Hello from the East Village and welcome to the latest installment of Shoop’s Stoop!

This week, we will notify next year’s first-year applicants of our admission decisions. This year’s applications were again very strong. We had a 43% increase in the total number of applicants from 2024 and a 102% increase from 2019. Including early decision, regular decision, and deferrals, we have admitted a total of 275 students to the School of Engineering. This admitted class includes students who will join the new CS Program in the fall. Even though we continue to be test optional, 90% of the admitted class submitted standardized test scores, and the average SAT score for Math is 777 and 739 for Reading. By all measures, this year’s admitted class is very strong.

We had 19 students receive their master’s degree in December and we are on track for an additional 25 in May. Among those 25, six will complete the dual degree program, earning both their undergraduate and graduate degrees simultaneously. For next year, we have nine students who have applied for the dual degree program to complete in 2026. This would be the largest group of dual degree recipients in over ten years.

Our Summer Study Abroad Program is again shaping up nicely. Students have applied for programs in Germany, Spain, Singapore, and Guatemala. We will also have two students who intend to attend a program in Israel. As part of the Summer Study Abroad Program, participating institutions can send students to Cooper Union for a semester. In the fall semester, we will welcome one exchange student from Germany.

Our students are actively engaging in professional development activities outside of Cooper. We had students attend the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Annual Convention in Chicago, IL, and students presented their research at the American Physical Society (APS) Global Physics Summit in Anaheim, CA, the Joint Mathematics Meeting in Seattle, WA, and the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) 2025 Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. In April, five students will present their research at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) in Pittsburgh, PA.

Our faculty are also very engaged in professional development activities. We had faculty attend the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) Conference in Abu Dhabi, UAE, the AiChE Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA, Project Catalyst Educational Workshop at Bucknell University, the American Chemical Society (ACS) Conference, Arts in Research Conference in Pittsburg, PA, NSBE, NCUR, and the Naval Academy Science and Engineering Conference, to name a few.

This has been a very busy year for faculty hiring. With the launch of the new CS Program, we had two senior faculty members move from the EE Department to the CS Department, so we are hiring to fill those two vacated EE positions. We are also hiring one new CS faculty member who will hold a joint appointment with the Center for Computational Mathematics at the Simons Foundation Flatiron Institute. Additionally, as a result of two retirements, we will be hiring faculty for CE and ME. Over the past month we have had 14 candidates for these positions come to campus as part of the interview process. The great news is that we have some exceptional candidates for these positions!

This year we are thrilled to be partnering with the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) for their 75th anniversary celebration. Did you know? SWE was founded at Cooper Union’s Green Camp! “Celebrating Women in Engineering: 75 Years of Innovation and Advocacy” will be held on May 6, 2025, from 6:00-7:30 pm in The Great Hall. Astronaut and TikTok star Kellie Girardi will deliver a keynote address followed by a panel discussion with SWE collegiate and professional members sharing stories of women in engineering past, present, and future. Panelists include Jill Tietjen, a SWE past president, Inaas Darrat, SWE president-elect, Troy Eller English, SWE archivist, and Lizelle Ocfemia, president of The Cooper Union's SWE student chapter. Current SWE President Karen Roth will moderate the panel discussion. This event will also be livestreamed. You can find out more about this event and register here.

Thank you for sharing your valuable time with me on Shoop’s Stoop! I look forward to sharing additional updates in future editions of Shoop’s Stoop!

Barry L. Shoop, Ph.D., P.E.  |  Dean of Engineering  |  Albert Nerken School of Engineering