Welcome to Fall Semester of 2026 at Cooper Union as we begin this academic year. Thank you for again joining me on Shoop’s Stoop as I share some of the activities and accomplishments in the Albert Nerken School of Engineering since our last newsletter. 

During Welcome Week, I had the opportunity to engage with our incoming class. The first-year class is an amazing group of talented individuals who will bring diverse lived experiences, contribute to the richness of our learning environment, and add to the vibrancy of our community. Let me begin by providing you with some context about this incoming engineering class. Women comprise nearly 38% of the class, 29% self-identify as the first in their family to attend college, and 12% are international.  Quantitatively, this class is amazingly strong, academically. The first-year class had a median SAT score of 1490 and a median Math SAT score of 780.  Qualitatively, this class includes students who have already conducted research in a diverse range of fields, as well as a number of accomplished artists and musicians. On the research front, one student conducted nanoscience experiments in photolithography and nanoparticle synthesis.  Another, through an international program in China, researched surface plasmon resonance at Shenzhen University and analyzed gas-sensitive materials for fiber optic sensors.  Yet another researched skin cancer genes at Columbia University. One member of this class is internationally ranked in Rubik's Cube competitions, another is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt, and yet another is a competitive pianist who has performed at Carnegie Hall. We had 120 entering engineering first-year students join our ranks, with 29 ChE, 30 CE, 22 EE, 23 ME, and 16 CS. 

Over the summer, we had three tenure-track faculty members attend the 2026 Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Project-Based Learning Symposium at WPI. Professors Stella Banou (EE), Tommy George (Chemistry), and Martin Lawless (ME) attended this symposium and then led a professional development workshop for our other faculty at the October Faculty Meeting.

At the beginning of this academic year, we celebrated several academic promotions. Cynthia Lee (CE), Jabeom Koo (EE), Kamau Wright (ME), and Fabiola Barrios-Landeros (Chemistry) were tenured and were promoted to Associate Professor.  And Professor Jen Wieser (ChE) was promoted to Professor of Chemical Engineering.

At the start of Fall Semester, we welcomed another five new full-time faculty to our ranks. We added three additional computer science faculty to fill out the new Computer Science Department. Dr. Lalita Devadas received the B.A. in Mathematics and Computer Science from Columbia University and completed her Ph.D. in computer science at MIT, with a focus on cryptography. Dr. Amna Liaqat received the bachelor’s degree in computer science from the Simon Frazer University in Canada and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in computer science from the University of Toronto, Canada. She joined us after completing a postdoctoral appointment at Princeton University. Her area of expertise is om Human Computer Interface. Finally, Dr. Luke Evans received his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics and Scientific Computation at the University of Maryland, College Park, and will fill a joint appointment with the Simons Foundation Flatiron Institute Center for Computational Mathematics. His area of expertise is artificial intelligence. Most recently, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Computational Mathematics at the Flatiron Institute. In addition, we welcomed two new electrical engineering faculty members. Dr. Aaron Langham received the B.S. in electrical engineering from Auburn University and completed his Ph.D. at MIT with a focus on sustainable energy systems. Dr. Phillip Hagen received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Idaho, with a focus on adaptive electromagnetic systems, reconfigurable RF hardware, embedded sensing, and data driven modeling.

For those keeping track, since arriving at Cooper, I have hired 21 new tenure-track faculty in the School of Engineering. With the new Computer Science Program, this number is over 50% of the authorized tenured and tenure-track faculty in the School of Engineering! In 2013, the composition of the tenured and tenure-track faculty in the School of Engineering was 6.3% women and in Fall 2025 it remains 42% women! This academic year, we will be hiring one tenure-track faculty member in electrical engineering.

As you know, I agreed to stay on as the Dean of Engineering for one additional year. A Dean of Engineering Faculty Search Committee has been formed, led by Dr. Robert Topper, professor and chair of the chemistry department. The committee also includes Ben Davis, professor and Eleanor and Stanley Ensminger Chair of chemical engineering; Sam Keene, professor and chair of computer science; Jabeom Koo, associate professor of electrical engineering; Dirk Luchtenburg, associate professor of mechanical engineering; Stan Mintchev, professor of mathematics; Cosmas Tzavelis, professor and George Fox Chair of civil engineering; and Phil Yecko, professor and chair of physics. In addition, we’ve engaged Chuck O’Boyle and his firm, C.V. O’Boyle, as a search consultant. Chuck brings deep experience and counsel in conducting comprehensive national searches for colleges and universities seeking new senior leadership.

Mid-semester, we welcomed Amanda Lombardo as our Director of Engineering Laboratories, Shops, and Technicians, replacing Doug Thornhill, who is now the Director of the NYU MakerSpace and Design Lab. Amanda is a graduate of our own mechanical engineering program and has an advanced degree from Columbia University. She has previously worked at NYU Gallatin as the Associate Director of Science, Technology, Arts, and Creativity, as well as at Columbia University as the Manager of Instructional Laboratories in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Finally, on the curricular front, this year we introduced a new vertically integrated projects (VIP) section on Urban Sustainability. This course is a cross-disciplinary course that develops solutions to environmental challenges in modern cities. Students investigate innovations that support sustainable urban development across buildings, transportation, energy systems, water, waste, public health, and climate resilience.

I encourage you to take some time to read the articles included in this newsletter. You will find inspiring articles highlighting the accomplishments of students, faculty and staff, and a sampling of the vibrancy of all that is going on in the School of Engineering.

Thank you for sharing a seat and some time with me on Shoop’s Stoop! It continues to be an exciting time to be part of the Albert Nerken School of Engineering. I look forward to sharing additional updates in future editions.

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

Welcome back to the East Village, 41 Cooper Square, and Shoop’s Stoop! We made it! We successfully completed another academic year. It’s time for me to share just a few of the exciting things that happened in the Albert Nerken School of Engineering since my last update.

To begin, you will recall that in my September newsletter, I foreshadowed my retirement at the end of this academic year. The faculty search committee did a tremendous amount of work, reviewing over 100 applications for the Dean of Engineering position. After several rounds of interviews and candidate visits to campus, an offer was made to the leading candidate, but unfortunately, this was unsuccessful. At the end of April, President McLaughlin asked me to stay another year, and I agreed. Please see the community message sharing some of the details. A faculty search committee will be constituted and begin the new search at the beginning of next academic year. Know that I remain committed to Cooper Union and excited to be the Dean of the Albert Nerken School of Engineering. This, however, is officially my second failed retirement!

The Cooper Union’s 166th Commencement on May 28, 2026, was a wonderful celebration of our amazing graduates. This year, we had a total of 108 undergraduate students and 19 graduate students graduate from the School of Engineering. For our undergraduates, this included 23 chemical engineers, 26 civil engineers, 29 electrical engineers, 25 mechanical engineers, and 5 general engineers. In addition to the undergraduate degrees, members of this graduating class were awarded a total of 60 minors: 7 mathematics minors, 20 computer science minors, 12 bioengineering minors, 4 chemistry minors, and 17 HSS minors. I will also note that five of our students completed the Dual Degree Master’s Program, where the bachelor’s and master’s degree are awarded simultaneously after four years of study!

Our students continue to punch well above their weight class at external competitions. Here are some highlights:

• A 4-student team placed #2 out of 120 teams in the Design by Biomedical Undergraduate Team (DEBUT) Challenge sponsored by the National Institute of Health.
• For the first time, Cooper Union has designed and built a concrete toboggan, a 9-student team placed #3 out of 18 teams in the Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race in London, Ontario, Canada.
  • Five first-place awards, including Best Performing Toboggan, Excellence in Student Construction, and the People’s Choice Award, and three second-place awards including the “King of the Hill Tournament” where toboggans race head-to-head in a bracketed competition. All the other teams were from Canada, and each had been competing for years.
• Geo-Prediction Competition, 3 teams, 8 students total attended.
  • A 2-student team took #1 and brought home the Mohr's Circle Trophy after placing first in the Geo-Prediction student competition.
• Cooper Union American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) teams competed at the 2026 ASCE Student Symposium.
  • Our Sustainable Solution Team competed in the ASCE Sustainable Solutions Competition against NJIT, Stony Brook University, and Stevens and placed #1. They are going to nationals in June.
  • Our Steel Bridge Team competed in the Student Steel Bridge Competition against 9 total colleges and universities in the regional competition and placed #2, entitling them to again go to nationals.
• Four students placed #2 and won $10,000 at the New York State Industries for the Disabled’s (NYSID) annual Cultivating Resources for Employment with Assistive Technology (CREATE) Symposium.

Our Fall 2026 incoming first-year class is again very strong. We admitted 124 students to the Class of 2030. There will be 29 students majoring in chemical engineering, 31 in civil engineering, 16 in computer science, 23 in electrical engineering, and 25 in mechanical engineering. Women comprise 37% of this incoming class. Additionally, 28% self-identified as the first in their family to attend college, and 11% of the class is international. Recall that we are no longer test-optional, so all applicants and admitted students were required to submit standardized tests. The Fall 2026 first-year class had a median SAT score of 1490 and a median Math SAT score of 780. By all measures, this is yet another very strong entering class! In addition, this year we have 36 entering Master of Engineering students.

This past year has again been a very busy year for full-time faculty hiring. In the Fall 2026, we will welcome another five new tenure-track faculty members. We will add three additional computer science faculty to fill out the new Computer Science Department. Dr. Lalita Devadas received the B.A. in Mathematics and Computer Science from Columbia University and is completing her Ph.D. in Computer Science at MIT with a focus on cryptography. Dr. Amna Liaqat received a B.S. in Computer Science from the Simon Frazer University in Canada and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from the University of Toronto, Canada. She will join us after completing a postdoctoral appointment at Princeton University. Her area of expertise is in the area of Human Computer Interface. Finally, Dr. Luke Evans received his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics and Scientific Computation from the University of Maryland, College Park, and will fill a joint appointment with the Simons Foundation Flatiron Institute Center for Computational Mathematics. His area of expertise is artificial intelligence. Most recently, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Computational Mathematics at the Flatiron Institute.  

In addition, we will welcome two new electrical engineering faculty members in September. Dr. Aaron Langham received a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Auburn University and is completing his Ph.D. at MIT with a focus on sustainable energy systems. Dr. Phillip Hagen received a B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Idaho and is completing his Ph.D. at the University of Idaho with a focus on adaptive electromagnetic systems, reconfigurable RF hardware, embedded sensing, and data‑driven modeling.  

For those of you keeping score, since arriving at Cooper I have hired 21 tenure-track faculty members in the School of Engineering. With the new Computer Science Program, this number is over 50% of the tenured and tenure-track faculty in the Albert Nerken School of Engineering. In 2013, the composition of the tenured and tenure-track faculty in the School of Engineering was 6.3% women and in Fall 2026 it will remain 42% women!

Thank you again for sharing your valuable time with me on Shoop’s Stoop! I look forward to sharing additional updates in next year’s editions of Shoop’s Stoop! From all of us at Cooper, enjoy your summer!

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

As we end the fall semester and anticipate a much-needed winter break, I wanted to share a few of the activities in the Albert Nerken School of Engineering since our last newsletter in September.

On September 18, 2025, we published a request for proposals (RFP) for the 2025 Dean’s Innovation Grants. A total of nine innovation grant proposals were received from faculty, students, staff, and combinations of these groups. While all of the proposals were creative and supported the strategic plan, new interdisciplinary courses, or student success, the ones that received funding had broad and lasting impact—many across multiple departments and schools—and included combinations of faculty, staff, and students. Six of these projects were funded through the Dean’s Innovation Grant Program, for a total of $18,000.  

Among the funded proposals was one that will enable interdisciplinary projects on energy and the environment, another that will be integrating technical communications across the engineering curricula, and yet another focused on interdisciplinary research and teaching across chemistry, chemical engineering, and mechanical engineering considering pyrolysis, plasma, and gas-phase forever chemicals. Another proposal that received funding was another interdisciplinary approach to STEM education using water treatment processes. Yet another project will encourage learning across disciplines to advance sustainability education through collaboration and reflection. The final project will develop a modular series of transdisciplinary micro-labs complementing existing curricula that celebrates the physics of the city.  

For the last seven years, the Dean’s Innovation Grant Program has enlisted the creativity and innovation of our faculty, students, and staff, resulting in substantive and lasting contributions to our curriculum and to the foundational principles and goals that are guiding our organization.

On November 6, the Cooper Union Albert Nerken School of Engineering’s student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) hosted a centennial celebration honoring alumni and current faculty. The event began with a reception and was followed by a formal program in the Fredrick P. Rose Auditorium. The event was attended by students, faculty, alumni, and practicing professionals. It was a packed event that was completely organized and executed by the student leadership and was a first-class tribute to 100 years of milestones, accomplishments, and contributions of the student chapter.

The fall semester is our flagship student conference participation period. This semester, more than 60 students and recent graduates traveled to research or affinity conferences, workshops, and competitions. This represents over 10% of the student population in the School of Engineering! Undergraduate research is a high-impact practice that develops critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills, among others. I encourage you to take some time to read the article about our student conference participation included in this newsletter.

In faculty news, we completed our annual promotion and tenure annual cycle and have awarded tenure and the academic rank of associate professor to four of our faculty members, as well as promoted another to the academic rank of professor. Cynthia Lee from civil engineering, Jabeom Koo from electrical engineering, Kamau Wright from mechanical engineering, and Fabiola Barrios-Landeros from chemistry all received notification of tenure and promotion to associate professor. Jennifer Weiser from chemical engineering was promoted to professor of chemical engineering.

You likely saw this in other communications but in November the Albert Nerken School of Engineering received a $4.97 million gift from Ira EE’76 and Joanne Chayut to support our new computer science program. The Chayut’s generosity represents one of the largest single donations in Cooper’s history and will sustain the growth of this new department for the next decade—funding faculty, student research, and the resources that make Cooper’s distinctive, hands-on model of learning possible.

Thank you again for sharing your valuable time with me on Shoop’s Stoop! You should know that these are just a few of the highlights – the tips of the waves – of activities in a vibrant educational ecosystem. There are many more great things happening in the Albert Nerken School of Engineering, and I look forward to sharing additional updates in future editions of Shoop’s Stoop!

As we come to the close of 2025, know that we are committed to restoring full-tuition scholarships. To stay on track, we must raise $750,000 by December 31. Today we are asking all of our supporters to make a tax-deductible donation before the end of the year. Please consider making a tax-deductible gift today.

On behalf of the entire faculty and staff of the Albert Nerken School of Engineering, we wish for you a joyous holiday season and a peaceful and prosperous New Year!

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

Welcome to Fall Semester of 2025 at The Cooper Union. Thank you for joining me virtually on Shoop’s Stoop as I share some of the activities and accomplishments in the Albert Nerken School of Engineering since the last newsletter and foreshadow some that will come this academic year. On the first day of classes at our Convocation ceremony on Tuesday, September 2, in a packed Great Hall, we heard from President Steve McLaughlin, a panel of faculty from across Cooper Union, and from students. It was truly an electrifying moment and start to the academic year!

I'll begin with the really big news: on Thursday, August 28, we received our 2025 ABET Final Program Accreditation Actions and Statement of Accreditation. All four of our engineering programs are reaccredited! All concerns were resolved, and the School of Engineering was commended for its strong support of undergraduate research.

During Welcome Week, I had the opportunity to engage with our incoming class. The first-year class is an amazing group of talented individuals who will bring diverse lived experiences, contribute to the richness of our learning environment, and add to the vibrancy of our community. Like our returning students, they have a voracious appetite for learning and are anxious to engage with our community. We had 129 entering engineering first-year students join our ranks with 25 ChE, 29 CE, 25 EE, 32 ME, and 18 CS. Women comprise 38% of this class, 22% self-identify as the first in their family to attend college, and 9% are international. Additionally, even though our admissions process is test-optional, over 88% submitted SAT scores with an average SAT score of nearly 1500/1600 and average Math SAT score of nearly 770/800.

Over the summer, we had six full-time faculty members from our ABET departments assess the interdisciplinary capstone design experience to see if it is meeting the original goals and make recommendations for improvement. In July, we had two full-time faculty members, Professor of Physics Emily Palmer and Professor of Chemical Engineering Abhishek Sharma, attend the three-day Project Catalyst: How to Engineer Engineering Education workshop at Bucknell University.

At the start of Fall Semester, we welcomed a total of five new full-time faculty to our ranks. Please forgive me for repeating some of these details from the June newsletter but the new faculty have truly transformed the School of Engineering. In electrical engineering, we welcome Dr. Stella Banou, who received a Ph.D. from Northeastern University and was most recently a postdoctoral fellow at NYU. Her research areas include novel wireless communications for remote health monitoring and diagnosis. In chemistry, we welcome Dr. Tommy George who most recently completed a Ph.D. from Harvard University and whose research areas include electrochemistry, electroanalytical experimental methods, and decarbonization toward climate sustainability. In civil engineering, we welcome Dr. David Kim who received a Ph.D. from Yale University and was most recently a postdoctoral fellow at MIT. His research areas are in electrochemical methods for water and wastewater treatment. In mechanical engineering, we welcome Dr. Martin Lawless ME’13 who received a Ph.D. from Penn State University and was most recently an assistant professor at SUNY Maritime. His research areas are in acoustics, psychoacoustics, and architectural acoustics. And finally in physics, we welcome Dr. Emily Palmer, who received a Ph.D. from Caltech, and she served as a postdoctoral fellow at Cornell University. Her research areas include insect flight, fluid dynamics governing wind and ocean energy, the biomechanics underlying human walking, and the electrochemistry of neuronal communication. For those keeping track, since arriving at Cooper, I have hired 16 new tenure-track faculty in the School of Engineering. With the new Computer Science Program, this number is quickly approaching 50% of the tenured and tenure-track faculty. In 2013, the composition of the tenured and tenure-track faculty in the School of Engineering was 6.3% women, and in Fall 2025 it remains 42% women! This academic year we will be hiring four new full-time faculty members – two in electrical engineering and two in computer science.

Another addition to the Dean’s staff is Subalekha Udayasankar, who joins us as the new Director of Student Success. She has a Master of Science degree in computer science and a Master of Fine Arts in design and technology from the Parsons School of Design. She will oversee the Academic Resource Center (ARC) for tutoring, the Cooper’s Help for Engineering Student Success (CHESS) summer bridge program, and support for the First Year Seminar Series. She will assess student progress and success that includes the data gathering and analysis to track retention, persistence, graduation rate and overall success of the program and provide a data-driven methodology to adjust individual elements and initiatives to improve student success. In addition to student success elements that support disciplinary expertise, she will also facilitate initiatives that develop student study techniques, test-taking strategies, critical thinking, and time management skills necessary to succeed in the rigorous Cooper curriculum.

Another staff update: because of his amazing work proactively driving down purchasing costs, identifying alternative vendors, and enhancing supply chain suppliers, we have promoted Donald Etheridge to finance analyst and senior purchasing associate.

The beginning of the academic year also brings several new appointments: Amanda Simson, associate professor of chemical engineering, was appointed the C.V. Starr Distinguished Professor of Engineering. This named professorship goes to mid-career, tenured, associate, or full professor faculty members with documented research accomplishments including peer-reviewed journals, conference papers, and presentations as well as evidence of scholarly collaboration with other institutions and/or corporations. The distinction lasts for two years and comes with a $20,000 annual stipend for research activities such as travel, research assistants, equipment, and supplies. Jennifer Wieser, associate professor of chemical engineering, was appointed Distinguished Professor of Bioengineering. This named professorship goes to mid-career, tenured, associate, or full professor faculty members with documented research accomplishments including peer-reviewed journal, conference papers, and presentations as well as evidence of scholarly collaboration with other institutions and/or corporations. The distinction lasts for three years and comes with a $20,000 annual stipend for research activities such as travel, research assistants, equipment, and supplies. Finally, Melody Baglione was appointed the inaugural IDC Foundation Distinguished Professor. This named professorship goes to mid-career, tenured, associate, or full professor faculty members with documented research accomplishments in the interdisciplinary building, design, and construction field, as well as evidence of collaborations with other institutions and/or corporations. The distinction lasts for three years and comes with a $20,000 annual stipend for research activities such as travel, research assistants, equipment, and supplies.

In the area of foreshadowing, I want to share that this will be my last year as the dean of the Albert Nerken School of Engineering. At the end of this year, I will have served as Dean of Engineering for seven-and-a-half years. A Dean of Engineering Faculty Search Committee has been formed, which is being led by Professor Melody Baglione. I wanted to share this information with this community, as I have already shared it with the faculty and students here at Cooper and the advertisement and other search activities will begin in earnest in the fall semester. For this last year, you should not expect any change in my commitment to either Cooper Union or the Albert Nerken School of Engineering. I will continue to drive educational innovation, leading-edge pedagogies, experimentation in the curriculum, and foster a positive culture for students and faculty. In the words of Bruno Mars from Uptown Funk– “Don’t believe me, just watch!”

I encourage you to take some time to read the articles included in this newsletter. You will find inspiring articles highlighting the accomplishments of students, faculty and staff, and a sampling of the vibrancy of all that is going on in the School of Engineering.

Thank you for sharing a seat and some time with me on Shoop’s Stoop! It continues to be an exciting time to be part of the Albert Nerken School of Engineering. I look forward to sharing additional updates in future editions.

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