College of Science, Engineering and Technology

GCU’s Technology faculty plugged into the fall with two virtual events. The first, “Hacking a Cybersecurity Career Path,” was part of the Provost Speaker Series and connected students with chief information security officers from PetSmart, Choice Hotels International, CSAA Insurance Group and WebPT. Also, Rob Loy, Director of Non-Degree Technology Programs, and Associate Professor Glenda Dilts presented “Teaching an Agile Mindset” at the recent Agile Arizona conference, speaking about the work GCU has done to embed Agile tools and concepts into its programs.

It wasn’t long ago that Christian Clifton and Kylie Shaplin were GCU students listening to lectures, working in the engineering labs and sitting in on career talks. But recently, the alumni — Clifton graduated in 2019 and Shaplin in 2020 — found themselves in an unexpected position. Instead of listening to industry panelists, they WERE the industry panelists at a recent talk by Benchmark engineers, and this time students were listening to them.

Dr. Samantha Russell, Assistant Professor and Electrical Engineering Program Lead for the College of Science, Engineering and Technology, was there right at the start when GCU began its engineering program, and she takes delight in developing students into professionals who will be leaders in that rapidly changing field. Find out what she likes to do in her spare time and the real story behind where she grew up.

Students Inspiring Students received a tremendous boost this year when The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation pledged $500,000 to the full-tuition scholarship program over the next five years. (The first Parsons Scholars are scheduled to be named this month.) It was another important step for a program that isn’t just producing college graduates from GCU’s neighborhood — it’s turning out people who, like the Parsons grant, will make an impact for years to come. Reprinted from the November issue of GCU Magazine.

The pandemic put a damper on clinicals, internships and other real-life experiences for GCU’s pre-health students. But that didn’t stop pre-med/biology junior Alyssa Deyo from creating NERD Hours, which connects students virtually to physicians, medical students and others in the health fields.

When the bachelor of science degree programs in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering earned ABET’s prestigious accreditation this year, the timing was serendipitous for two recent GCU graduates. Edward Lon was hired as a software engineer by Raytheon Missiles & Defense, and Denisse Delos Santos was promoted to the engineer program by SRP. Reprinted from the November issue of GCU Magazine.

The Canyon Challenge will be on livestream only this semester because of the pandemic, but that isn’t the only noticeable change: For the first time, it will feature a high school competition. Also significant is the fact that two of the five GCU finalists are not business majors. It will be available for viewing at 4 p.m. Friday.

Students in grades 7-12 can learn more about science and technology and GCU’s programs in those areas by joining K12 Educational Development’s first MESA (Math Engineering Science Achievement) Virtual STEM Camp. Sessions in the free camp are scheduled for 5-8 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 10 a.m.-noon Saturday.

Several students mentored by Dr. Zachary Zeigler, associate professor in GCU’s College of Science, Engineering and Technology, presented their work at the recent virtual Southwest American College of Sports Medicine Conference. They spoke about weight-gain behaviors during the pandemic and on how college weight gain impacts central blood pressure and arterial stiffness. More than 500 professionals specializing in health, fitness, kinesiology and sports medicine, along with college and club teams, attend the chapter’s meeting annually.

Student researchers under the mentorship of GCU biology professor Dr. Galyna Kufryk presented their work recently at the Boston Bacterial Meeting. Martina Miranda, Chloe Hager and Vianna Mulholland spoke about their research, which centers around increasing the production of hydrogen in cyanobacteria. These organisms produce molecular hydrogen, a type of clean, renewable energy that Kufryk hopes might replace not-so-clean energy sources.