Top stories of 2022
Take a look back at The Ohio State University College of Engineering's 10 most popular Buckeye Engineering stories from 2022, as determined by webpage views.
1. $15M gift from Austin E. Knowlton Foundation to help transform Ohio State engineering campus
The late Austin E. “Dutch” Knowlton’s impact on The Ohio State University’s physical campus and on College of Engineering students and faculty has been nothing short of transformational. Continuing its namesake’s commitment to education and to his alma mater, the Austin E. Knowlton Foundation has donated $15 million to finalize design and construction of the Biomedical and Materials Engineering Complex. Previously, Knowlton and the foundation he established have generously supported architecture and aviation programs at Ohio State.
2. Meet the college’s newest faculty cohort
Get to know the researchers, scholars and thought leaders who have joined the College of Engineering’s world-class faculty for the 2022-23 academic year. With 44 new faculty, this is the college’s largest cohort in more than a decade.
3. O-H the places they’ll go!
From making new discoveries and providing global solutions to excelling as a student-athlete—meet six members of the class of 2022 who engineered a transformative education.
4. Ohio State establishes new research center for advanced manufacturing
Ohio State leads a new $26.5 million multi-institutional National Science Foundation engineering research center to develop and deploy revolutionary, intelligent autonomous manufacturing systems and educate a future manufacturing workforce. The Hybrid Autonomous Manufacturing, Moving from Evolution to Revolution (HAMMER) Engineering Research Center will develop approaches central to next-generation manufacturing to create jobs, train a diverse workforce and ease supply chain issues by growing a new American industry.
5. Innovative minds earn NSF CAREER awards
Seven College of Engineering faculty members earned the Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award during the 2022 fiscal year—the National Science Foundation’s top honor given to support the work of the nation’s most promising junior faculty. Their awards total $3.9 million.
6. Undergraduate program ascends rankings to 15th among public universities
In U.S. News & World Report’s 2023 Best Colleges issue, Ohio State’s undergraduate engineering program again ranks first in Ohio and has risen to 15th among public universities nationwide. Among both public and private institutions, Ohio State Engineering ranks 27th overall, tied with Harvard University and University of Minnesota.
7. College celebrates 15 alumni for exceptional achievements, service
A barrier-breaking leader in higher education and the arts, an internationally recognized nuclear engineering expert and one of the nation’s leading design justice advocates are among the 15 alumni honored during the 25th Annual Excellence in Engineering and Architecture Awards in September 2022. The celebration recognizes alumni from across the College of Engineering who have achieved distinction in their fields or through their extraordinary service contributions since graduating from The Ohio State University.
8. Fontana Laboratories: a milestone in discovery and innovation
After much anticipation and some understandable delays, The Mars G. Fontana Laboratories finally welcomed donors and friends on April 1, 2022, to mark its long-awaited official grand opening. Home to the Departments of Materials Science and Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering, the completely renovated 124,000-square-foot Mars G. Fontana Laboratories on West 19th Avenue is the first phase of the Biomedical and Materials Engineering Complex. Thanks to generous donors and state investment, the space features seven engineering research neighborhoods, 14 teaching laboratories, five classrooms and a 159-seat auditorium.
9. Graduate programs rank among nation’s best
The College of Engineering’s graduate program is again ranked first in Ohio and 16th among all public universities in U.S. News & World Report’s 2023 Best Graduate Schools issue published in March 2022. Several departments within the college also placed among the top programs in the nation.
10. Inaugural cohort of LEGACY postdoc scholars named
Six engineering trailblazers have joined Ohio State’s College of Engineering as part of a new postdoctoral scholars program that’s preparing the next generation of diverse engineering leaders in academia. Founded in 2021 by Dean Ayanna Howard and led by Professor Monica F. Cox, the program aims to increase the number of underrepresented minority postdocs who transition to faculty positions within the College of Engineering. LEGACY—which stands for Leading Engineering as Agents of Change and Equity—also focuses on establishing quality mentoring relationships, enhancing research opportunities, and building strong scholarly communities.
