One of our most important connections is with our alumni. We’re pleased to announce the start of both an Engineering Alumni Chapter and a Computing Alumni Chapter to help you reconnect with us and each other. If you are interested in being a part of our inaugural events this winter, click here.

A tradition of strong connections with our constituent groups is one of the unique strengths PCEC.
We are making connections with more new students. Enrollment in the School of Computing and Information Systems has increased more than 22% this year. In the School of Engineering freshman enrollment has grown by about 60% over the last two years. 
We also are connecting with the K-12 community including more than 9000 students and their families in the last 12 months through presentations in schools, tours of our facilities, and special activities such as summer camps for middle school girls.
The articles below provide more information on our connections.  We are glad to make connections with you.

Grand Valley was named one of 29 institutions in the U.S. as an Exemplar of Real World Engineering Education by the National Academy of Engineering. Grand Valley was recognized at the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Annual Conference, which took place June 10-13.  More.

Three students were recognized at a presentation August 29 as recipients of the Autocam Engineering Scholarship, a new scholarship established by Autocam President and Grand Valley Trustee John C. Kennedy.  The scholarship provides full tuition support.  More.

Student computer programmers from across the state gathered November 3 at Grand Valley State University to compete in the regional segment of the world’s most prestigious programming competition, the annual IBM-sponsored Association for Computing Machinery International Collegiate Programming Contest.  More.

The research buoy that is collecting data for Grand Valley State University’s offshore wind assessment was placed 35 miles off the shore in Lake Michigan May 7, where it will remain until December. The buoy will continuously collect data about offshore wind characteristics, along with meteorological, marine and avian data, to help assess the viability of commercial-scale wind energy generation in the Great Lakes.  More.

The Art at GVSU mobile app --which features tours, browse and search functions-- was built by students in the Mobile Applications and Services Lab in Grand Valley’s School of Computing and Information Systems. It is the sixth product developed in the lab, under the direction of associate professor Jonathan Engelsma.  More.

Graduating students displayed their senior projects at the School of Engineering's 14th annual Design Conference and Graduation August 3. The projects were designed and built to address problems and needs of area companies.  More.

There is a need for products people with quadriplegia can use.  As a part of addressing this need, a group of engineering students from Grand Valley State University who designed and built a special lawn mower for a man with quadriplegia performed a demonstration May 1.   More.

About 80 middle school girls flew the airplanes they designed and built at the Grand Valley Science, Technology and Engineering Preview Summer Camp conclusion event June 21.  The camp is coordinated by Grand Valley’s Seymour and Esther Padnos College of Engineering and Computing with support from Alcoa Foundation, Alcoa Howmet-Whitehall Operations, Michigan Space Grant Consortium, West Michigan Aviation Academy and SME Education Foundation.  More.

Area seventh and eighth grade female students learned about the growing fields of information systems and computing at a five-day camp at Grand Valley.  “Get with the Program” took place August 6-10 on the Allendale Campus and included a field trip to area companies that specialize in computing and robotics.  More.

Diane Breeman retired from the School of Computing and Information Systems on June 30, 2012.  Diane worked for Grand Valley State University 28 years.  She began her career in the Records Department, but soon accepted a position in the Math and Computer Science Department.  Diane then became the Academic Coordinator for a new Computer Science and Information Systems Department that was created in 1993, later becoming the School of Computing and Information Systems where she served for 18 years.  One of her favorite duties was to organize and Upsilon Pi Epsilon (UPE) International Honor Society for the Computing and Information Sciences disciplines. Diane is enjoying retirement by reading, spending time with friends and helping with different events at her church
 

After 21 years of service at Grand Valley, Bob Bero has retired from his position as supervisor of the Keller Engineering Laboratory Building. He has supported the hands-on style of instruction in the school, assisted faculty and students with laboratory work, and maintained machining and manufacturing functions in the school laboratories and shops.  Above all, his most important accomplishment was the opportunity to contribute to the “development of students into competent engineers”.   His service was recognized with the Administrative-Professional Achievement Award, the highest honor that Grand valley can bestow upon any staff colleague.

Jonathan Leidig, Assistant Professor in the School of Computing, returns to his alma mater having received his BS in Information Systems from Grand Valley. He recently earned a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Virginia Tech. His research and expertise have concentrated in guiding governmental policy making based on large-scale public health modeling and simulation, specifically regarding influenza, malaria, and whooping cough epidemics.  He will be teaching courses in Grand Valley’s masters program in Medical and Bioinformatics.
 

Gregory Schymik, Assistant Professor in the School of Computing, joins the GVSU faculty after serving on the faculty of Emporia State University and completing his Ph.D. with a concentration in Information Systems from Arizona State University.  Dr. Schymik’s research has focused in the area of enterprise search, subject indexing and enterprise document retrieval. Dr. Schymik’s will be teaching courses in the information systems areas of systems analysis and design, IT project management, and database management and design.

 
Wendy Reffeor, Assistant Professor in the School of Engineering, returns to the PCEC family. Wendy had left the school in winter 2007 to devote herself to her own growing family. Wendy is leading an  initiative to revamp our Mechanical-Engineering Machine Design sequence.  This year, she received the American Society of Mechanical Engineering Dedicated Service Award, a coveted prize that recognizes a faculty member who has dedicated at least 10 years of meritorious service to the engineering profession.

Cheryl Anderson, has taken a new position as the Academic School Coordinator in the School of Computing and Information Systems, succeeding Diane Breeman. She has been with CIS helping students and faculty to help the office run smoothly since 1998.

Lindsey "Sergeant" Burns has replaced Cheryl Anderson as CIS secretary.  She was a student receptionist for CIS.  Upon graduating from GVSU, Lindsey served as the office coordinator for Cooley Law School in Grand Rapids. 

Gerald K Smant (“Jerry”) has succeeded Bob Bero as the Laboratory Supervisor of the Keller Engineering Laboratory Building. He trained in Leadership & Management and OSHA safety procedures, including hazardous waste operations. Jerry possesses over 30 years of hands-on experience with metal working and 14 years of experience in management and supervisory roles.

The PCEC Advising Center would like to Welcome Barb Davis as our newest member of the Advising Staff. Barb served 28 years in the Human Resources Department at General Motors. During the next two years, Barb will be working on her Masters in College Student Affairs Leadership, which is housed in the College of Education.