POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY 2005-2007

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY PROFILE
ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
Polytechnic offers the degree Bachelor of
Science in 14 disciplines, covering computer
science, engineering, the physical
sciences, mathematics and liberal arts. The
degree Master of Science is offered in 32
disciplinary specialties. The degree Master
of Engineering in Interdisciplinary Studies
in Engineering is offered with different
concentrations, including Wireless
Innovation. The degree Doctor of
Philosophy is offered in eight disciplines.
Bachelor of Science programs prepare
students for entry-level employment in the
various professional disciplines, as well as
for study at an advanced level. Master of
Science programs are oriented towards
professional development in the subject
area and can be arranged to provide the core
coursework for PhD study. The PhD is the
terminal research degree for those seeking
careers in industrial or academic
research. It requires an independent research
dissertation that advances the state-of-theart
in the discipline of study. Details of
academic degree requirements and detailed
program descriptions are given in Part 3 of
this catalog.
ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS
University Faculty is grouped into academic
departments for administrative purposes.
Each degree program is planned
and administered by the faculty of a department
(or in some cases by faculty from
collaborating departments). Instructional
laboratories and some research laboratories
are also managed by academic departments.
Part 2 of this catalog contains descriptions
of the faculty and facilities of the following
nine academic departments, as well
as identification of the degrees that each
department supervises.
• Chemical and Biological Sciences
and Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Computer and Information Science
• Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Humanities and Social Sciences
• Introductory Design and Science
• Management
• Mathematics
• Mechanical, Aerospace and
Manufacturing Engineering
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
AND CENTERS
Polytechnic University offers major programs
in experimental, theoretical and
applied research, leading to significant contributions
in the advancement of many
areas of technology. Members of the
Polytechnic faculty have been and continue
to be among the world’s leaders in
such diverse areas as electromagnetics and
wave propagation, wireless communications,
telecommunications, polymer chemistry
and engineering, condensed matter
and plasma physics, chemical and electronic
imaging, materials science and engineering,
transportation and traffic
engineering, geotechnical engineering and
software engineering and development.
In 2005, Polytechnic University conducted
over $12 million of sponsored
research under contracts and grants, of
which 64 percent were funded by the federal
and state governments and 36 percent
by private industry. Over 75 faculty members
were involved in these efforts, which
also provided support for over 80 research
fellows. Research at Polytechnic is conducted
either through academic department
structures, or through one of the major
interdisciplinary research centers.
Many of these research centers sponsor
education efforts in areas related to their
research mission. CATT developed two
executive-format MS programs offered
jointly by the Departments of Management,
Electrical and Computer Engineering and
Computer and Information Science. The
Polymer Research Institute and the
Transportation Research Institute sponsor
colloquia and/or continuing education programs
as well. Significant research efforts
also occur outside these centers within academic
departments. The Department of
Civil Engineering has developed a strong
base in infrastructure research and the
Othmer Department of Chemical and
Biological Sciences and Engineering has a
number of efforts not related to polymers
that are administered in the department.
CENTER FOR ADVANCED
TECHNOLOGY IN
TELECOMMUNICATIONS (CATT)
The Center for Advanced Technology in
Telecommunications (CATT) was created
in 1983 as one of New York State’s four
original Centers for Advanced Technology.
CATT focuses on research and technology
transfer in the areas of telecommunications
and distributed information systems.
CATT houses 30 experts, who work in
cooperation with telecommunicationprovider
and telecommunication-user businesses
in the areas of networking,
distributed information systems, imaging
and wireless communications. More information
on CATT is available at
http://catt.poly.edu.
CENTER FOR CONSTRUCTION
MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY
(CCMT)
The primary mission of the Center for
Construction Management Technology
(CCMT) is to develop teaching and research
to further develop world-class expertise in
Fully-Integrated and Automated Project
Process (FIAPP), and to promote the applications
of FIAPP to building, process and
infrastructure construction projects in the
New York region and beyond. This mission
is one which fully aligns both with
Polytechnic’s past—as a technological
University which has been providing engineering
education for nearly 150 years,
and with its future—as an institution with
a new strategic plan that calls for greater
interdependence with industry. Real-world
construction projects are central components
of both education and research at the
CCMT. For both undergraduate and graduate
courses, actual New York City construction
projects will serve as a test bed,
with students engaged in case studies that
allow them to plan for the production,
scheduling and managing of the projects.
Research, too, will focus closely on actual
New York area projects, the overall aim
being to solve integration and automation
problems in particular practical contexts.
The full integration of actual construction
projects into the work of the CCMT serves
two purposes: it provides a richer learning
and research environment, and it accelerates
industry adoption of FIAPP by demonstrating
its effectiveness in real contexts.
A MS in Construction Management
draws part-time and full-time students,
nationally and internationally. A summersemester
Construction Executive Institute
consists of a two-week intensive course in
international construction management.
There are currently about a half-dozen PhD
candidates affiliated with the CCMT.
Research centers on a cluster of projects
relating to FIAPP, three-dimensional
Computer Aided Design (CAD) and fourdimensional
CAD (3D + time).
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