Q: What do you see as Johns Hopkins’ unique strengths and how can the Whiting School leverage them?
A: Johns Hopkins has strengths across the board. Our schools of Medicine and Public Health, for example, and the Applied Physics Lab are clear leaders in their respective areas. I think the Whiting School can make important and unique contributions by continuing to expand our partnerships with these and other units and by working at the intersection of engineering with medicine, health, and the environment to name a few.
There’s no doubt that engineering will play a central role in the future of health and medicine—at Johns Hopkins and in the world—and this along with a systems approach, and our subject-specific expertise, will enable us to have great impact. Of course, that is not all we do or should do, but that’s one important aspect of the school’s personality. What I find really interesting is that other engineering schools—our competition—are seeing these opportunities, too, but while they realign themselves to get there, we’re already there.
Q: You helped build a number of corporate partnerships at Carnegie Mellon. Is it important to do this at the Whiting School, too? What benefits could be gained?
A: We need to strengthen corporate engagement for many reasons. One quality that defines academic engineers as engineers is the impact they have on society. That impact can result from a variety of activities, but certainly including through engagement with corporations that are looking to academia for new approaches to solving problems that matter to them and to society.
It’s important to note that this should not be done instead of fundamental academic endeavors, but in addition to fundamental work. The playing field for academic engineers extends from undergraduate and graduate education to fundamental research, to technology development, corporate engagement, and entrepreneurship. We have to maintain excellence in the way we educate students, in the fundamental research we do, and in the solutions we create for important problems—and through all of these activities have a positive impact on society.
Q: What is your vision for undergraduate education and the student experience at the Whiting School?
A: I should begin by saying that there’s clearly a great many wonderful activities and programs that are already in place and happening in this realm. I am committed to ensuring that the student experience here is absolutely first-rate, in every sense of the word. That experience starts from the moment you apply to Johns Hopkins, to your time on campus, and eventually, to your role as an alumnus.
To make this seamless and positive, we need to be sure that while our students are on campus, they have amazing opportunities not only in the classroom but in terms of research, professional development, and generally as members of our community. They should have choices and flexibility and they should be plugged in to all of the resources Johns Hopkins has to offer.
I believe that with a comprehensive student and alumni experience all the members of our Hopkins and WSE community will understand why it is so valuable to be a Whiting School—and a Johns Hopkins—graduate. Today’s graduates will experience lots of changes in their lives, including the likelihood that they’ll switch careers several times. But their Johns Hopkins experience and their association with Johns Hopkins as alums will remain a constant; we need to make sure that it’s the best it can possibly be and serves them throughout their lives.