Given the sheer resilience and indomitable spirit exhibited by the Lehigh Engineering community over the past year, the name Resolve has never been more fitting. As we reflect upon the challenges of the pandemic and the hope that dawns with this particular spring, we take great pride in all members of our learning community who went to extraordinary lengths to keep our ship on course. (“Teaching in the Time of Coronavirus” highlights some creative faculty solutions.)
This issue also celebrates the unveiling of Lehigh’s new Autonomous and Intelligent Robotics Laboratory (AIR Lab), within Building C on the Mountaintop Campus. The AIR Lab, a three-story glass cube, was made possible by gifts to the Rossin College Dean’s Strategic Initiatives Fund. It is a shining example of the importance of philanthropy in opening new vistas of discovery, creation, and innovation.
Building C itself is a massive, undeniable expression of research creativity and innovation made possible by a prior transformational gift to Lehigh. The AIR Lab, carved from this space with direct support from the college’s extended community, leverages this leadership into focused academic progress.
This issue’s Q&A features Elsa Reichmanis—researcher, innovator, educator, National Academy of Engineering member, and now professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Lehigh. Professor Reichmanis will be one of the inaugural residents of the new Health, Science, and Technology (HST) building when it opens in the fall. This state-of-the-art facility further exemplifies the significant impact of capital investment on our academic mission, catalyzing research in fields such as energy, personalized medicine, and biomaterials.
Our strategic and development priorities continue to focus on research, including facilitation of interdisciplinary faculty teams to address societal grand challenges, support for doctoral students who are central to our research productivity, and investment in facilities that are essential to advancing our research enterprise.
Our philanthropic endeavors also focus on new and ongoing efforts that guide ours to become a fairer, more open, and all-around better place to live and learn. We have launched a new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Fund to support, through annual giving, the success of our college’s diversity plan, including targeted efforts to diversify our faculty, student body, and staff, as well as to enhance equity and inclusion throughout our community.
The Experiential Learning Fund rounds out the college’s philanthropic themes. Our goal is to ensure that our students—regardless of their backgrounds or financial means—can engage in projects that help them to discover and cultivate their passions, give them opportunities to apply what they learn in their courses, and allow them to create impact through meaningful, relevant activities.
These three areas—research growth, equitable community, and experiential learning—are strategic imperatives for our college. Through GO! The Campaign for Lehigh, philanthropy has the ability to ignite real and lasting change, enabling us to realize this vision. I invite you to visit gocampaign.lehigh.edu to learn more and join the cause!
I hope you enjoy this issue of Resolve; please drop me a line with your thoughts and comments. As always, thank you for your interest in Lehigh Engineering.
Stephen P. DeWeerth, Professor and Dean
P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science
steve.deweerth@lehigh.edu
