Hello fellow alumni and friends,

This holiday season marks the beginning of a period of gratitude for our entire team, extending our heartfelt appreciation to all members of the Pratt and Duke Communities. The future holds great promise as Dean Lynch continues to advance Pratt's ambitious vision, leveraging the strengths of our students, faculty, alumni, and friends.

Entering this current fiscal year, our development team is invigorated. The lively atmosphere on campus, teaming with the return of students and faculty, serves as a poignant reminder of the special community of Duke Engineering. Earlier this month, we joyously welcomed back our Pratt Board of Visitors, celebrating Pratt's ascent in the national rankings. There is a prevailing sense of optimism about how Pratt will guide Duke into its second century as we approach the Duke Centennial celebration next year. Indeed, it's a fantastic time to be a Duke Engineer!

On behalf of the dean, the development team, and everyone at Pratt, I extend sincere thanks for the myriad of ways in which you support the school. I invite you to relish the highlights below and wish you a joyous holiday season. Feel free to reach out to any member of the development team to discuss all matters related to Pratt and Duke. I eagerly anticipate reconnecting with many of you on campus and throughout the country in the coming year.

Cheers,
Jim

Jim Ruth E'01
Senior Associate Dean & Director of Development
Duke Pratt School of Engineering

The Pratt Board of Visitors, a group of 50 alumni, parents, and friends, had a busy schedule when they visited campus in early November. After a Thursday night joint social between Trinity and Pratt Board members, Friday featured school updates from Dean Jerry Lynch and President Price; a presentation from Judy Ledlee on DESIGN Climate; updates on the Community-Based Innovation initiative from Adrienne Stiff-Roberts; and the BME Vision Statement presented by Joe Izatt, Ann Saterbak, and Marc Sommers.

Saturday morning kicked off with Engineering’s WIN (Women’s Impact Network) meeting, followed by breakfast and a presentation on First Year Computing by Genevieve Lipp. Throughout the weekend, the Board represented Duke Athletics with high attendance at the men’s basketball game Friday evening and the football game on Saturday evening.

A big thank you is extended to everyone who attended the meeting for their support and enthusiasm. Pratt received a great amount of positive feedback about where the school is heading, as well as some fantastic ideas on how to further improve our undergraduate education, research, and entrepreneurial efforts.

The Blue Sky Fund was launched in 2022 as an expendable funding source that will be used at the discretion of Dean Jerry Lynch to support new high-risk, high-reward ideas in the school. This fund has helped to launch new, unbudgeted initiatives such as the Robotics Teaching Lab, DEFINE, CREATE (with DLI), Sisters in STEM, and Smart Home upgrades.

To learn more about the Blue Sky Fund, contact the Pratt Development Team »

Representatives from 20 companies attended the Pratt School of Engineering Open House on September 13 to connect with engineering staff, faculty, and students representing a variety of student organizations. Upon arrival, company representatives were greeted by staff and students representing the MEMS Department, the Duke Motorsports team, Duke Electric Vehicles, the Duke Robotics Club, Duke AERO, and Duke’s Chapter of NSBE for pre-event networking and refreshments.

Dean Jerry Lynch opened the evening session by welcoming the industry participants, many who were engineering alumni, and remarked on the importance of university-industry engagement. He highlighted the value industry partnerships provide in offering authentic experiential opportunities via internships and projects, opportunities for experienced engineers to share their career journey via mentorship and career development support, and the exciting solutions that the university and industry can address through partnered research.

Afterward, company representatives continued networking with students, faculty, and program staff while touring the Wilkinson garage labs and Duke Co-Lab. This event was held the evening prior to TechConnect, Duke Engineering’s signature networking recruiting fair, and provided company representatives an opportunity to connect with Duke staff and student organizations in a casual and informal setting.

As fall campus recruiting got into full swing, 70 companies and over 900 students participated in the 2023 fall TechConnect event at Duke’s Penn Pavilion on September 14. This was our first time back in Penn Pavilion since 2020 and for a full five hours it was once again a lively hub of activity connecting students with industry! A variety of industry sectors were represented, and Duke Engineering and CS students connected with recruiters and technical representatives, many whom were Duke alums, to connect, share a resume, and learn more about opportunities available for internships or full-time employment.

A signature event for Duke Engineering, TechConnect gives companies the chance to focus on their recruiting goals of meeting, engaging, and hiring engineering and tech talent in a focused environment. Both employers and students felt the day was a huge success for making connections, sharing knowledge, and exploring opportunities.

Working in close coordination with Melissa Vetterkind, assistant vice president of government relations, our own Jonathan Owens has been building on the strong ties between Duke Engineering and our military partners. We have hosted several meetings between Pratt faculty and the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN) team, who proposed 8-10 student projects targeted toward senior design classes. Jonathan was also asked to represent Pratt on the Fort Liberty–Duke University Steering Committee, which is a campus-wide effort to coordinate both ongoing and future research projects with the various partners located at Fort Liberty.

Since the addition of the Business Development and External Partnerships position within Pratt, we have introduced and supported $1.9 million in new grant and sponsored research applications, including the recent Army Pathfinder proposal won by MEMS/ECE Professor Boyuan Chen for $500,000.

Pratt Industry Partnerships collaborated with the Duke School of Medicine and Duke AI Health to develop a strategic partnership with Truveta to provide access to their extensive de-identified health data from over 20,000 clinics and 800 hospitals in all 50 states. The agreement that Jonathan worked to broker in partnership with Matt Sillers in Duke Sourcing and Leslie Curtis in the School of Medicine allows all of Duke University and the Health System to access the dataset for research purposes with extremely attractive terms. Duke University is only one of two academic institutions that have negotiated such access.

The power of our Duke Engineering alumni network is driven by all of you. We hope that you will consider signing up for one of the opportunities below, as your engagement will help drive an enriched experience for our current students and other alumni. Unless specifically noted otherwise, all opportunities can be remote and aren’t limited based on your geographic location. If you have any questions, please contact Pam Hanson »

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