uring the six months after the tragic events of September 11, the College of Engineering, like many other organizations, has been analyzing how best to respond to the changed world we now live in. In particular we have been considering how to best use our particular strengths, especially in research, to address our national interests of security at home and abroad. Several initiatives along these lines are currently being developed, but it is premature to discuss these at this time. However, the College has had underway a number of activities that are related to the issue of security and are likely to become increasingly important.

Because of the tremendous interest in this topic, we would like to describe several of these activities.

Our lead story, "Protective Measures," discusses three of these undertakings. We begin by describing the development of a Micro Integrated Flow Cytometer, which can potentially serve as an early-warning device against toxic agents, including substances such as anthrax. The second effort focuses on the development of a telescope, known as EV-3M for Earth View-Third Millennium, that can image the Earth's surface to a resolution of one foot or less -- from Earth orbit. The third effort has resulted in a computer program, called Antigone, which has the potential of protecting information as it's shared over computer networks -- clearly an area of vital concern to the security of the Internet.

Other research of note is described in the article "A Finely Tuned Instrument," which describes the development of the Fast-Imaging Plasma Spectrometer. This powerful yet extremely lightweight, inexpensive instrument can measure changes in high-energy electromagnetic radiation and has potential applications in a number of areas related to weather and shipping. The article "3-D Position-Sensitive Gamma-Ray Spectrometers" describes the College's ongoing work to measure the wavelengths and energies of gamma rays -- an ability that was once a mere curiosity, and a costly one at that.

However, our researchers have built a prototype instrument that's efficient, practical, has important applications in medical imaging and -- because it will soon become a hand-held instrument -- could be a monumental step forward for military and civilian incidents in which radiation is an issue.

This issue of Michigan Engineer also recounts a number of events that are a source of great pride for the College but are unrelated to security. Among these are the expansion of the College's graduate degree offerings to include a Master of Engineering in Integrated Microsystems, an interdisciplinary program that gives students the opportunity to acquire a deep understanding of Wireless Integrated Microsystems, MicroElectroMechanical Systems and a breadth of complementary engineering disciplines.

In summary, this issue of Michigan Engineer is a snapshot of the resolve and the ability of the College to respond not only to the national tragedy of September 11 but also to the continual need to upgrade educational offerings in a changing world. I hope you find these stories interesting as well as illustrative of the fact that the College is, indeed, relevant to the issues of the day. We welcome your feedback.

Sincerely,

Stephen W. Director
Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering