Lee College of Engineering

UNC Charlotte employees demonstrate devotion to duty, display innovation, participate in community/public service efforts and engender better human relations. For their efforts, staff members are nominated for and recognized as Employees of the Year. For 2016, the University honored Lebra Nance, Lee Beard, Paul Taylor and Dorothy Vick.

A UNC Charlotte professor and four alumni were recognized as rising local leaders on the Charlotte Business Journal’s annual “40 under 40” list.

Robert Cox, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering in the Lee College of Engineering, was recognized for his work in spearheading a team of engineers to create a successful startup company, Sine Watts.

Needing multiple units of an expensive piece of equipment to complete his doctoral project, mechanical engineering student Sajad Kafashi decided to invent and build his own. Now, in addition to finishing his Ph.D., he is commercializing his invention, which he calls the Saji Waveform Generator.

Work on prediction models to reduce fieldwork for wetlands management, conducted as part of a N.C. Department of Transportation project, was recognized by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the Research Advisory Council as one of 2015’s “Sweet 16” high-value research projects.

Sheng-Guo Wang, a professor of electrical and computer engineering technology, was principal investigator for the award-winning project “Improvements to NCDOT’s Wetland Prediction Model.”

Designed to showcase the field, “Discover Engineering Day” will feature a talk from a NASA expert, tour of EPIC energy labs and the motorsports engineering facility, faculty research displays and more on Saturday, Feb. 20.

Tim Ezell, chief of NASA Systems Development, Integration and Test Division, will speak, and participants will learn more about the Charlotte Engineering Early College, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools facility located near EPIC.

Forbes has named Chris Tyler, a 2015 mechanical engineering Ph.D. graduate of the Lee College of Engineering, to its 2016 30 Under 30 list.

A team of UNC Charlotte engineering technology and construction management students won the 2015 Concrete Construction Competition sponsored by the American Concrete Institute (ACI) and the American Society of Concrete Contractors (ASCC).

InfoSense Inc., a startup company founded at UNC Charlotte, topped the Charlotte Business Journal’s 2015 Fast 50 list, which ranks Charlotte’s fastest-growing private companies based on their annual revenue growth percentages over the past three years. The company realized annual revenue growth of 464.9 percent.

A technology-driven company that uses acoustic technology to assess the condition of sewer pipes, InfoSense is a success story that illustrates how University research can have real-world impact.

UNC Charlotte is a leader in the field of advance machining engineering, and in support of the University’s efforts, the Gene Haas Foundation has donated $20,000 to the Lee College Department of Mechanical and Engineering Science Department for student scholarships.

This year marks 50 years of service and dedication to the field of engineering by UNC Charlotte’s William States Lee College of Engineering.

While the college can trace its roots to the University’s early beginnings, 1965 is recognized as the official start of the college; it is the first year bachelor’s degrees were awarded. During its first 50 years, Lee College has expanded undergraduate and graduate academic programs, built new laboratories and developed a number of cutting-edge research programs, and a focus on student success has been a constant.