The Society for Information Management SIM Houston Chapter has awarded $100,000 to be distributed over four years to Houston Baptist University to support the Cyber Engineering Smart Factory project, completed by first-year students in the College of Engineering. All students in Cyber Engineering, Computer Science, and Electrical Engineering complete the two-semester SAFE Lab Engineering and SAFE Lab Cyber courses. Graduates of these programs will help meet the challenge of Securing America’s Future Through Engineering (SAFE).
The award supports SIM’s goal of changing lives by becoming the Houston destination for thought leadership, talent development, and social advocacy. These educational programs in Cyber Engineering, Computer Science, and Electrical Engineering at HBU will enable students to obtain knowledge and skills that are in high demand.
Dr. Stan Napper, dean of the College of Engineering, accepted the first $25,000 gift on behalf of the College during the November SIM Houston CIO Clay Tournament. Dr. Napper expressed gratitude for the support of the Houston SIM Chapter, both financially and personally. “Many members of SIM have already visited our SAFE Lab classlabs and offered advice and encouragement to the faculty and students,” he said.
The Society for Information Management (SIM) is a community of thought leaders who share experiences and rich intellectual capital, and who explore future IT strategies and direction. SIM brings together technology leaders to share knowledge, network and give back to the community. SIM membership includes CIOs, senior IT executives, prominent academicians, consultants, and other technology leaders. The Outreach Committee of the SIM chapter raises funds through fun events and through direct donations to promote STEM programs which encourage and enable students to join and contribute to the information technology profession. The Houston SIM Chapter has awarded more than $500,000 to Houston-area STEM academic programs over the last three years.
The Smart Factory system will accept multiple inputs, in order to control multiple outputs, to maintain signals within desired levels. In the Smart Factory, students will control temperature and water level, build components and systems, and include wireless control and cybersecurity. The security of the inputs, outputs, and components will be considered during design and implementation. This introduces first-year students to the Internet of Things (IoT), and how engineering and computer science can help keep the world of IoT safe and secure.
Mr. George Crawford, president of the SIM Houston Chapter, is on the HBU Engineering Advisory Board and will be a guest speaker to the students in the College on Friday, November 30, as second in the series of “Today’s Leaders in Cyber Engineering.”
The mission of HBU’s College of Engineering is to educate and train engineers who will utilize God-given resources and God-given talents to serve humanity by solving technical challenges efficiently and securely. Our graduates will work to make the world healthier, more productive, and more secure. The vision and strength of the College is to be the best in the world for integrating principles of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), with modern computing and information technology (IT), and with Christian values and standards (Faith).