Best Online Graduate Programs

Online Engineering Programs Ranked in Top 20

The college's online engineering programs are ranked among the top 20 in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s 2014 Best Online Graduate Programs. Texas Tech’s programs included in the ranking are:

• Doctor of Philosophy in Systems and Engineering Management
• Master of Science in Systems and Engineering Management
• Master of Science in Software Engineering
• Master of Engineering, including the interdisciplinary and healthcare engineering options

The college's Master of Engineering program was ranked in the top 50 last year. Based on a survey conducted through the summer of 2013, respondents were asked to rank qualifying institutions based on student engagement, faculty credentials and training, student services and technology, and admissions selectivity. However, because of better and more robust data, including on program-level, outcome based measures such as one-year retention rates, graduation rates and indebtedness of students at graduation, U.S. News has made modifications to this year’s methodology.

“I am very pleased that our distance engineering program is recognized among the top 20 in the country,” said Al Sacco Jr., dean of the college. “This is a credit to our faculty and their dedication to student learning, quality instruction and professionalism.”

Hedden	Khare

Hedden and Khare Awarded NSF Grant for Biofuels

Drs. Ronald Hedden and Rajesh Khare, associate professors of chemical engineering, have received approximately $640,000 in a grant from the National Science Foundation to seek out more cost and energy efficient ways for biofuels to power the world. Their work will be a collaborative effort to enable the recovery of biofuels through a process called pervaporation.

Early routes to biofuels relied on food crops such as corn, which created controversy. Recent advancements have focused on the use of cellulosic biomass, such as grasses, agricultural waste, and wood, mainly produced by a microbial fermentation process that produces a small amount of fuel dissolved in a large quantity of water. Pervaporation combines aspects of filtration and evaporation through a membrane to separate the biofuel from other components in the mixture, Hedden and Khare said.

Hedden and Khare will apply combinatorial synthesis and theoretical modeling to enable rapid prototyping of new polymeric membrane materials for improved pervaporation processes. Their approach involves combinatorial, high-throughput screening methods, which permit rapid, matrix-based testing of large numbers of polymer compositions to find an optimal membrane material quickly. Computational modeling will help target the molecular factors underlying the good performance of the most promising membrane materials.

Karp

Karp Named Integrated Scholar by Office of the Provost

The Texas Tech Office of the Provost has named Dr. Tanja Karp, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, as an Integrated Scholar for 2013-2014.

Each year the provost works with the academic deans to develop lists of faculty members and students who exemplify the Integrated Scholar concept.

An Integrated Scholar is a faculty member who not only demonstrates outstanding teaching, research, and service, but also is able to generate synergy among the three functions. These faculty members consistently promote active learning and infuse the results of their research and scholarship in courses and other learning experiences.

Heinze

Heinze Helps Start Petroleum Engineering Program in Mozambique

Dr. Lloyd Heinze, a professor of petroleum engineering, was contacted by Anadarko oil company about helping start a petroleum engineering master’s program at the Universidade Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo, Africa. With growing oil and natural gas industries in Africa, engineering companies recognized potential for development, but found one problem: lack of native experts who can work in the field.

With faculty from other universities, Heinze created a one-year introduction course in engineering as well as an additional two years of curriculum with a focus on petroleum to receive a master’s degree. The program began in the spring of 2013 and students currently are finishing the leveling preliminary courses. Heinze taught 22 students during a summer class. He taught the class from a distance in Lubbock and Houston using the Microsoft Lync system. After teaching the course for two weeks, he flew to Mozambique and taught for a month. Now, Heinze is developing two drilling courses for distance delivery from Texas Tech, the second course begins in February and will continue until July 2014.

December 17, 2013 – January 13, 2014

* Primary Investigator

See a full listing of the college's events on the Engineering Master Calendar.

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