OU Engineering

At the University of Oklahoma, a transformative course called Pathways to Engineering Thinking is leaving a mark on OU students and the community. In the first-year engineering course, over 800 students across 16 sections collaborated to tackle real-world challenges presented by community partners. Their projects ranged from developing prosthetic limbs for injured animals to creating innovative solutions for community gardens and zoos. The course aims to guide students through the engineering design process, emphasizing collaborative teamwork and problem-solving skills.  This semester’s projects reached many areas of the community. Partnerships with the OU Food Pantry, OU Community Garden, Oklahoma City Zoo, OU Engineering K-12 Outreach, a local dog rescue and the City of Norman provided students with real-world challenges to address. Each team delved into issues presented by the partners, working toward delivering functional design solutions by the semester’s end. The heart of the cou

The Gallogly College of Engineering is pleased to announce the appointment of Charles Nicholson as the new director of the Data Science and Analytics Institute. Nicholson, associate professor in the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, brings a wealth of experience and expertise in systems engineering and data science to this leadership role. Nicholson spent over a decade working in industry in the field of data science and analytics before joining academia. During this time, he led multiple efforts and various teams in designing a broad array of analytics solutions for multiple corporations across the nation and internationally.  He earned his Ph.D. in Operations Research from Southern Methodist University and joined OU in 2013.  His research focuses on optimization modeling and machine-learning to enhance communities (e.g., cities, towns) to withstand and recover from disruptive events such as natural hazards and public health threats. In addition to serving the School of In