Notes from Engineering
On Nov. 1, the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department hosted its bi-annual advisory board meeting. Board members met to discuss department updates, changes in the curriculum, and the new engineering building.
Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Robert Barsanti, Ph.D., was recently named the first Rigney Professor. In 2022, Harriet McDougal-Rigney began working with The Citadel Foundation to establish two endowed gifts worth $1 million to honor her late husband James O. Rigney, Jr., ’74 with an endowed chair and scholarship in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
On Nov. 6, the School of Engineering hosted a reception and networking event for engineering evening students. Approximately 50 students were in attendance.
On Nov. 8, students traveled to NUCOR Corporation to visit the company’s facilities and learn more about operations. Students attended a presentation that discussed the history of the company and what it does, visited the mill, and ended with a Q&A session with current NUCOR employees.
The Citadel Student Leadership Team of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (Walker Iller, Cooper Peterson, Ethan Mack, Pierce Finley, and Jake Hennelly) attended a conference in Dallas, Texas, Nov. 8-9, to learn best practices for running a successful student chapter.
On Nov. 9, the School of Engineering hosted a Homecoming Tailgate BBQ at Grimsley Hall and LeTellier Hall. Approximately 200 alumni, faculty, staff, and current students joined the festivities.
The Electrical and Computer Engineering department hosted two groups of middle-school-aged visitors from Richland School District 2 in Columbia, S.C. In a Grimsley Hall computer lab, ECE professors Shobhit Aggarwal Ph.D., Robert Barsanti Ph.D., Mark McKinney Ph.D. and Greg Mazzaro Ph.D. discussed the purpose of engineering, demonstrated electricity with a group experiment and helped the students to build their own circuits.
The Citadel chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers held its third meeting of the year on Nov. 12. With over 60 cadets in attendance, they welcomed guest speaker Gabriele Rebessi from Bystronic, a laser cutting and machining company. Rebessi spoke about marketing for career advancement and being a leader in the workplace.
On Nov. 12, Oguzhan Oruc, Ph.D. from Mechanical Engineering and Dean Andrew Williams, Ph.D. inspired future innovators by engaging fifth-grade students from the STEM ALERT Program in an exploration of artificial intelligence and humanoid robotics. The program, sponsored by The Citadel STEM Center, highlights the school’s commitment to empowering young minds and fostering interest in cutting-edge technologies.
