Several changes to the Engineering Science (E SC) major go into effect in Summer 2006. The changes came about due to assessment of the program by the ESM faculty based on feedback from students, instructors, and the ESM Industrial and Professional Advisory Committee as part of the E SC program assessment required by the accreditation board (ABET). The highlights of the changes include:

a reduction in overall program credits from 137 to 131;

the replacement of PHYS 237 and NUC E 307 with E SC 312; and,

an opportunity for students with interests in medicine, bioengineering, biotechnology, and chemistry to select foundational biology and chemistry courses.

Current students are encouraged to contact either Dr. Masters (cbm100@psu.edu) or Dr. Lissenden (lissenden@psu.edu) for additional.

The ESM Department held its annual Industrial and Professional Advisory Council (IPAC) meeting on March 20 - 21, 2006, at University Park. This year's meeting focused on Nanotechnology and Bionanotechnology and Health Monitoring and Mechanics research opportunities and initiatives. Members also met with Graduate and Undergraduate Council Officers, and discussed career paths with engineering science seniors.

IPAC provides a direct link and communication between the department and the engineering profession and provide guidance on current trends and future directions in engineering.

Shown from left to right are Barry Farmer (Wright-Patterson Air Force Research Laboratory); Alan Wilks (The Wilks Group and founder of SmartSignal Corporation); Howard Witham (ST Microelectronics); Walter Miller (Winhall Capital); Hance Huston (IBM); Charles Dages, II (Warner Brothers); William Skullney (Applied Physics Laboratory); and Mike Erdman (Lockheed Martin-KAPL, Inc.).

Dr. Barbara A. Shaw, Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics and Corrosion Short Course Director, has announced the lecture and laboratory topics for the 2006 Corrosion Short Course (see below). Co-sponsored by the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, the Penn State Corrosion Center, Gamry Instruments, and Molecular Imaging, this course features morning lectures on the fundamentals of corrosion and afternoon, hands-on laboratory sessions that highlight the most commonly used experiments to assess corrosion. Course instructors include Dr. Gerald Frankel, associate professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Ohio State University and director of the Fontana Corrosion Center; Dr. Rudolph Buchheit, professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Ohio State University; Dr. Howard Pickering, Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Penn State University; and Dr. Barbara A. Shaw.

The 2006 lecture topics follow below.