Florida Institute of Technology Academics

Infobox University
name = Florida Institute of Technology
native_name =


image_size = 200px
caption = Florida Institute of Technology University Seal
latin_name =
motto = "Ad Astra Per Scientiam"
tagline = High Tech with a Human Touch
established = September 22, 1958
closed =
vision =
type = Private
affiliation = [NCAA Division II
calendar = [http://fit.edu/registrar/calendar/ Academic Calendar]
endowment =
debt =
rector =
officer_in_charge =
chairman =
chancellor =
president = Anthony J. Catanese
vice-president =
superintendent =
provost = T. Dwayne McKay
vice_chancellor =
principal =
dean = Rodney Bowers (Dean of Students)
director =
head_label =
head =
staff-ratio = 9:1
faculty = 364
staff =
students = 4682
undergrad = 2365
postgrad = 2376
doctoral =
divinity =
residents = 1300
other =
profess =
alumni =
city = Melbourne
state = Florida
province =
country = United States
address = 150 W. University Blvd., Melbourne, FL 32901
telephone = [phone]
coor = Coord|28|03|56.78|N|80|37|28.14|W
campus = Suburban
free_label =
free =
sports = Basketball, Rowing (Sport), Football (Soccer)
colors = Crimson color box|#660000 and Gray color box|#CCCCCC [ [http://fit.edu/upub/identity/color.html Florida Institute of Technology ] ]
colours =
nickname = Florida Tech
mascot = Panthers
fightsong =
athletics =
affiliations =
nobel_laureates =
website = http://fit.edu

publictransit = Space Coast Area Transit
footnotes =

This list of Florida Institute of Technology colleges, their departments and laboratories to cover the university's diverse and interdisciplinary research interest.

College of Aeronautics

The College of Aeronautics (COA) is located at the George Skurla Building in the Florida Institute of Technology main campus, Melbourne, Florida. COA is enrolls approximately 350 studentshttp://fit.edu/about/factcard/ Florida Tech Fact Card] students. College of Aeronautics's partnership in its flight program is by F.I.T. Aviation, LLC. Aeronautical Science and Aviation Management programs are accredited by the Council on Aviation Accreditiation.

Operations and Research Funding

COA is currently trying to build an endowment through the James Constantine Endowment Campaign. [http://coa.fit.edu/highlight.cfm?theHighlight=26] Other funding are primarily from student tuitions, although increasing fuel costs have forced flight course options to use a debit system to pay for resources instead of students paying a fixed amount in the beginning of each semester.

Operations and Research Facilities

Airport codes|MLB|KMLB|MLB.

F.I.T. Aviation, LLC, established in 1967, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Florida Institute of Technology provides flight training for fixed wing aircraft for the FAA Private Pilot Certification, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot Certification, Multi-Engine Aircraft Training and Advanced Aircraft Training.

In 1999, in order to match a grant for a new engineering building, Florida Tech sold nearly a third of its training fleet. However, in part of the Florida Institute of Technology 50th Anniversary Celebrations, Emil Buehler Trust of Paramus, N.J. donated $1.5 million in 2006 to the university to fund the new center for aviation education and research at the university. The building will be constructed at the Melbourne International Airport, along with a new hangar for university airplanes.

College of Aeronautics Departmental Breakdown

COA is headed by Dean, Dr. Ken Stackpoole, and there are 16 faculty members along with three instructors. There are assistant instructors as well in the department for Flight Training.

Flight Team

The Falcon Precision Flight Team placed second over at a Regional Flight Competition in November, 2006. [ [http://coa.fit.edu/dev/articles/articlePreview.cfm?theArticle=32 Florida Institute of Technology ] ]

= College of Aeronautics Degree Programs Summary [http://www.fit.edu/catalog/documents/2007_2008catalog.pdf 520 Cover.indd ] ] =

COA offers 7 Bachelors of Science (B.Sc.) degree programs in [http://coa.fit.edu/highlight.cfm?theHighlight=6]
*Aeronautical Science
*Aeronautical Science with Flight Training
*Aviation Computer Science
*Aviation Management
*Aviation Management with Flight Training
*Aviation Meteorolgy
*Aviation Meteorolgy with Flight Training

COA also offers Master of Science (M.Sc.) or Master of Science in Aviation (M.S.A.) degree programs in
*Aviation Human Factors, M.S.
*Airport Development and Management, M.S.A.
*Applied Aviation Safety, M.S.A.

College of Business

The College of Business is located in the School of Business Building in south side of the Melbourne main campus. COB offers both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration, and bachelor’s degrees in accounting, business and environmental studies, and management information systems. An accounting track in the M.B.A. program is offered for individuals who have completed a four-year degree in accounting and require additional credits to be able to qualify for the CPA exam in Florida, or to receive reciprocal licensure in Florida from another state.

College of Engineering

The College of Engineering (COE) is located at the F. W. Olin Engineering Complex in the Florida Institute of Technology main campus, Melbourne, Florida. COE is the largest college in Florida Tech, enrolling approximately 1660 students students. College of Engineering is currently accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools as well as the Engineering Accreditation Council of the ABET.

COE is the oldest college on campus, as the intent to found Brevard Engineering College, the former name of Florida Institute of Technology, in 1958 was geared towards the engineering field for NASA professionals working and researching in Kennedy Space Center. Recently, U.S. News & World Report listed Florida Institute of Technology's College of Engineering amongst their "America's Best Graduate Schools 2008". [ [http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/grad/directory/dir-eng/brief/glanc_02043_brief.php USNews.com: America's Best Graduate Schools 2008: Florida Institute of Technology (Engineering): At a glance ] ] "Fiske Guide to Colleges" 2002 ~ 2004 named Florida Tech one of the top 14 technical institutions for engineering.

Operations and Research Funding

The US National Science Foundation reports that Florida Institute of Technology ranks 286 of 601 national institutions in research and development expenditures and ranks 306 out of 1243 institutions that received federal science and engineering obligations. [ [http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/profiles/institu.cfm?fice=1469 US NSF - Academic Institutional Profiles - Florida Institute of Technology ] ]

In 2005, $7.7 million was spent to purchase and upgrade equipment. Research funding for 2006 amounted to approximately $2.5 million for the National Center for Small Business Information (NCSBI) as well as the Florida Tech Hydrogen Research Center. The US National Science Foundation also granted Florida Tech $1.5 million for research equipment as well.

Operations and Research Facilities

COE has received many facilities upgrades, including the establishment of the F. W. Olin Engineering Complex, which allowed engineering courses and laboratories to be moved out of the Crawford Science Tower and the DMES Link building. Olin Engineering Complex (OEC) is a convert|65000|sqft|m2|sing=on building with 26 specialized research laboratories.

Olin Engineering Complex, along with existing Frueauff Building (F), DMES Link Building (LNK), and other off-campus facilities, the College of Engineering has 25 research institutes and major research laboratories:
*Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU)
*Institute for Biological and Biomedical Sciences (IBBS)
*Institute for Computing and Information Systems (ICIS)
*Institute for Energy Systems (IES)
*Institute for Materials Science and Nanotechnology (IMSN)
*Institute for Marine Research (IMR)
*Center for Applied Business Research (CABR)
*Center for Corrosion and Biofouling Control (CCBC)
*Center for Distance Learning (CDL)
*Center for High Resolution Microscopy and Imaging (CHRMI)
*Center for Remote Sensing (CRS)
*Center for Software Testing Education and Research (CSTER)
*Dynamic Systems and Controls Laboratory (DSCL)
*Florida TechStart
*Joint Center for Advance Therapy and Biomedical Research (JCATBR)
*Laser, Optics and Instrumentation Laboratory (LOIL)
*Microelectronics Laboratory
*National Center for Hydrogen Research (NCHR)
*National Center for Small Business Information (NCSBI)
*Robotics and Spatial Systems Laboratory (RASSL)
*Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy (SARA)
*Sportfish Research Institute (SRI)
*Vero Beach Marine Laboratory (VBML)
*Wind and Hurricane Impacts Research Laboratory (WHIRL)
*Wireless Center of Excellence (WiCE)

College of Engineering Departmental Breakdown

COE is headed by Dean, Dr. Thomas D. Waite. Under him, the Associate Dean of Academics, Dr. Edward H. Kalajian, the seven individual department heads, and Stephanie Hopper, Director of Laboratories.

Department of Chemical Engineering

The Department of Chemical Engineering (Department Prefix: CHE) specializes removing pollutants in water, development of materials simulation algorithms, process control, and development of hydrogen storage materials. The department heads the Florida Tech Center for Hydrogen Research. The department was mentioned by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers as "one of the most awarded Chemical Engineering student bodies in the Nation." [ [http://coe.fit.edu/chemical/about.html Florida Institute of Technology ] ]

The department emphasizes in environmental engineering, materials science and engineering, as well as partnering with the College of Science in providing a Chemistry/Chemical Engineering dual degree program.

The department offers B.Sc., [http://www.fit.edu/ugrad/documents/ChemEng.pdf] M.Sc. and Ph.D. programs. [http://www.fit.edu/admission/graduate/prgmpdfs/ChemEng.pdf]

Research

A $900,000 research grant from NASA allowed hydrogen research projects for students including a hydrogen fuel cell powered aircraft. Other undergraduate research projects include spacecraft waste recycling, supercritical fluid processing of hazardous waste, and industrial waste minimization. Other research by faculty and students include membrane separation of gases, scrubber systems for hypergolic fuels and oxidizers, and designing chemical plants for use on the Moon and Mars.

The Chemical Engineering Department also students with opportunities to research in other universities, like the University of South Carolina in the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program [ [http://www.che.sc.edu/centers/reu/Summer%202005.htm Chemical Engineering Home ] ]

Department of Civil Engineering

The Department of Civil Engineering (Department Prefix: CVE) specializes in construction engineering, environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, transportation engineering, and water resources engineering. The department has five full time faculty members and has an excess of $100,000 of research funding per faculty member per year.

The department offers B.Sc., [http://www.fit.edu/ugrad/majors/civil.pdf] M.Sc. [ [http://coe.fit.edu/civil/masters.html Florida Institute of Technology ] ] and Ph.D. programs. [ [http://coe.fit.edu/civil/doctorate.html Florida Institute of Technology ] ]

Research

The Florida Institute of Technology Concrete Canoe Team, a senior design project annually for Civil Engineering students, won 1st Place in the Concrete Canoe Team Challenge in 1997, along with 3rd Place in 2000 and 4th Place in 1998. Competitors range nationwide from UC Berkeley, University of Maryland, SUNY Buffalo, Clemson University, and many others. [ [http://www.ces.clemson.edu/~canoe/main/pastwin.html ASCE CCC Hosts and Winners 1988-98 ] ]

Other research and projects include the development of a seismic shake table, testing scaled building models under earthquake by controlled seismic vibrations, wind tunnel testing of emergency vehicles, development of fiber-optic sensors to measure pore water pressures, behavior of steel anchors in high-strength concrete, development of instrumentation to measure wind forces, and other research areas. [ [http://coe.fit.edu/civil/randd.htm Florida Institute of Technology ] ]

Department of Computer Sciences

The Department of Computer Sciences (Department Prefix: CSE)

The department offers B.Sc. in Computer Science, Information Systems, and Software Engineering,http://cs.fit.edu/Admissions/2_Undergrad/1_CSBrochure.pdf] M.Sc. in Computer Science and Software Engineering and Ph.D. in Computer Science.

Research

Research topics include [http://olin.fit.edu/beowulf/ The Beowulf Project] , a National Science Foundation project, artificial intelligence, bioinformatics, computer vision, speech recognition, network security, cryptography, database systems, malicious code, software testing and other research areas.

Research funding provided by major corporations and organizations like BMW, DARPA, Harris Corporation, ISM, Microsoft, NASA, Rational Software, Texas Instruments, and others.

= Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering =

The Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering (Department Prefix: ECE) focuses on physical electronics, information processing, wireless communications, firewall design. Computer Engineering majors focus on transistors and gates through progression of embedded controllers, math and science fundamentals and applications, computer architecture, and concurrent programming techniques. Electrical Engineering majors focus on transistors and gates through communications control, electromagnetic, computer and photonic systems, hardware systems, software simulation and analysis. The department has 12 faculty members.

The department offers B.Sc., [http://www.fit.edu/ugrad/documents/CompElecEng.pdf] M.Sc., and Ph.D. in Computer Engineering [http://www.fit.edu/admission/graduate/prgmpdfs/CompEng.pdf] and Electrical Engineering. [http://www.fit.edu/admission/graduate/prgmpdfs/ElecEngr.pdf]

Research

Research is being performed in the Information Processing Laboratory (IPL), Antenna Systems Laboratory (ASL), STADIUM, fiber-optic sensors, laser radar, remote sensing, laser scanning, and VLSI design.

Department of Engineering Systems

The Department of Engineering Systems (Department Prefix: ENS; ENM for Engineering Management; SYS for Systems Engineering) is a graduate department focusing on their Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree programs in Systems Engineering and Engineering Management. The department has a masters program in systems engineering on-site at Northrop Grumman as well as Harris Corporation in Melbourne, Florida. ENS currently has five core faculty members at the main campus.

Research

The department focuses their research on statistical analysis of optics and optical systems, simulation and modeling, management science/operations research, reliability modeling, entrepreneurship and product development.

Current research projects focus on evaluation of high quality processes and risk management as well as adaptive optical systems.

Department of Marine and Environmental Systems

The Department of Marine and Environmental Systems (DMES) is split into four main academic areas, Ocean Engineering (Department Prefix: OCE), Oceanography (Department Prefix: OCN), Environmental Systems (ENS), and Meteorology (Department Prefix: MET). DMES's programs include Coastal Zone Management, Environmental Sciences, Marine Sciences, Meteorology, Ocean Engineering, Oceanography, and Environmental Resource Management.

Florida Tech is ranked 4th in the nation for its Ocean Engineering program by the "Gourman Report".

The department offers B.Sc. in Environmental Science, Meteorology, Ocean Engineering, and Oceanography, M.Sc. in Environmental Resource Management, Ocean Engineering and Oceanography (specializing in Biological, Chemical, Coastal Zone Management, Geological, or Physical) and Ph.D. in Environmental Science, Ocean Engineering, and Oceanography.

Research

Florida Tech is affiliated with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). [ [http://www.ucar.edu/governance/aap/aap_univ.shtml List of Academic Affiliate Universities ] ] UCAR researches on topics relating to climate, meteorology, weather, societal impacts, pollution and air chemistry, as well as sun/space weather. [ [http://www.ncar.ucar.edu/research/ NCAR Research: Climate, Meteorology, Societal Impacts, Pollution/Air Chemistry, Earth System, Sun & Space Weather ] ]

= Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering =

The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (Department Prefix: MAE) is the largest department at Florida Tech. In the past five years, mechanical engineering and aerospace engineering have dominated the top three majors students enroll. The department focuses on robotics and spatial systems, dynamic systems and control, structures and solid mechanics, fluids and aerodynamics, laser, optics, and instrumentation, computational modeling, thermal systems and clean energy, and propulsion. The department is headed by Dr. Pei-feng Hsu, and there are 15 full-time faculty members, as well as several part-time/adjunct professors.

In the mechanical engineering field, students research in different fields of mechanical engineering, including automotive design (SAE), robotics, machinery design, automated manufacturing, mechanisms, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, mechanics of materials, solids modeling, heat transfer, computer aided engineering, and others.

In the aerospace engineering field, student research in rocket design, aerodynamics, fluid mechanics, aerospace structures, propulsion, and others.

Freshmen students work on a freshman design project annually. Aerospace engineering students start a junior design course to prepare for their senior design projects, along with the mechanical engineering students.

The department offers B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering as well as Aerospace Engineering. [ [http://coe.fit.edu/mae/programs/index.html Florida Institute of Technology ] ]

Research

MAE has eight active research laboratories: Fluids and Aerodynamics Lab, Thermal Sciences Lab, Structure and Solid Mechanics Lab, Computer-Aided Engineering Labs, Robotics and Spatial Systems Laboratory, Dynamic Systems and Controls Lab, Computational Modeling Lab, and Laser Optics and Instrumentation Lab. [ [http://coe.fit.edu/mae/labs/index.html Florida Institute of Technology ] ]

Senior design projects from MAE ranged from working with the National Center for Hydrogen Research to design and outfit a gas-powered glider with a hydrogen fuel cell system, the SAE Mini-Baja car, F1, electrical underwater research oriented preliminary aircraft (EUROPA), micro unmanned aircraft vehicle (MUAV2), supersonic experimental and recoverable rocket assembly (SERRA), and versatile exploratory robotic tile-rotor for information gathering operations (VERTIGO) [ [http://coe.fit.edu/mae/projects/index.html Florida Institute of Technology ] ]

= College of Engineering Degree Programs Summary=

COE offers 12 Bachelors of Science (B.Sc.) degree programs in
*Aerospace Engineering
*Chemical Engineering
*Civil Engineering
*Computer Engineering
*Computer Science
*Electrical Engineering
*Environmental Science
*Mechanical Engineering
*Meteorology
*Ocean Engineering
*Oceanography
*Software Engineering
*Undergraduate minor program in Computer Sciences

COE offers Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree programs in
*Aerospace Engineering
*Chemical Engineering
*Civil Engineering
*Computer Engineering
*Computer Science
*Electrical Engineering
*Engineering Management
*Environmental Resource Management
*Environmental Science
*Mechanical Engineering
*Meteorology
*Ocean Engineering
*Oceanography
**Biological
**Chemical
**Coastal Zone Management
**Geological
**Physical
*Software Engineering
*Systems Engineering

COE also offers 10 Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree programs in
*Aerospace Engineering
*Chemical Engineering
*Civil Engineering
*Computer Engineering
*Computer Science
*Electrical Engineering
*Environmental Science
*Mechanical Engineering
*Ocean Engineering
*Oceanography

College of Psychology and Liberal Arts

The School of Psychology offers bachelor’s degrees in psychology and forensic psychology, master’s degrees in applied behavior analysis and industrial/organizational psychology, and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology and industrial/organizational psychology.

College of Science

The College of Science (COS) is located at the F. W. Olin Physical Sciences Building as well as the Crawford Science Tower in the Florida Institute of Technology main campus, Melbourne, Florida. COS is the second largest college in the Melbourne main campus, consisting of approximately 680 students. College of Science is currently accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Operations and Research Funding

Operations and Research Facilities

The F. W. Olin Physical Sciences (OPS) Building houses the COS Dean's Office, Department of Chemistry, and the Department of Physics and Space Sciences. OPS supports several COS programs, including astronomy & astrophysics, atmospheric sciences, condensed matter physics, geospace physics, high energy physics, computational physics, bio-organic chemistry, polymer chemistry, medicinal chemistry, environmental chemistry, and molecular spectroscopy. [ [http://cos.fit.edu/olinPS.html Florida Institute of Technology ] ]

The F. W. Olin Life Sciences Building, along with aquaculture laboratories in Simcox Square houses most of the Biological Sciences offices, laboratories and

Geospace Physics Laboratory, headed by Associate Dean and Professor of Physics and Space Sciences Hamid K. Rassoul, [ [http://cos.fit.edu/staff.html Florida Institute of Technology ] ] GPL

College of Science Departmental Breakdown

Department of Biological Sciences

The Department of Biological Sciences (Department Prefix: BIO)

Research

Department of Chemistry

Research

Department of Mathematical Sciences

Research

Department of Physics and Space Sciences

Research

Florida Tech's Physics and Space Sciences Department is affiliated with the Florida Space Institute [ [http://www.fsi.ucf.edu/ Florida Space Institute ] ]

Department of Mathematics and Science Education

Research

= College of Science Degree Programs Summary=

COS offers 25 Bachelors of Science (B.Sc.) degree programs in
*Biochemistry
*Biological Sciences, Aquaculture
*Biological Sciences, Ecology
*Biological Sciences, General
*Biological Sciences, Marine Biology
*Biological Sciences, Molecular Biology
*Biological Sciences, Pre-Med
*Chemistry, Chemical Management
*Chemistry, General
*Chemistry, Pre-Med
*Chemistry, Research
*Interdisciplinary Science
*Mathematics, Applied
*Math Education
*Physics
*Physics, Pre-Med
*Science Education, Biology
*Science Education, Chemistry
*Science Education
*Science Education, Earth/Space Sciences
*Science Education, General Science
*Science Education, Physics
*Space Sciences
*Space Sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics

University College

The School of Extended Graduate Studies began in August 1972 as “Off-Campus Programs,” when 42 students enrolled in a master’s degree program in Electrical Engineering at the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland. Today master’s degree programs are offered at 10 graduate centers in five states. Curricula and course content are tailored to meet the needs of the students and their employers, while maintaining the highest possible academic quality and integrity. Class times and locations are selected for the convenience of the students. Since 1972, nearly 15,000 Florida Tech master’s degrees have been conferred on off-campus candidates.

References