Accreditation

Mechanical engineering faculty appointed to ABET executive committee

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Feb 2022 17:07:58 +0000

Mechanical engineering faculty appointed to ABET executive committee Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 02/03/2022 - 12:07

In This Story

George Mason University’s College of Engineering and Computing associate professor Nathan Kathir has racked up many accomplishments over his career. This July, Kathir will add another as he starts his three-year term as a member of the executive committee for the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET.

ABET is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that independently accredits engineering, engineering technology, computer science, and applied and natural science programs at universities in the United States and internationally. It is widely recognized as the educational standard for STEM programs.

Kathir, a member of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and a Professional Engineer (PE), has been a part of ABET since 2000. “When I was a member of the American Society for Civil Engineers (ASCE), they mentioned they were looking for PE’s to be program evaluators for ABET, so I joined and was an evaluator for 16 years,” says Kathir.

Kathir evaluated numerous engineering programs in the U.S. and abroad, and in 2016 he became a commissioner, a role he held for the full five-year term that ended in July 2021. Executive committee members make up an even smaller group of the ABET leadership team, and the appointment recognizes successful prior leadership as a commissioner or team chair.

“This year, ABET nominated seven people for the executive committee of EAC. Usually, on the executive committee, you find deans and department chairs. I’m very honored to be serving ABET at this level,” says Kathir. “Since my bachelor’s degree is from a foreign country and wasn’t ABET accredited, it was a bit of a handicap at first. But I set my bar high, and I reached it.”

Currently, Ken Ball, dean of the College of Engineering and Computing, serves on the executive committee of ABET EAC, and his term will end in July 2022. David Binning from Mason’s Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering Department previously served as chair of EAC, and he currently serves as the past chair.

“I look forward to continuing the tradition and keeping Mason proud. Thank you to the college leadership for allowing me to continue my support to ABET,” says Kathir.

In October 2021, Kathir was also appointed as chair of ASCE’s Committee on Accreditation (COA). COA leads ASCE’s accreditation efforts to include administering strategic accreditation priorities, policies, and programs.

Topics

mechanical engineering

Accreditation

Mason Engineering BS in cyber security engineering earns ABET accreditation

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 14:45:18 +0000

Mason Engineering BS in cyber security engineering earns ABET accreditation Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 01/19/2021 - 09:45

Mason Engineering’s bachelor’s degree program in cyber security engineering has been accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, the global accreditor of college and university programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology.  

ABET accreditation assures that programs meet standards to produce graduates ready to enter critical technical fields that are leading the way in innovation and emerging technologies and anticipating the welfare and safety needs of the public.

“ABET accreditation is important to all engineering programs. The BS in cyber security engineering being the first ABET-accredited cyber security engineering program, and the first accredited with the new cyber security program criteria, is an important achievement for the new Volgenau Department of Cyber Security Engineering, but it is only the beginning,” says Peggy Brouse, professor and associate chair for the department. “The department is launching the new MS CYSE degree this spring semester. In addition, we are in a great position to extend research that we already have with the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. We are excited for the future.”

Students pursuing a BS in cybersecurity engineering learn from distinguished faculty in the classroom and gain hands-on experience through projects and a year-long senior design capstone where faculty, students, and even alumni come together to tackle real-world problems.

Alumnus turned senior design capstone advisor Matthew Wilkes, BS cyber security engineering ’18, says of the students he has mentored, “I want to ensure they’re encouraged to be successful in both their project and beyond. I won’t make it easy for them because if it was easy every student could do it.” Wilkes was among the first students to graduate from the program.

“Any student who graduates from Mason with a degree in cyber security engineering has very high expectations,” says Wilkes.

Students praise the program and the opportunities that Mason offers. “Mason’s cybersecurity program has helped me build a solid base of practice and theory to fuel extracurricular study,” says cyber security engineering student Zaine Wilson. “Professors Tom Winston, Jim Jones, Mohamed Gebril, and all the other professors in the department, you won't find a group of more caring, inspiring, and wise mentors anywhere else.”

ABET’s voluntary peer-review process is highly respected because it adds critical value to academic programs in the technical disciplines, where quality, precision, and safety are of the utmost importance.

Topics

Cyber Security

Cybersecurity

Accreditation

Department of Cyber Security Engineering

Barton selected accreditation faculty fellow

Colleen Rich — Thu, 21 Nov 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Barton selected accreditation faculty fellow Colleen Rich Thu, 11/21/2019 - 05:00

Oscar Barton. Photo provided.

As part of George Mason University’s commitment to maintaining broad-based representation and input throughout the reaffirmation of accreditation process, the Office of the Provost conducted a search for a faculty member to serve on the Reaffirmation Leadership Team. This week Provost S. David Wu announced that Oscar Barton, chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Volgeneau School of Engineering, will serve as the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges Faculty Fellow.

Barton brings extensive leadership and accreditation experience to the team. In addition, he has demonstrated experience in working with both faculty and administration to advance university initiatives. As part of the Reaffirmation Leadership Team, Barton will represent the faculty, working closely with the director of accreditation and the other committee members to provide input, strategic direction, planning, and leadership throughout the reaffirmation process.He will also share in the leadership of the Quality Enhancement Plan topic selection process.

Every 10 years, Mason’s accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges must be reaffirmed. The university is now gearing up for the next reaffirmation, which will be finalized in 2022. Reaffirmation includes the development of a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), which is an institution-wide self-study and preparation of a five-year initiative to enhance student learning and/or student success.

Barton joined Mason in 2014 after completing a 22-year career at the U.S. Naval Academy, where he was one of only three African Americans to obtain the rank of tenured full professor and the first within the academy’s Division of Engineering and Weapons. As the department chair, he oversaw the accreditation of two engineering programs and the creation of the nuclear engineering program, the first in the history of the academy.