Author: Leah Lamunyon

The College of Engineering is hosting its annual Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day (IGED) event for high school students from Wichita and the surrounding area. The event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 12 in the Rhatigan Student Center.

Registration is open for students who would like to attend, professionals from the engineering and computing industries who would like to volunteer as mentors at the event, and companies from STEM fields who would like to participate in the Opportunity Fair. Registration will close on Monday, Feb. 23 or sooner if capacity is reached.

Learn more and register at wichita.edu/iged.

Wichita State’s College of Engineering is ranked 17th in the country out of more than 500 universities in the Cyber Power Rankings, which were created by Cyber Skyline in partnership with the National Cyber League (NCL). The rankings represent the ability of students to perform real-world cybersecurity tasks on the Cyber Skyline platform.

Students from across the College of Engineering, primarily cybersecurity and computer science majors in the School of Computing, competed in various team and individual competitions. The new ranking for Wichita State is down slightly from 12th place in the spring.

In addition to the overall ranking, the student team World Wide Wheat — made up of students Carlos Renato Soverina Figueroa, Alexander Pickett, Daniel Halbleib, Aidan McGillivray, Charles Hill and Sophie Clarke — placed 18th out of more than 4,200 teams. Other WSU teams include:

• 29th place: Wuami – Mathias Rodrigo Benitez Vera, Carson Brewer, Braden McCaig, Ben Gerstenkorn, Jacob Rutt, Abubaker Hafeez, Mannon Wallace
• 90th place: Apun – Hannah Nikkel, Sean Dugan, Remington Derksen, Liam Moore, Andrew Ginsky, Kyra Roland, Reilly Waller
• 128th place: Ctrl+Alt+Defeat – Andrew Sauls, Brett Blasi, Timothy Jorgensen, Emma Griffin, Sean McDermott, Jonathan Viers, Noah Jackson

Individuals were also recognized, with nine Wichita State students breaking the top 500 of nearly 7,900 individuals:

• 72nd place: Aidan McGillivary
• 239th place: Mathias Rodrigo Benitez Vera
• 278th place: Daniel Halbleib
• 289th place: Braden McCaig
• 362nd place: Abubaker Hafeez
• 403rd place: Sophie Clarke 
• 409th place: Mannon Wallace
• 421st place: Brynn Potter 
• 430th place: Zander Pickett 

Lot 24 and Lot 25 along 17th Street will be closed Friday, Nov. 21, for the Wallace Invitational for Scholarships in Engineering (WISE) competition. The lots will be reserved for competition participants and guests beginning at 7 a.m. Red reserved and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) stalls will remain open for proper use during this time.

Hosted by the College of Engineering, the WISE competition will take place throughout the day in the Rhatigan Student Center and the John Bardo Center. More information about the annual competition is available at wichita.edu/wise.

Samantha Corcoran, associate educator, and Janelle Birkner, assistant educator, in the Department of Applied Engineering within the College of Engineering presented “A Multi-tiered Strategy to Increase Freshman Retention” at American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) national conference in Canada on June 25, 2025.

On Friday, Nov. 21, the College of Engineering will host about 200 high school seniors for the Wallace Invitational for Scholarships in Engineering (WISE) competition. The competition and associated events will take place in the Rhatigan Student Center and John Bardo Center throughout the day. Although a private event, WSU students, staff and faculty are encouraged to have positive interactions with high school students, parents and event volunteers when in common areas.

According to the College of Engineering, WISE is an exciting competition held each fall for eligible high school seniors interested in studying engineering or computing at WSU. Ten $30,500 Wallace scholarships will be awarded to the winners of the 2025 Wallace Invitational. 

The College of Engineering is seeking faculty and staff from across the university to serve as group activity judges for the college’s annual Wallace Invitational for Scholarships in Engineering (WISE) competition from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 21. Judges will meet in 142 Rhatigan Student Center, Harvest Room, then be dismissed to various room on the second floor of the RSC.

Teams of two judges will observe and score small groups of four to five competitors. Evaluation will focus on students’ teamwork, communication and problem-solving abilities rather than their technical knowledge, so an engineering or computing background is not required for judges.

Those interested in judging should complete the online form by Friday, Nov. 14. For questions, contact Dr. Jacob Mendez at jacob.mendez@wichita.edu.

Dr. Hamid Lankarani, professor of mechanical engineering and NIAR senior fellow, College of Engineering, was featured in “Mechanical engineering professor, NIAR senior fellow celebrated for legacy of excellence” in Mechanism and Machine Theory.

Cody Farlow, assistant educator in the School of Computing, was featured in:

• “IT Experts: AI Changing Job Market Expectations” on KWCH Channel 12
• “Alarm raised on using AI to file taxes” on Yahoo News

In response to feedback from employers and alumni, the College of Engineering adapted its engineering technology program to the applied engineering program in fall 2023. Recently, the college announced that the applied engineering program is now accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, under the commission’s General Criteria with no applicable program criteria. This accreditation assures students that the program meets high-quality standards recognized globally, enhancing their educational experience and increasing their competitiveness in the job market.

Dr. M. Edwin Sawan, the director of the School of Computing within the College of Engineering, is retiring from WSU and stepping down from his position, effective after Friday, Sept. 12. Following Sawan’s departure, Dr. Visvakumar Aravinthan will serve as the interim director of the School of Computing. He is also the chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Sawan has been serving as the director of the School of Computing since March 2024 and served as the interim director for several years prior to that. Before those roles, Sawan was a faculty member in the (then) electrical engineering and computer science department for 30 years before retiring as a professor emeritus. During his tenure, he won numerous teaching awards and was published many times. Following the death of his wife, Sawan founded the Maha “Maggie” Sawan Fellowship for international graduate students in 2011, which awards two new Sawan Fellows each academic year.