In the fall, the University of Rhode Island College of Engineering welcomed its largest class. Through our doors walked 365 ambitious young people ready to engage in learning. These students arrived during a year when the college, its faculty and its students shone brightly.

First there were engineering professors Haibo He and Geoffrey Bothun, who both won prestigious Career Awards from the National Science Foundation. Haibo, whose research promises a smarter power grid, was also named “Rising Star Innovator of the Year” by Providence Business News. And Geoffrey, an expert in nanoparticles, won a grant to work with a multi-university team on new ways to clean up oil spills and address the Deepwater Horizon spill.

Students also made names for themselves last year. Our students received more scholarships in 2011 than any other year in the history of the college. At our Scholarship Breakfast in the fall alone, we honored 155 students and provided more than $325,000 in scholarships.

Many of those students participate in the International Engineering Program. Last year we learned that the program will receive the Andrew Heiskell Award for Innovation in International Education from the Institute of International Education. The program also proved key in helping URI receive a Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization from the Association of International Educators.

Last year, we launched a minor in nuclear engineering. Students in the program will have an opportunity to work in the university’s research nuclear reactor, one of just 22 such reactors in the country.

To foster greater research across the college, we hired Paul Bishop as associate dean for research. The former National Science Foundation official is building centers of excellence where engineering faculty and students work with peers across the institution to solve problems.

You’ll see more about these centers as the college crafts a master plan to create new teaching and research environments. The study will lay the groundwork for constructing and renovating classrooms and research labs. When this plan becomes a reality, the college will be in an even stronger position to develop innovative solutions to the world’s challenges, from addressing the energy needs of tomorrow to improving our way of life.

I look forward to sharing this exciting plan with you in future editions of Innovations.

Raymond M. Wright, Ph.D., P.E.