News

Long-serving dean at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will join Baylor ECS June 1

Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport is partnering with Baylor Electrical and Computer Engineering on a Naval Engineering Education Consortium project to improve the autonomous capabilities of robots.

Assistant Professor Trevor Fleck one of 21 Fellows named by the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network

Meet Courtney, a Data Science and Secondary Spanish major (with a history minor) from Newport News, Virginia

Dipta Das, MSCS ’21, provides an international perspective on Baylor Computer Science and entering the U.S. workplace.

Annika Moser's infectious enthusiasm for aerospace helped grow her student organization from 8 to 150 while balancing coursework and working in a research lab at the BRIC. Now she's landed a coveted SpaceX summer internship.

See how ECS has resumed engaging with the community this Spring after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Baylor University ECS and RCHHS deans bring professors together across disciplines to build new research partnerships

Underneath every milestone in the School of Engineering and Computer Science's (ECS) 25-year history lies a foundation of principles laid decades beforehand by a few hearty pioneers.

Dr. Mack Grady, professor of electrical and computer engineering, couldn’t predict that his expertise in electrical power would lead to him being involved in science-fiction worthy research. However, that’s exactly where he ended up when he found himself being recruited for national defense efforts against electromagnetic pulses (EMPs).

Mario Lopez, a senior computer science major, took a long and winding road to Baylor. Moving away from a small town in Mexico to Houston as a kid, graduating high school and enrolling in community college classes, transferring to UTSA and finally arriving at Baylor, Lopez has a remarkable story that is rooted in a search for community that he found within his Baylor family in Waco.

Most adults have experienced what it's like to apply for credit, whether through a bank or credit card company. What many may have not considered is the work that goes on behind the scenes to make an approval decision within minutes. That work is done by computer scientists who have studied in the field of deep learning.

I knew I wanted to be an engineer in the eighth grade, mainly because of my love for aviation. I applied to Baylor at the urging of my high school best friend who had come to Baylor the year before. When I first visited the campus, I didn’t even know it had an engineering program because the program was still in its infancy when I arrived in 1987.

Heather Benoit graduated from Baylor's School of Engineering and Computer Science with a bachelor's degree in engineering in 2009 and her master's in biomedical engineering in 2011. Today, she is a senior mechanical engineer and program manager at M3 Design, Inc., a leading product development and technology consulting firm that specializes in building the future.

This year, Baylor’s School of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) celebrates 25 years! Baylor chose to shine the light on our engineering and computer science programs in 1995 when the University created the School, and our work continues to be an important part of Baylor's strategic plan, Illuminate. As a result, we are geared up and ready to help Baylor become a Research 1 (R1) university in the coming years.

Thanks to the healthy building movement, it is more common for building designs to promote employee health, but there is a gap between theory and application. One Baylor research team sought to bridge that gap, and they needed a computer scientist to accomplish the task.

In August, Baylor University officially announced plans to pursue Research 1/Tier 1 (R1/T1) recognition by building on Illuminate, the University’s strategic plan, which will guide Baylor towards joining the nation’s top research universities and achieving status as the world’s preeminent Christian research university.

Now more than ever, the anxiety for students transitioning out of their undergraduate experience into professional or graduate academic pursuits can be a grueling experience. The dedicated staff of the Baylor University Career Center step into that chaotic process to offer a bridge of resources and tools to help identify and secure the next step in each student’s career path by graduation.

Tools of innovation, science and technology look to the future. To fully understand problems of now and in the future, however, history cannot be ignored. Mary Lauren Benton, Ph.D., assistant professor of bioinformatics, brings those worlds together in her research to solve the biggest mystery of all – the human genome.

Baylor University announced today that it has opened its own on-site COVID-19 testing lab and research facility in partnership with My Labs Direct (MLD), a CLIA-certified, COLA-accredited diagnostic lab that offers an extensive menu of FDA-approved tests.

Most adults have experienced what it's like to apply for credit, whether through a bank or credit card company. What many may have not considered is the work that goes on behind the scenes to make an approval decision within minutes. That work is done by computer scientists who have studied in the field of deep learning. In his new book, Pablo Rivas, Ph.D., said he wanted to write a book about deep learning that has the right balance of theory and practice for a beginner’s audience.

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) announced its Class of 2021 Associate Fellows. Kenneth Van Treuren, PhD, Associate Dean of Research and Faculty Development and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, was among those who were honored with the designation this year.

Baylor University moved up three places to No. 76 among National Universities – with several academic programs and opportunities for undergraduates highly rated – in the latest rankings for 2021 released today by U.S. News & World Report.

Dr. Annette von Jouanne, professor of energy systems: Long recognized as a “Celebrated Woman Engineer” by the National Academy of Engineering, von Jouanne came to Baylor from Oregon State and brought her nationally-regarded research into renewable energy and electric vehicles to campus. She worked on the first hybrid SUV, and currently partners with the Navy on the development of electric ships.

An interdisciplinary team of Baylor University scientists and engineers has been awarded a nearly $600,000 grant from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to study the effectiveness of a device that simulates the motion of horseback riding as a treatment for children with autism.

Jonathan Hartman, P.E., has recently been awarded the National Society of Professional Engineers’ 2020 Young Engineer of the Year Award. This award recognizes a young NSPE member who has made outstanding contributions to the Engineering Profession and the community during the early years of one's career.

Baylor University’s drive toward Research 1 (R1) status received a major boost this spring as four faculty members earned prestigious CAREER development awards from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The grants represent the largest number of CAREER awards earned by Baylor faculty in a single semester and nearly doubled the University’s total number of active CAREER awards to nine.

With the tech industry growing rapidly, it couldn’t be a better time for Baylor’s School of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) to launch its data science degree program. The new major will begin in the Fall, 2020, and will join the existing BSI major in Bioinformatics.

Twelve Baylor University professors have been honored with Outstanding Faculty Awards for teaching, scholarship and contributions to the academic community for the 2019-2020 academic year.

A team of local engineers has designed a low-cost, ventilation support system to help patients combatting COVID-19. The team created an i3 Breather prototype in three weeks in response to the government’s Hack-A-Vent Innovation Challenge to rapidly develop solutions for ventilator availability and critical care requirements around the world.

The J. Harry and Anna Jeanes Academic Honors Week marks one of the annual highlights of our spring semester, featuring thesis research presentations by seniors, a celebratory banquet for Honors Program and University Scholars Program seniors and their mentors, and the Academic Honors Convocation.

College students who listened to classical music by Beethoven and Chopin during a computer-interactive lecture on microeconomics — and heard the music again that night — did better on a test the next day than did peers who were in the same lecture, but instead slept that evening with white noise in the background.

As COVID-19 continues to spread and impact Baylor students around the world, the University has set up the President’s Excellence Fund to provide awards of up to $1,000 to support various students in need.

Baylor psychology professor Sara Dolan, Ph.D., was among the participants on a National Academies of Sciences panel earlier this year that presented a report to the U.S. Congress about the long-term health effects of anti-malarial drugs.

In this Baylor Connections, Jeremy Everett, founder and executive director of the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, shares how it has responded to COVID-19, ramping up long-standing efforts to end hunger across the state of Texas and around the nation.

Planning schedules, screen time and social connectedness during the coronavirus crisis can help parents and children reduce stress, be productive and create meaningful family moments.

Baylor University President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D., updated the Baylor University community today regarding the extension of online instruction through the remainder of the spring semester, the postponement of May Commencement and more.

Dr. Anne Spence, assistant chair and clinical associate professor of mechanical engineering at Baylor, helped forge a path for women in mechanical engineering when there were not many and continues to inspire undergraduates at Baylor.

Dr. Linda Olafsen, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, researches semiconductors for a variety of applications from her lab in the Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative. In this Baylor Connections, she shares how her research seeks products, such as lasers that are more safe, useful and efficient and talks about the impact of Baylor’s Tier 1 research vision in the School of Engineering and Computer Science.

Baylor’s Association for Computer Machinery (ACM) hosted an internship panel for students Tuesday night as part of the School of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) Week. The panel featured engineering and computer science major students that had previously held corporate internships or participated in undergraduate research.

The conversation about digital transformation is shifting from “What is it?” to “How do we do it?” Campus leaders are rethinking the user experience in response to competition, financial pressure and a growing expectation that technology be optimized to improve education, boost productivity and simplify operations.

Bryan Shaw, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry, discovered, through the use of amateur digital photography, evidence of leukocoria or "white eye," the cardinal symptom of retinoblastoma, which can be seen in photographs during the earliest stages of the disease. Based on his research findings, Shaw partnered with Greg Hamerly, Ph.D., associate professor of computer science, to create CRADLE, an app that detects leukocoria or white eye.

In a workforce that increasingly requires technological knowledge, the School of Engineering and Computer Science is preparing Baylor students with extensive digital skills and conducting substantial interdisciplinary research.

Baylor University announced today the formation of a postdoctoral researcher hiring program to support and enhance research across the University. The postdoctoral hiring program will dramatically accelerate Baylor’s efforts to deliver top-level research marked by quality, visibility and impact through the planned addition of 65 professional researchers over the next three years.

For the uninitiated, “esports” is a general term that encompasses the world of competitive video gaming. Professional video game players — or teams of them — organize and compete around specific games, attracting big sponsorships from some of the world’s most well-known companies. The dream for many of these players is to compete in large-scale international esports tournaments, winning fame, prestige, and their shot at million-dollar prize pools. This year alone, esports revenues are projected to exceed $1.1 billion.

It stands to reason that if students connect deeply to their new community early in college life, and are then presented with learning environments that consistently inspire and engage, that those students will be best suited to get the most out of the collegiate experience. Those are aspects Baylor intentionally builds into the student experience, and once again, people are taking notice.

When Bryan Shaw’s son, Noah, was diagnosed with pediatric eye cancer at four months old, it sparked in Shaw a mission to help other families avoid the challenges his faced. On this Baylor Connections, Dr. Bryan Shaw, associate professor of chemistry, and Dr. Greg Hamerly, associate professor of computer science, share the moving story behind the White Eye Detector app, an effective screening tool that analyzes photos in the phone to more quickly catch pediatric eye disease. Retinoblastoma claimed Noah’s eye, but today he is a healthy 11-year old who knows his experiences are helping others.

What is the role of gaming in higher education? Matthew Fendt, Baylor lecturer of computer science, is an expert on artificial intelligence, the gaming industry, and the role of gaming and interactive digital environments in education. In addition to teaching classes like Baylor’s gaming capstone, in which students create their own video games, Fendt has partnered with professors across campus to create tools for data collection. He recently partnered with Baylor Public Health and the Family Health Center in Waco to create a decision support tool for primary-care physicians. He shares how these various threads tie together in this Baylor Connections.

The $1.5 million Mearse Endowed Chair in Biological and Biomedical Engineering, established by Bill and Tanya Mearse of Houston, Texas, will provide senior leadership for the emerging program within Baylor ECS.