
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Roland Mielke said the program is the key element in continuing to develop M&S academic programs.
"The M&S engineering program provides a next step for high school students and community college students interested in M&S, and it provides a new stream of potential students for Old Dominion University's existing M&S graduate programs," Mielke said.
"Most importantly, the program will provide the entry level workforce so desperately needed by our regional M&S industry.
Mielke said the program is likely to be the first engineering program in modeling and simulation in the United States accredited by ABET, Inc., the national accreditation body for engineering.
The objectives of the program are to provide the fundamental knowledge and skills of M&S engineering necessary to help graduates go on to successful careers, to teach the knowledge and teamwork skills necessary for them to communicate what they've learned effectively, and to prepare them to propose innovative solutions to challenging technical problems and take leadership positions in realizing them.