Our Distinctions

The College of Engineering at NC A&T State University is proud of its rich legacy of academic and research excellence and civic engagement.   The College consists of the Departments of Chemical Engineering & Bioengineering; Civil, Environmental, & Architectural Engineering; Computer Science; Electrical & Computer Engineering; Industrial & Systems Engineering; and Mechanical Engineering; and the interdisciplinary Computational Science & Engineering program. 

Together our units offer our corporate partners ample research and educational partnership opportunities, as well as a workforce source comprised of students and graduates of the eleven bachelors, eight masters, and four doctoral level programs of our College.  

The College attracts over $9 million in annual research dollars; is #2 in annual research dollars among the four North Carolina public engineering schools; and continues to be the nation’s leading producer of African American engineers at the undergraduate level. 

Additionally, in 2008 our College faculty led the team that was awarded a National Science Foundation $18.5 million/5-year grant establishing the  Engineering Research Center (ERC) focused on "Revolutionizing Metallic Biomaterials".  This Center, directed by College of Engineering faculty,  is the only ERC led by an HBCU (see http://erc.ncat.edu/ for additional information).

In the 2010-2011 academic year, COE faculty members had 59 proposals awarded for a total of $9,276,682.

In 2008 A&T was awarded an NSF - Engineering Research Center for Revolutionizing Metallic Biomaterials (ERC_RMB). This is the first time this prestigious research grant has been led by an HBCU. The ERC engages many partners, across the US and throughout the world, in its collaborative research and educational programs focused on developing novel metallic biomaterials and smart coatings with built-in responsive biosensory capabilities to adapt to biological changes. The ERC has already distinguished itself in many ways – including be recognized with the Lynn Preston Trophy by NSF at the 2011 ERC Annual meeting.  The ERC continues to present at scientific conferences, give seminars/colloquia/invited talks, and conduct workshops and short courses include the 2011 National Educator’s Workshop. In 2012, the ERC will organize the first ever biodegradable metals global conference at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to enable knowledge exchange on the subject between academic, large industries, and entrepreneurs.

The Center for Energy Research and Technology (CERT) hosted the International Conference on Green Energy and Building Materials at NC A&T, in the Fall of 2010 and again in the Fall of 2011.  This annual conference brings together an international community of researchers, corporate practitioners, and governmental dignitaries to exchange information and synergize efforts in this key area. The 2012 conference date is November 15th-16th.

Several programs in the College of Engineering (COE) have distinctive features.  Two examples are: our Architectural Engineering program is the only one of its kind in the state and the only one of thirteen such programs in the country; and our Biological Engineering program is the only ABET accredited program of its kind at an HBCU.

The College of Engineering at NCA&T is a leading producer of African-American engineers (1st in the nation at the B.S. level in the 2010 American Society of Engineering Education [ASEE] survey) and female engineers (10th in the nation in the percentage of degrees awarded according to the 2010 ASEE survey) at the B.S. level.

The College of Engineering at NCA&T tied for 2nd in the nation (with the Georgia Institute of Technology) in the number of African-American tenured and tenure-track faculty in the 2010 ASEE survey.

Prestigious faculty awards include, but are not limited to, the O. Max Gardner Award of Professional Excellence from the UNC system [only one such award given to a UNC faculty member each year], Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring, Fellow ICA, NIA Langley Professor, the IBM Outstanding Faculty award, and Triad Most Influential Persons.  Many of our faculty are also fellows within international technical organizations, and four of A&T’s College of Engineering faculty have been awarded NSF CAREER Awards – Dr. Zhichao Li (2010), Dr. Salil Desai (2009), Dr. Yaohang Li, (2009), and Dr. Robin Coger (2000).

The number of corporations who aggressively recruit engineering graduates from the COE at NCA&T rivals that of any other school or college in the university.  Consequently, COE graduates with strong GPAs continue to receive offers from a wide variety of corporations, academic institutions, and government agencies.

North Carolina A&T State University is the home of the Center for Aviation Safety (CAS), led by Dr. Kunigal Shivakumar of the Mechanical Engineering Department and made possible by a team of researchers.  The  Center was established with NASA funding, and it is progressing on its mission of establish a strong aerospace engineering research and education program where highly talented faculty at NCA&T can address the challenges of NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate’s Fundamental Aeronautics and Aviation Safety Programs.  CAS’ educational objective of CAS is to develop a high quality aerospace engineering graduate program within the Department of Mechanical Engineering in order to produce world-class engineers.  CAS’ research goal is focused on developing materials, tools, models and technologies that support the safe operation of aerospace vehicle, and it being achieved through 3 major research objectives: Advancing Composites and Structures; Integrating Vehicle Health Management; and Advancing Aeromechanics and Propulsion. 

The College of Engineering leads several initiatives at A&T focused on establishing the University’s reputation in the area of cyber security.  A collaboration with Carnegie Mellon, Clemson and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, North Carolina A&T State University leads the Center for Academic Studies in Identity Sciences (CASIS) is the first and only National Intelligence Science and Technology Center of Academic Excellence in the United States.  An interdisciplinary center (Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Visual Computing, CASIS was established with a five year $8.93 million grant from the Army Research Laboratory and focuses on advanced biometrics.

In 2003 A&T was a founding member of the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA) – a non-profit research and graduate education institute created to conduct leading-edge aerospace and atmospheric research and develop new technologies. Faculty and students of the College of Engineering community continue to be actively involved in various governance, programming, and research aspects of the NIA.
In 2010 the College of Engineering established a BS and MS Bioengineering program focusing on Biomedical applications.  The four faculty recruited to shape and grow these important programs are actively engaged in educating the undergraduate and graduate students of the program, and engaged in research collaborations within the ERC_RMB and across the University and the nation.

COE Faculty, staff, and students continue to be actively engaged in community outreach activities in the Piedmont Triad area and across the state of North Carolina, where mention of only two representative examples will be included here.

• COE faculty and students are actively involved in helping to facilitate the NC First Lego League (Ages 9-14) and the NC First Robotics (Ages 14-18) competitions. In this way our faculty and students are lending their engineering expertise to aid the FIRST organization in its goals of inspiring the interest and participation of young people in science and technology.  
• Faculty and students of the Center for Energy Research and Technology (CERT) have are actively engaged in energy and sustainability activities throughout the region.  CERT is assisting the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation in its sustainability goals by providing outreach in the six eastern counties of the Piedmont Triad region. CERT is also working with the City of Greensboro, and key neighborhood residents, to accelerate the local energy rehabilitation industry for homes by conducting an outreach campaign in 5 neighborhoods to encourage homeowners, renters and landlords to participate in the program. This work includes publicizing the program through neighborhood sweeps, identifying and working with households interested in the program and providing back up technical services and education to support neighborhood activities. As of December 2011, the teams have conducted visits to 90 homes, where the goal is to provide energy upgrades to approximately 2000 homes and 100 commercial/institutional buildings in the next two years.