“Justin Solomon Takes the Educational Wheel as Associate Dean of Engineering – Yes, You Engineered That Right!”
“Justin Solomon appointed associate dean of engineering education”
“Justin Solomon, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science, has been appointed associate dean for engineering education innovation in the School of Engineering, effective July 1.” The tart and sarcastic side of us simply can’t resist saying, “Well, isn’t that special? Another big Edison snagging an impressive title and stepping into the spotlight. Congratulations, Mr. Solomon, you’ve officially been crowned the “Innovation King” of the School of Engineering at MIT.
Making his grand entrance on July 1st, Solomon will don his cape— rather, his mantle of responsibility in leading the enhancement and innovation of undergraduate and graduate education. Now, while it’s all fine and dandy to get excited over the monumental strides he’s expected to make in these areas, let’s not forget the key word here – innovation. ‘Innovation’ can easily mean buying all your students the latest iPad Pro models, just because they have the new M1 chip, or changing the old-archaic engineering laboratory to a co-working space complete with white boards on every wall.
Solomon’s also got another feather to his cap: his research in numerical methods and data analysis. So essentially, what we’re saying is this “Innovation King” is not only adept at making everybody sit in smart classrooms and use smart technology, but he’s also surprisingly clever at crunching numbers and making sense out of complex data. Well, as if creating algorithms to eliminate biased hiring wasn’t enough, he now has the power to transform the whole engineering education experience. What more could one want, right?
Don’t jump too fast. He will apparently join a broader community of universities exploring innovative approaches to engineering education, according to the original blurb from MIT. Surely it’s not just to impress adolescent students with high-end tech gadgets, but to implement serious changes that will undoubtedly push the boundaries of engineering education. It sounds like they might actually be getting something right.
So, here’s to Justin Solomon, who’s apparently going to turn the whole education system on its head. From clever algorithms to associate dean, he’s managing to keep himself busy. As long as the ivory tower doesn’t topple, we might actually be onto something good. Keep an eye out folks, exponential change could be on its way.