Happy New Year! 

It was a busy January here in the College focused on advancing our facilities expansion project so that we can continue to grow. I am grateful to those of you who helped us refine our messaging by participating in interviews, vision sessions, and Visiting Committee meetings; we are excited to tell the story of the impact a new building (and upgrades to existing facilities) will make to the student experience. State funding is a key part of our expansion plans and we are thrilled to be prioritized in the UW’s legislative request for funding to sustain the STARS program, add more undergraduate slots, and design new buildings. 

We are also in the throes of planning for our signature spring events, Discovery Days and the Diamond Awards. Reflecting the great interest in engineering, more than 8,000 reservations for middle school students filled up within 12 minutes of Discovery Days registration going live! And we recently announced the honorees of this year’s Diamond Awards. I hope you’ll plan to join us at the Diamond Awards gala, and that I will have the chance to connect with you before my retirement in June. 

Mike Bragg, Ph.D.
Frank & Julie Jungers Dean of Engineering

Terry (B.S., ’73, ME) and Cheryl (B.A., ’89 Arts & Sciences; EMBA, ’94, Business) Weathers had already included UW Engineering in their estate plans and were longtime TYEE members when they decided to make a new gift that would have impact in their lifetimes. Through a connection in the Office of Planned Giving, Terry and Cheryl met Eve Riskin, Associate Dean of Diversity & Access in the College of Engineering. 

Riskin told them about the UW STARS program, which supports engineering and computer science students from low-income, first-generation, and underserved backgrounds. Says Cheryl, “It was just the perfect fit – we were so excited.” Describing themselves as “small-town people who didn’t have all the advantages,” they both credit the UW as the foundation for their social and professional success — Terry had a long career at Boeing, and Cheryl became a software executive with AT&T and IBM.

“Without the degree in mechanical engineering at the UW, our lives would have been completely different,” Terry explains. Cheryl adds, “We knew first-hand that it is really hard for students whose parents didn’t go to college.” They established the Weathers Family STARS Endowed Student Fund in Engineering in 2017 to help students from similar backgrounds get over those hurdles, and are already seeing the impact of their generosity. The first group of STARS students they met are now graduating — “to see people matriculating out into their careers is very gratifying,” says Terry. 

For the past 16 years, the UW chapter of Phi Sigma Rho (PSR) has served female engineers in the Husky community by providing a strong foundation for academic success and networking. Launched in 1984 at Purdue University by two women who wanted a sorority environment that accommodated the demands of their engineering program, PSR has since grown to almost thirty chapters nationally. Joining has only two requirements: being interested in or already pursuing an engineering education, and being a full-time student.

The 60+ members of the UW chapter are able to leverage the vast community of sisters across the country and active alumnae to provide members comprehensive support and engagement during and after their time at UW. UW PSR also emphasizes philanthropy and community service through regular outreach activities with the Boys & Girls Club, the Pacific Science Center, and the College of Engineering Discovery Days. 

Leigh Flaherty (MSE 2021), PSR’s VP of Sisterhood, says, “Phi Rho has given me the strongest sense of community I’ve found at UW. Being surrounded by supportive people has allowed me to succeed academically and with life in general, and my experiences with volunteering remind me about the importance of thinking of others beyond UW.”

Osazonamen Igbinosun, Ph.D., A&A and Astrobiology, 2019

Recipient of the George and Anita Snyder Endowed Fellowship and the Fred Eastman Endowed Fellowship in Aeronautics & Astronautics 

“The funding I’ve received is supporting my final year of research as a graduate student. I will be the first student in the William E. Boeing Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics to graduate with a Dual Title Ph.D. in Aeronautics & Astronautics and Astrobiology. 

“I graduated from the University of Rochester as an NROTC Midshipman and was selected to complete Naval Flight Training. After flying C-130 aircraft on Active Duty, I continued to fly C-130s as a Reservist and full-time graduate student at UW. My father, a Nigerian immigrant, studied civil engineering in graduate school, so it isn’t surprising that my academic journey would eventually lead me to engineering. I’ve put my science, aviation, and engineering backgrounds to good use while serving as a Teaching Assistant for undergraduate and graduate-level courses, mentoring students, and developing my research in subsurface water extraction. Graduate school has given me time to find my way in academics, establish myself as an engineer, recognize the joy of teaching/mentoring, develop lasting relationships with my advisors and peers, and prepare for my future career in aerospace—none of this would have been possible without financial support.”

- Osazonamen Igbinosun