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As we walk into the wet cement of 2025, it is appropriate to look back at the marks left by the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering in 2024. As Dean Sanjeev Kumar noted, it was a year of unprecedented accomplishments and dedicated efforts.

Here is a sampling of the 2024 highlights:

• The electrical engineering and computer science department became the McComish Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science to reflect the $5 million donation made by Dick and Karen McComish, owners of Electrical Consultants Inc., of Billings, Montana, and 1975 graduates of the electrical engineering and sociology programs, respectively. 

An April 26 ceremony marked the milestone. The department is the first named department at ��«Ӱҵ and raises its stature among its institutional peers.

• When the Board of Regents announced enrollment numbers in late September, buttons were popping in the dean’s office. Both undergraduate and graduate student enrollments increased over 17% compared to fall 2022 and the Ph.D. student enrollment is up over 40% during the same time period. With 91 students, it is the highest Ph.D. enrollment in the college. 

• In fiscal year 2024, research awards hit a record $7.8 million ($7,975,490) to break the mark of $7.6 million set in FY 2022. Leading the way were math ($1.6M), electrical ($1.4M) and mechanical ($1.2M). Grant expenditures in FY 2024 were $5.3 million, which is closely in line with previous years. Grant expenditures haven’t been below $4 million since FY 2020.

Rajesh Kavasseri, associate dean for research in the college, notes the increase in research funding and Ph.D. enrollment “affirm the college’s commitment to pursue R1 status thanks to the dedication and hard work of its faculty, staff and students.”

• The college invested more than $500,000 to upgrade undergraduate teaching labs. This investment was made possible because of all the donors who generously donated to upgrade labs in mechanical engineering, civil engineering and engineering overall. 

Kumar said, “Many thanks to all who contributed to this effort. The lab upgrades will continue in 2025. These lab improvements will have a substantial positive impact on the learning experience of our students.”

• Jackrabbits student clubs and design teams continue to shine among their peers. There are a lot of great stories to share. The most notable: 

• The Space Trajectory team that competed in NASA’s Break the Ice Lunar Challenge finals; 

• The best prototype award in NASA’s Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts – Academic Linkage contest; 

• Third place in the International Quarter-Scale Tractor Student Design Competition; and 

• Best chapter in the nation for American Society of Civil Engineers student chapter. 

SDSU also shone in contests for construction management, robotics, and Formula and Baja racing.

• SDSU’s seven-year Bold & Blue campaign closed in April with $604 million raised universitywide and $59.5 million raised for the Lohr College of Engineering. The college is truly thankful to 3,227 donors who made 11,911 gifts with 72% of that coming from alums and 829 coming from first-time donors. 

The college currently has the largest ever endowment of more than $40 million, which includes the endowed dean, eight endowed faculty positions, and electrical engineering and computer science department endowment.

• Retirements and a transition brought in three new department heads this summer. Eun Heui Kim, replacing retiring Kurt Cogswell, joined June 22, as head of mathematics and statistics. Sungyong “Yong” Jung, replacing retiring interim George Hamer, joined July 1 as head of the McComish Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Julian Kang became head of the recently renamed Department of Construction and Concrete Industry Management on August 22. 

The college also welcomed six new faculty members.

• Community outreach to promote STEM education is nothing new for the college, but efforts in 2024 definitely took a lot higher profile. 

In addition to elementary and high school visits by students and faculty that often fly under the radar, the college captured a lot of eyeballs when SDSU partnered with the Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls for Sept. 20-21 events. 

The Friday event showcased the college to eighth graders while on Saturday more than 700 people of all ages took part in the show-and-tell that featured unique and award-winning projects by each department as well as SDSU ice cream. 

The college also participated in the Sundown at Downtown event in Brookings and Levitt at the Falls for the first time.

• The calendar closed with the naming of 12 undergraduates as Future Innovators of America. It is the largest class yet in the program’s three-year history. Initiated by the dean’s office, the program provides $4,500 for a stipend and $500 for expenses for a student to work with a faculty mentor on a research project.

In his New Year’s greeting, Dean Kumar wrote, “2024 was another great year for the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering thanks to the hard work, dedication and loyalty of our faculty, staff and students, and the unconditional support of our alumni and friends of the college. 

“As we step into the new year, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone for their unwavering support, encouragement and guidance. I look forward to working with all stakeholders to shape the future, inspire one other and make 2025 another year of collaboration, new achievements and growth.”