Professor Ken Jenkins

Dear Faculty, Students, Staff, Alumni, and Friends,

It is a great pleasure for me to send my greetings to you.  This past year has been an exciting period of future planning, academic program development, and strategic investments for the department. During the Fall of 2001 the department forged a new 5-year strategic plan and presented it to the University as part of Penn State’s 5-year plan. EE’s strategic plan centers around these specific areas of emerging technologies: 1) information technologies, 2) nano-technologies for electric and photonic devices, and 3) environment remote sensing. 

This fall the EE Department underwent its 6-year ABET review, which was the first time our BS EE program was reviewed under the new ABET 2000 guidelines. Although the reporting process is not yet completed, all indications are that the visitation went well and that EE will achieve a full 6-year accreditation.

During the last few years, I have been pleased to see advancements in all areas of academics, research, and faculty/student achievement. EE’s undergraduate enrollments have been stable, while EE’s graduate applications have sharply increased over the past two years. The Department’s research activities have been steadily increasing, as measured by annual research expenditures, research publications, and graduate degrees awarded. I would like to point out that two NSF CAREER Awards, three IEEE Fellow Awards, one Distinguished Professor Award, and one Endowed Chair Award are  a few of the outstanding recognitions bestowed on EE faculty recently.

I sincerely believe that the EE Department is well positioned for future growth, accomplishment, and success. 

Ken Jenkins -- Department Head