Dean's Community Message

April 14, 2020

Dear College of Engineering Community,

It’s Tuesday! Who else is finding that all the days are starting to run together? For me, it helps to find one positive thing, however small, about each day. My positive finding of the day: through the myriad zoom background possibilities, I’ve discovered that many of my colleagues are far more creative than I ever knew. Turns out a lot of faculty members reside at Hogwarts!

That brings me to today’s quote from Bobbi Jo Gearhart, financial assistant in chemical engineering:

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns or rejoice because they have roses.”
—Abraham Lincoln

It’s okay to complain about the thorns of isolation, but it is also good to recognize the roses — especially the ones in our midst. Please continue to submit your appreciations for members of the engineering community. We are now highlighting the submissions here.

Here are today’s updates:

Summer Sessions

We expect to hear the University’s plans regarding summer sessions very soon, and we will report them to you as soon as possible. Please stay tuned!

MASC Update

The Manufacturing and Sterilization for COVID-19 (MASC) initiative continues to create opportunities for Penn State faculty, students and staff to address the critical needs surrounding COVID-19. The recently created Penn State Center for Biodevices is helping engineers mobilize through research projects and PPE development.

Remote Teaching Tip

Today’s Remote Teaching Tip is provided courtesy of Moses Ling from the Department of Architectural Engineering.

RTT#3 Use Zoom for proctoring. Moses’ method of using Zoom for proctoring is to assign students to a zoom meeting proctored by a TA, and then require students to use their cell phone to log into Zoom, where they turn on the camera and set it to look at their test station, showing from their head to the desktop including the paper or the tablet they are using for the exam. For more tips on using Zoom for exam proctoring, contact the Office for Digital Learning.

Please continue to email me your “Because I couldn’t …” and your inspirational quotes. Penn State updates are available on the University’s coronavirus information site. You can connect with me on LinkedIn, and follow the college on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

Be well!

Justin Schwartz
Harold and Inge Marcus Dean, College of Engineering