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Review of IGERT Multidisciplinary Program in Wind Science and Engineering
Achievement/Results
The IGERT Multidisciplinary PhD program in Wind Science and Engineering was reviewed by the Graduate School of Texas Tech University during April 2009. The panel of four reviewers included an external reviewer from the University of Washington and three graduate faculty members from unaffiliated departments. The report from the external reviewer was received in mid-May 2009, and included many accomplishments of the program as compared to other academic institutions. Our multidisciplinary program was said to be recognized in the international research community and well known nationally as the only doctoral program in Wind Science and Engineering.
The degree program was assessed on several characteristics: quality and effectiveness of the program, quality of faculty, quality and quantity of graduate students and graduates, curriculum offerings and program options, as well as adequacy of physical facilities. The quality and effectiveness of the degree program was judged to be very good based on the facts that our program is very unique with no other comparable program in the nation. Also, our students were valued as excellent in terms of scholarship and enthusiasm for scientific and engineering research. The students who have completed the program have also found gainful employment in academia and industry.
Quality of the program faculty members was valued as excellent. The report cited the faculty as being comprised of highly regarded scientists in their fields who research and publish at rates that are comparable to peer academic institutions. The faculty was regarded with making significant contributions to the wind science and engineering program through their hardworking efforts.
The quantity and quality of graduate students and graduates was rated as excellent. Factors that contributed to the excellent rating included the large amount of diversity present in our cohort groups, the team-based learning approach seen throughout the program, and our program’s student recruitment and retention is very high. The intellectual atmosphere was judged to be very good and the students were seen as very optimistic and enthusiastic about their futures after the doctoral program.
The program’s curriculum offerings and program options were seen as very good. The degree requirements are sufficiently thorough and the students are given a high degree of freedom in choosing their main focus area of study. Qualifying exam procedures and requirements were on par with other universities, and the program offers considerably more breadth of study than other multidisciplinary programs.
Facilities and resources were rated as excellent due to the field site’s use for research. The equipment used in the field includes a 200m instrumented tower, a wind-driven water desalination plant, 56 station Mesonet, SODAR, SMART-R Mobile Radar, debris impact facility, Ka-Band Radar Truck, and a Boundary Layer profiler.
Overall, the program’s review rating was very good.
Address Goals
This IGERT Program review addresses several goals. First, the review provides the program with due diligence in order to improve the scholastic efforts of the doctoral degree for the future. With the helpful suggestions from the review, our program will be sure to expand the depth and breadth of the curriculum, as well as continuing our efforts in recruiting students from underrepresented groups. Secondly, the external review provides the program with information as how to increase our areas of emphasis, such as wind energy. Our current administrators are in the process of developing an undergraduate wind energy degree program. This future program will establish the university, our wind science and engineering research center, and our nation as a global leader in wind energy education.
