Chair's Message

It is an exciting time at the Heights! As the Inaugural Chair of the Department of Engineering, I am delighted to welcome you to Boston College’s new undergraduate B.S. in Human-Centered Engineering (HCE) program. Our HCE students are studying hard and learning how to collaborate with each other to make the world a better place through engineering. Our talented and accomplished faculty are dedicated to engaging students in learning about human-centered engineering while advancing their research in our world class facilities in 245 Beacon. 

I am proud that our HCE program is one of the only academic programs in the world that purposefully integrates a cross-disciplinary engineering education with the full strength of the liberal arts experience to develop engineers for others. Our students participate in weekly reflection sessions (reflection is a key part to the HCE program that connects to BC’s tradition of student formation) where they consider real-world challenges and how engineering along with disciplines like philosophy, theology, literature, history, and others are vital for solving some of the world’s most pressing problems. From these conversations, it is clear that students are multidimensional and positioned to solve complex problems with scientific and technological, human, and societal elements. 

In 245 Beacon, our faculty members are pioneering new research and developing novel and accessible technologies in areas related to health, energy, the environment, and engineering education. The engineering department is home to expanding research programs in biomedical engineering, cellular agriculture, biofuel efficiency, remote health-related technologies (such as ultrasound), high speed data transmission, waste and reusability, inclusive engineering education, and social justice, design, and engineering. Engineering faculty are dedicated to including BC undergraduates in their research and many of our HCE students work in engineering labs, learning important skills that complement their coursework. I am gratified that our faculty's commitment to excellence in teaching and mentorship can be found in the classroom as well as in their research labs. Working together, we are preparing our students to go out into the world as “Engineers for Others.”