New England Section Meeting
Wednesday, February 20, 2002

Olin College: Inventing the Future of Engineering Education
Dr. David V. Kerns, Jr., Provost Olin College of Engineering


Dr. Kerns will introduce the newly founded Franklin W. Olin College of
Engineering, will discuss
the rationale for its founding, and will describe the Olin vision of a new kind
of undergraduate
education. He will review the progress toward creating this new and exciting
institution
(no tuition, no departments, no tenure!) and curriculum (project-based, student
centered,
international experiences!).

With the rise of the Internet-linked global economy, business leaders, the
National Science
Foundation and the engineering community have called for changes in the way
engineers are educated.
These changes include an increased emphasis on business and entrepreneurship,
teamwork, communication
skills and interdisciplinary study opportunities, all in the context of a
rigorous preparation in the
fundamentals. The Olin College of Engineering is designing its programs with
these changes in mind.
The College’s mission is to provide an engineering education to prepare leaders
able to predict,
create, and manage the technologies of the future. A 70-acre campus of
exceptional quality and
state-of-the-art technology is currently being built on a site in Needham.

Dr. David V. Kerns, Jr. became Olin College Provost and the Franklin and Mary
Olin Distinguished
Professor of Electrical Engineering on September 1, 1999. Previously, Dr. Kerns
was Chair of the
Department of Electrical Engineering, Director of the Management of Technology
Program, Associate
Dean for Administration and Acting Dean of the School of Engineering at
Vanderbilt University in
Nashville, Tennessee. Dr. Kerns also served as founding Chairman of the
Department of Electrical
Engineering at Florida State University/Florida A&M University, and at Auburn
and Bucknell
Universities. He has been recognized for outstanding undergraduate teaching and
has authored an
undergraduate textbook in electrical engineering. He has published extensively,
has a number of
patents, has directed large, funded research programs, and has founded two
successful technology
start-up companies. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, is an officer of the IEEE
Education Society and a
recent chairman of the international Frontiers in Education Conference.

PLACE: Main lobby, Academic Center, Olin College, Needham, MA
TIME: 6:00 PM Pizza Dinner and Social hour
7:00 PM Program
COST: FREE to all, but reservations required.

RSVP: Please reserve by contacting Dave Paris (781-937-4648 or
dsp@... )
by Monday, February 18, 2002. If leaving a message, please include a contact
phone number or e-mail address.

Directions:
Olin College is located in Needham, Massachusetts, approximately 12 miles west
of Boston.
Take Route I95/128 to exit 19B (Highland Avenue, Needham). Follow Highland
Avenue into downtown Needham.
Turn right at Great Plain Avenue/Route 135. Proceed on Great Plain Avenue for
1.5
miles and make a right turn through the main “gate” into the Olin College
campus.
Proceed on Olin Way 1/10 of a mile. At a blue and white sign for the academic
center and residence hall,
turn right into the parking lot. Do not proceed farther up the road to the
construction site.
Of the two gray modular buildings at the end of the parking lot, the modular
academic center is the one on the right.


Please contact Dave Paris, 781-937-4648 (leave message if necessary) or
dsp@...
to sign up for this meeting. The subject will be a very interesting concept
for a new
engineering education paradigm.