At the risk of using a cliché, the only thing that remains constant is change itself.  This is certainly the case in the Department of Architectural Engineering these days.  Take, for example, the following:  three new tenure-track AE faculty members (Profs. Michael Horman and Jelena Srebric in fall 2000 and Prof. David Riley in spring 2001); a continually growing Facilities Engineering Institute;    5,000+ ft² of “new space” (if you call space in Engineering Unit B “new”) for AE instructional lab expansions and office spaces for professional staff and graduate students; new research projects; emerging initiatives; and so on.  All of this change is occurring while still doing what this department has done so well over the past few decades to earn its blue chip reputation:  providing a high quality undergraduate education to a waiting queue of motivated and talented Penn State architectural engineering students.  Managing such change is always a challenge, but the positive nature of this challenge makes my job as head of this department a personally rewarding experience.  I cannot help but be staunchly optimistic regarding the future of this department.  Please stay tuned!

My very best wishes to you and your families.

Yours truly,

Richard A. Behr, Ph.D., P.E.
Department Head