SEAS Colonial Cable

Message from Dean David Dolling

I'm proud to announce that SEAS is embarking on two initiatives this semester that offer new opportunities for our students and alumni. Our first initiative is a series of four seminars on entrepreneurship. The series begins on January 19th and will be offered throughout the semester. The seminars are open to the broader SEAS and GW community, but I particularly encourage you, our alumni, to attend them if you want to learn more about entrepreneurship from the experts (the people who have already successfully launched their own products or companies). The seminar listing below gives more information about each of the sessions and includes links to the registration forms.

Our second initiative creates a new study-abroad opportunity for SEAS students, and they've responded very enthusiastically to it. Earlier this year, we concluded a partnership with University College Dublin (Ireland), which allows SEAS students to spend a semester in Dublin learning about Irish culture and taking equivalent classes to those we offer, so they will stay on track for graduation here at GW. Being able to remain on track for graduation is a great advantage of this study-abroad partnership--and it's one that the students recognize, as evidenced by the fact that 16 of them are headed to Dublin now. That's a fantastic start to our program, and it was made possible, in part, by generous alumni support. Thank you for supporting such a wonderful new opportunity for SEAS students.

Lastly, I'd like to remind you of the deadline to nominate SEAS faculty for the SEAS Excellence Awards and to encourage you to nominate a faculty member whose work you know and admire. The deadline is February 15th, and the criteria and nomination forms are posted on the SEAS website at:

• SEAS Distinguished Teacher Award for Full Professors and Associate Professors: (PDF format) (Word document)
• SEAS Outstanding Young Teacher Award for Assistant Professors: (PDF format) (Word document)
• SEAS Distinguished Researcher Awards: (PDF format) (Word document)

Thank you.

Sincerely,

David S. Dolling, Ph.D.
Dean

News & Events

• A Message from Development
• SEAS Seminar Series on Entrepreneurship
• Alumni Reception at the Transportation Research Board's Annual Meeting
• Event: The Phoenix Project
• Upcoming Alumni Receptions
• Call for SEAS Volunteers: Regional Science Fairs

A message from Development . . .

Dear SEAS Alumni and Friends:

Greetings from Tompkins Hall, and Happy New Year! I hope you all had an enjoyable holiday.

I want to start the New Year by taking a moment to thank all of you who supported GW and SEAS in 2009. It was a special year, as we celebrated 125 years of engineering at GW! Many of you gave of your time, and for that we are most grateful. Additionally, we were very pleased with the great number of alumni and friends who supported SEAS financially. Your gifts make an important and meaningful difference to the students and faculty, and to the staff who are here to support the academic programs and resources.

We have made good strides forward in the past year and have ambitious plans for 2010. Planning for the new building is coming along well; much exciting learning and research is underway; and we have a great number of events and opportunities for your engagement. Our alumni and SEAS events are listed in the Events section below, and I encourage you to take a look at the offerings. We hope you will be pleased with the selection and will join in on one or more of these events!

As we continue our work at transforming and growing the role of engineering here, I want to close with what I think is a good reminder for us all. On a recent Sunday afternoon walk to Arlington Cemetery, I passed a memorial for the US Army Engineers, who served a vital role in our efforts during World War II. Their “Can Do” motto was engraved on the memorial, along with the slogan, “The difficult we do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer.” I may not have the words exactly right, but the spirit and determination of those engineers is inspirational. SEAS, like the Army Engineers, is (figuratively) building the bridges, platforms, and roadways for our students, researchers and faculty to travel across on their way to solving the engineering challenges of today. With your help we will succeed!

We look forward to seeing you in the coming year. In the meantime, thank you again.

With my best regards,
Jim Howard

Assistant Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations
210 Tompkins Hall
jphoward@gwu.edu
Tel: 202-994-4121

Call for SEAS Volunteers: Regional Science Fairs

Join your fellow SEAS alumni in volunteering to promote science and engineering to local high school students! The GW Engineer Alumni Association (EAA) participates in these science fairs as a way to encourage junior and senior high school students to consider studying science and engineering, to increase awareness of opportunities in these fields, and to promote GW and SEAS. This is a wonderful volunteer opportunity and a great way to get the word out about the wonderful things happening at SEAS. (Read more and register…)

Upcoming SEAS Events

Alumni Reception, Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting

Please join your fellow SEAS alumni for a reception during the 89th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board in Washington, D.C. Alumni will have the opportunity to reconnect with former classmates, faculty, and current students.
(Read more . . .)

SEAS Seminar Series on Entrepreneurship

Please join SEAS for a four-part seminar series on entrepreneurship. These events are free and open to alumni and their guests, and to GW students, faculty and staff. To register, please visit alumni.gwu.edu/calendar.

How I Got Started: Getting Your Idea Off the Ground

Panelists include Ashok Jha SEAS ’92, co-founder and CEO of Adnet Systems, Inc.; Scott Gessay SEAS ’88, CEO, president and founder of FGM, Inc.; and Elias Shams SEAS ’96, CEO, Searchles, CTO and founder, Telezoo.com. (Read more and register...)

Intellectual Property

Panelists include Asghar Mostafa SEAS ’82, President and CEO, Entourage Systems, Inc.; Randy Graves SEAS ’78, President, Graves Technology Inc.; and Charles Watt SEAS ’73, ’86, Chairman of the Board, Scientific Research Corporation. (Read more and register...)

Access to Capital

Panelists include Elias Shams SEAS ’96, CEO, Searchles, CTO and founder, Telezoo.com; Lou Wagman SEAS ’64, VP, Trump Photonics Incorporated; and Howard Tischler SEAS ’80, CEO, exORG. (Read more and register...)

Product vs. Service Entrepreneurs

The final panel will take place during the GW Summit on Entrepreneurship and will feature Allyn Kilsheimer SEAS ’63, Executive Vice President, KTLH Engineers. (Read more and register...)

This seminar series is sponsored by the GW School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Engineer Alumni Association.

The Phoenix Project

Allyn Kilsheimer, SEAS ‘63, led The Phoenix Project team that rebuilt the Pentagon after the September 11th terrorist attacks. Mr. Kilsheimer considers his work on The Phoenix Project at the Pentagon his most important opportunity for service to his community, nation, and the military.
(Read more . . .)

Save the Date for SEAS Alumni Receptions In . . .

• Boston
  Tuesday, March 9
• New York City
  Thursday, March 11
• Philadelphia
  Tuesday, March 23

Archives: SEAS Colonial Cable

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