News

A special scholarship application for prospective students at West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WVU Tech) is now open for the fall of 2022.

Students who are majoring in electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science or information systems are eligible to apply. Students must be admitted to WVU Tech and have completed the FAFSA to apply for the scholarship. Up to $10,000 can be awarded to scholarship winners.

In addition to monetary support, recipients of this scholarship will receive access to a faculty mentorship program for extra academic support, unique research opportunities, help with career readiness, and funding to travel to conferences and competitions across the country.

In addition to increasing the number of STEM graduates, this project also aims to strengthen the pipeline of engineers and scientists to support economic competitiveness in West Virginia and the Appalachian region.

The National Science Foundation Scholarship in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) has funded the SUCCESS (Supporting Undergraduate Cohorts of Career-Ready Engineering and Science Scholars) program, which seeks to increase the number of academically talented students who demonstrate a financial need. WVU Tech faculty member Dr. Kenan Hatipoglu and his team secured $650,000 from the National Science Foundation for this scholarship in 2020.

To apply for this scholarship or for more information, visit nsfs-stem.wvutech.edu. Any questions about the program or the application process can be directed to
NSF-SSTEM@mail.wvu.edu.

West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WVU Tech) Campus President Carolyn Long delivered the State of Tech address today as part of their Homecoming celebration.

The theme of her speech was resiliency through the past few years of Tech’s history.

"Being tough, resilient and caring are part of our DNA,” Long said.

While retelling the story of the train derailment in Montgomery seven years ago, she emphasized how the Tech community came together and was able to take care of students during that time. She also reiterated the resiliency of the Tech community through the Covid-19 pandemic.

Long reports there has been an increase in enrollment in the past four of six years and are on track to increase enrollment again for next year. Long noted she has had to ask departments to cut their budgets every year but will not have to do that this year.

Long announced Tech students participated in 3,000 hours of service in the community the past two and a half years, despite the difficulties of the pandemic. The economic impact totaled $32,000. Additionally, WVU Tech nursing students provided 5,000 service hours during the pandemic, with an economic impact of $120,000.

Emily Sands, dean of students, announced Petra Vasale and Ashleigh Sexton are this year’s Golden Bear Royalty winners. Vasale is a senior nursing major from Charleston, West Virginia. Sexton is a senior athletic coaching education major from Crab Orchard, West Virginia. 

The biggest highlight of the speech came as Long announced Tech is slated to be part of a large community project. The project, involving the Raleigh County Commission, the city of Beckley, the YMCA board and The New River Gorge Regional Development Authority (NRGRDA), is a proposal to build new recreation fields near the YMCA Paul Cline Memorial sports complex in Beckley. The proposal includes the building of a baseball field, walking tracks, areas for track and field and converting a soccer field into a football field to bring football back to WVU Tech.

West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WVU Tech) Department of Computer Science and Information Systems is hosting a high school programming competition Saturday, February 26, 2022. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Carter Hall, on the WVU Tech campus at 322 South Kanawha Street in Beckley.
 
According to Dr. Ranjith Munasinghe, the goal of the competition is to promote computer science education within high schools in the state and showcase the opportunities that potential students have at WVU Tech. 
 
The all-day event will test students’ problem-solving and programming skills and is open to all high school students. The top three teams will receive scholarships and prizes. 
 
Each member of the winning teams will receive prizes and WVU Tech scholarships. First prize winners will receive gift cards valued up to $300 and a $3,000 per year scholarship. Second place winners will receive gift cards valued up to $200 and a $2,000 per year scholarship, and third place winners will receive gift cards valued up to $100 and a $1,000 per year scholarship. The scholarships are renewable for four years if the student progresses toward graduation. These scholarships are open to be used for any degree program at WVU Tech. 
 
Each school may send as many students as they wish. One faculty member from each school must be present during the competition. The faculty member will receive a stipend of $150. Breakfast, lunch and refreshments are included. 
 
The 2022 programming competition is sponsored by the Carter Family Foundation.

Additional questions about the competition can be sent to Dr. Ranjith Munasinghe at Ranjith.Munasinghe@mail.wvu.edu. 

After a nationwide search, West Virginia University Institute of Technology is pleased to announce Tamara Floyd Smith, Ph.D., P.E. as the dean of the nationally recognized Leonard C. Nelson College of Engineering and Sciences.

In this role, Floyd Smith will serve as the chief academic and administrative officer of the College of Engineering and Sciences and will report to the campus provost.

Floyd Smith comes to WVU Tech from Tuskegee University, where she most recently served as associate provost with broad responsibility for academic affairs, including the planning and implementation of face-to-face and virtual instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic. She has also served as a professor of chemical engineering at Tuskegee University, instructing courses at all levels from undergraduate to doctoral studies.

She has served as a principal investigator for millions of dollars in grant funding, published dozens of peer reviewed publications and jointly holds two U.S. patents. In addition to her work in traditional scientific research, she has also conducted engineering education research with a focus on the relationship between belonging and student engagement. She has served as a rotating program officer in the Division of Undergraduate Education at the National Science Foundation (NSF). In that role, she administered the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE), Scholarships in STEM (S-STEM) and Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Programs.

Campus President Carolyn Long looks forward to having Floyd Smith on board.

“We are so pleased to have Dr. Floyd Smith join our campus community. She has a wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise that will be beneficial in our ongoing efforts to best prepare future scientists and engineers for the workforce and life after college,” said Long.

Dr. Floyd Smith will be joining the Golden Bear family on July 1, 2022 and she looks forward to this new opportunity.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be chosen to serve as the next dean of the Leonard C. Nelson College of Engineering and Sciences.  I am looking forward to working closely with faculty, staff, administrators and students to collaboratively move the college forward on strategic objectives,” said Floyd Smith.

Floyd Smith graduated Summa Cum Laude from Tuskegee University with a bachelor’s in chemical engineering in 1996. She completed her graduate studies in chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she received a master’s degree in 1998 and completed requirements for a Ph.D. in 2001.  She completed both the 2017-2018 Senior Leadership Academy sponsored by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) and the American Academic Leadership Institute as well as the NSF-sponsored Opportunities for Underrepresented Scholars (OURS) Post Graduate Certificate Leadership Program in 2015. She is married with two children.