Dear Alumni and Friends,

We are called. Our faculty and researchers who are leading in innovative and entrepreneurial solutions to some of the most challenging problems are answering. The staff members committed to supporting our students and ensuring the function of our college, departments, and centers are answering. The alumni, donors, and stakeholders who have seen the ways in which this college has transformed lives here in Iowa, across the country, and around the world are answering. The students who are rising to prepare and achieve in the face of headwinds are answering. I continue to be proud to be a part of all that we have and will accomplish collectively.

In this issue, we are excited to share with you stories that reflect our college’s core research strengths: engineering for human health, engineering for the environment, and engineering for emerging technologies. Our ground-breaking research and innovative teaching in each of these areas set us apart from our peers. At Iowa, engineers — faculty, staff, and students — have the opportunity to collaborate across the university’s five health sciences colleges as well as with UI colleges of business, education, law, and liberal arts and sciences. Protecting the environment and ensuring access to resources such as safe drinking water remain key components of our research endeavors. Our labs are filled with the latest technologies in areas such as robotics, human modeling, artificial intelligence, and automated driving. As we look to the future, our work in these three research areas will position us for excellence in the years and decades to come.

Throughout this issue, you will read stories of impact — the ways in which our teaching impacts students, the ways in which our research impacts society, and the ways in which our alumni look back on the impact of their college experience. Ultimately, as much as engineering is a product of hard science, it is just as apt to think of engineering in terms of people. What we do here in this college, in both research and teaching, changes people’s lives, making them healthier, safer, more connected global citizens. We have long said that we are a small college of distinction. To that, I would add that we are a small college of distinction with a world-wide impact. My sincere thanks go to all who join with us on this journey.

Harriet B. Nembhard
Dean, College of Engineering
Roy J. Carver Professor of Engineering