Dear Colleagues and Friends,

I am always amazed by the range of activities conducted by our students, faculty, and staff at The Padnos College of Engineering and Computing (PCEC). As you will see in the October newsletter, the PCEC community is involved in everything from student led research initiatives, extensive K-12 outreach, and community involvement.

I was thrilled to represent PCEC at the recent National Academies roundtable discussion focused on undergraduate STEM education in Washington D.C. It was an opportunity for me to highlight the ecosystem for STEM partnerships that we have created at our college over the past 30 years. I was proud to share that PCEC has more than 300 industry partners supporting our students’ co-op or internship experiences, or sponsoring student projects.

PCEC is hosting an Alumni Homecoming Tailgate on Saturday, October 28th from 12-3 PM near Lubbers Stadium. Please join me and PCEC faculty and staff for complimentary appetizers and beer during GVSU Homecoming. We look forward to seeing you there!

If you have questions or comments, follow this link to Connect with the Dean.

1 day to go and we can't wait to see you there!💙

Come join us for the PCEC Alumni Homecoming Tailgate happening this Saturday, 28th October from 12 - 3pm at the Reunion Row near the main entrance of Lubbers Stadium. Dean Paul Plotkowski, PCEC faculty and staff and other alumni will be there for some complimentary appetizers, beers, and seltzers!

RSVP at https://shorturl.at/duETZ

Congratulations to Cybersecurity students, Emma Feustel and Hannah Woznick, who were awarded a $3000 grant by the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship to research Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) security in healthcare.

Emma Feustel said their research began last fall in a class taught by Dr. Samah Mansour.

 “We were interested to find out why people seemed so afraid of implanted technology (like RFID) and so based our end-of-semester project around where that technology came from, where it's going, and why people are afraid of it going in them. Dr. Mansour reached out and asked us if we would like to continue researching the topic, and eventually we worked on building a model for how RFID powered devices could work in a hospital and how they could be used to both protect patients and keep their data safe.“

The community ties that helped establish GVSU's Padnos College of Engineering and Computing were highlighted October 19 in Washington, D.C., during a National Academies roundtable discussion focused on undergraduate STEM education.

"Grand Valley and our college invest heavily in co-op education," Plotkowski said. "And we're not just sending students to industry partners to work. This is closely coupled with an academic element, as there are weekly touchpoints. It's like any relationship; if you don't invest time and resources, it's not going to work out well."

Plotkowski also discussed the college's extensive outreach to K-12 students. Last year, PCEC faculty and staff hosted more than 13,000 students at summer camps, project days or FIRST Robotics events. "We have dedicated facilities and staff for pipeline events for K-12 students," he said. "It's an important component of our mission."

PCEC was established in 2004, in part, to meet the talent demands of West Michigan industry. Plotkowski said the college's applied research and development centers, such as the Applied Computing Institute and the Electromagnetic Compatibility Center, provide area businesses with incubator space, rapid prototyping and access to student and faculty expertise.

"We're contributing and building the STEM workforce in West Michigan. And we're very committed to maintaining and strengthening our connections in the community," he said.

Article by: Michele Coffill

The School of Computing hosted its inaugural Get Involved event on Tuesday, October 3. The open house featured representatives from all four student clubs, the Python Wave study program, internships, Swiss Summer Exchange, the Applied Computing Institute, PCEC Advising, several graduate and undergrad research groups, the MiCTRA threat range, and Auto-Owners Insurance, our sponsor.

The goal was to create an opportunity for new Computing students to feel welcomed and supported, and to get connected from the very beginning, while learning about all the wonderful opportunities available to them now and in the future. 

"It's like Campus Life Night for Computing," said Claire Grob, the President of Women in Computing who is also serving her second term as a Python Wave Ambassador.

There was a great turnout, and the response was incredibly positive. Several seniors said they wished something like this had been around when they were undergraduates.

We are grateful to all the faculty, staff, and student representatives who made this first event such a success. Thank you to our sponsor, Auto-Owners Insurance, and specifically, Greg Flohr, Assistant Vice President of IT, for taking the time to talk to so many of our students. 

For Ellen Shupe, professor of psychology, seeing how students are changed and impacted by study abroad trips keeps her coming back as a faculty leader for the Northern Ireland study abroad program.

Northern Ireland is one of many study abroad programs offered at Grand Valley. The School of Engineering has more than 50 West Michigan industry partners that have foreign operations. We also provide students with the opportunities to complete their third co-op experience during the fall term in Germany through DHBW who offers more than 25 industry partners in a variety of industries. Electrical and Computer Engineering students can also complete one semester of full-time study abroad in Switzerland while students from all around the United States and Italy can enroll at JCU in Rome, Italy during the summer semesters. Students can learn more about these programs by visiting the Engineering Study and Work Abroad Programs page. 

While Shupe is a huge advocate for independent travel, she said there is something inherently different about traveling as an educational group. 

“The discussion and the self-reflection that is built into the course make it qualitatively different,” said Shupe. “It is kind of magical when everything comes together. It sparks their interest in travel, and in learning about people with different experiences and backgrounds."

Article by: Thomas Garrett

GVSU participated in Tech Week GR and the Confluence Festival this year with a focus on sharing with the West Michigan community, the university’s inspired innovative activities and placing them into the limelight.

Creative Solutions that Change Lives: The Engineering & Computing Mindset

This showcase provided an opportunity for the community to witness the fusion of experiential learning, creative innovation, industry partnerships, and cutting-edge technology. GVSU’s Shape Corp. Innovation Design Center hosted the event that included many initiatives that faculty and students are engaged in, from K-12 pipeline development to new product launch.  

Confluence Festival

The Confluence Festival was a free festival at the intersection of art, music, science, and tech. GVSU was sponsor of the FIZ “Future Innovators Zone” this year. 

Unique to this event was an engaging video game created by Ty Rizer, Emerging Technologies Developer on the IT Innovation Team. Using Unity and Google Map Tiles, the game provided a realistic flyover of the city with a futuristic rendering of the GVSU Blue Dot Lab innovation center. Here is a sample video clip.

Read the full article, by Eric Kunnen, here.

Grand Valley State University presented a series of informative and engaging 10-minute presentations, covering a range of topics designed to spark imagination and embrace possibility, including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and extended reality, among others. This event provided a great opportunity to learn from experts in the field, network with other tech enthusiasts, and discover the latest trends and developments in the world of technology. 

Watch the full Tech Talks session on YouTube here.

Read the full article by Eric Kunnen here.

To read the full article please click here.

We are excited to share that we are starting a weekly #PeopleofPCEC series where we will be shining spotlights on the different people that make PCEC PCEC. This includes you our students, alumni and faculty!

To be part of the series, complete this form if you are a Student and this form if you are an Alumni.

We look forward to interacting with you all!💙

Stay informed!

Keep current with the latest Computing, Engineering, Occupational Safety & Health Management, and Professional Science Master's Programs news and events! 

Follow PCEC on Social Media

Share your images and stories by tagging your social media posts @gvsupcec.

Sign up for the PCEC Newsletter

Our quarterly newsletters provide information about exciting program changes, student and faculty projects, community engagement, and events.

Sign up for the PCEC Student Services Newsletter 

The PCEC Advising & Student Services Office sends out a weekly newsletter to all our declared major students. If you are not currently a declared PCEC student and would like to receive our weekly newsletters, you can sign up or view the archive on our website.

Check out Upcoming PCEC Events

Visit the GVSU Padnos College of Engineering & Computing Website 

Check Out Our Academic Programs!