Wichita State’s School of Engineering was recently ranked first for research and development in aerospace engineering and ninth overall in engineering research and development by the National Science Foundation.
“We definitely have a very strong focus on aerospace, and that we are known for aerospace,” applied engineering chair Gary Brooking said. “And a lot of that success is due to the growth and development of (the National Institute for Aviation Research) which is a huge center connected to engineering.”
The NSF ranks every single U.S. college that reports its funding and spending for R&D, as well as the total number of students. WSU ranked number one out of more than 900 schools in the country.
WSU has placed well for the past ten years, but in the past five years has been making substantial changes in the leaderboards. In the past years WSU has placed top five in both general R&D and aerospace R&D.
“WSU has a pretty good engineering program, and we have a lot of different companies that provide all types of opportunities for students to work at,” first-year computer science major Sania Mohib said. “The best features are the professors, as they seem very educated and are lenient. I think that NIAR is providing really great opportunities for students in engineering.”
The popularity of NIAR, which focuses efforts into researching and developing technology for the aerospace world, is a big draw for prospective students, but NIAR doesn’t stand alone helping in student retention.
“I would say the professors and the advisors, as I sometimes go to advising just to ask general questions about my major, learn more about my field,” Junior biomedical major Kimberly Matahwa said about aspects of the college she takes advantage of. “ I fully utilize the other engineering clubs that we have like Biomedical Engineering Society. It helps me meet other biomedical engineers and talk to professors out of class.”
Though WSU and Wichita might be known for their role in the aerospace industry, there are more engineering programs at WSU with similar applied learning models as the aerospace program.
“We saw that (cybersecurity) was an opportunity and now it is the fastest growing program in the college,” Brooking said. “We are looking at AI not as a particular program but how we can incorporate AI, because it is something that is important to graduates later down the road, and it is going to be a tool for graduates and how they can use it.”
The potential of WSU’s engineering program is consistently being thought of and talked about by the advisory board, chairs, and other faculty in the department. They’re making efforts to make engineering students more equipped for when they enter the field.
“It does not matter in which program you are in, but the most important thing is getting a start,” Brooking said. “The opportunities allow you to focus and align your ideas of where you want to go. You need to have purpose but you need to persist.”
