University of Virginia School of Engineering & Applied Science | Page 2

Welcome from the dean W e are very proud of our students at the Engineering School — and with good reason. Our undergraduate students are the most outstanding group we have ever seen. In fact, judged by their combined SAT scores and their record of community service, they are the best group of students to have enrolled at the University of Virginia. Our responsibility — and it’s one that we feel deeply — is to provide an education that’s equal to their talents. As part of our strategic plan, we committed to providing students with sustained, high-impact educational experiences that complement and extend the learning that goes on in our classrooms. With support from alumni and friends as well as from the University, we are meeting this goal. In this issue of UNBOUND, we explore the growing range of these experiences. As you’ll read, our undergraduates have the opportunity to test lifesaving products in developing countries, organize and present their own one-credit courses, design and build vehicles for national competitions and conduct meaningful research alongside our graduate students. Our exciting new teaching internship program for graduate students is helping prepare them for careers in higher education. The rationale for these initiatives is straightforward. When students take responsibility for applying knowledge in realworld situations, they grow and mature both as engineers and as individuals. It’s a powerful experience that adds a completely new dimension to engineering education — and it’s clearly one that is very attractive. Our applications for admission increased 15 percent over the past year alone. J a m e s H. Ay l o r Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science Louis T. Rader Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering U.Va. Engineering UNBOUND 2 Editors Charlie Feigenoff Josie Pipkin Art Director Travis Searcy, Mountain High Media Photography Tom Cogill (unless otherwise noted) U.Va. Engineering UNBOUND is published by the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia. An online version of the magazine is available at www.seas.virginia.edu/pubs/unbound. Address corrections to U.Va. Engineering Foundation, P.O. Box 400256, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4256, or email to [email protected]. Cover Members of the Hoos Flying team at work in Lacy Hall. The team took second place in the 2013 SAE Aero Design® East competition, beating teams from colleges in the United States and around the world.