The College of Engineering, Physics, and Computing at Catholic University

09/03/2026

We are pleased to share wonderful news from the College of Engineering, Physics, and Computing at The Catholic University of America!

Following our recent ABET review:

Our Environmental Engineering (Bachelor of Science) program has earned initial accreditation by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET.

Our Biomedical Engineering (Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering), Civil Engineering (Bachelor of Civil Engineering), Electrical Engineering (Bachelor of Electrical Engineering), and Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering) programs are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET.

Our Computer Science (Bachelor of Science in Computer Science) program is accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission (CAC) of ABET.

“This is an important milestone for our Environmental Engineering program and an excellent outcome for all six programs,” said Dean J. Steve Brown. “I am deeply grateful to our faculty and staff for their extraordinary commitment to our students and to the ongoing work of assessment and continuous improvement that supports strong academic programs. I am equally grateful to our students, whose hard work, engagement, and accomplishments are at the heart of what we do.”

This outcome reflects our continuing commitment to academic excellence and to preparing our students to contribute meaningfully to their professions and society.

We are grateful to our dedicated faculty, staff, students, alumni, and board members who support our programs every day.

Learn more about ABET accreditation and our accredited programs: https://engineering.catholic.edu/about-us/accreditation/index.html

09/01/2026

A new home for AI education and research at Catholic University

The Department of Computer Science at The Catholic University of America has launched a new AI Innovation Lab in Pangborn Hall, providing students and faculty with advanced computing resources to support education and research in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science.

The lab features 10 high-performance Linux workstations equipped with NVIDIA GPUs, along with modern teaching and collaboration technology. These resources will support undergraduate and graduate courses, senior design projects, master’s and doctoral research, faculty research, and interdisciplinary collaboration across the University.

The new facility represents an important investment in the future of AI education and research at Catholic University, giving students and faculty the tools to explore emerging technologies and tackle real-world challenges.

Read the full story: https://engineering.catholic.edu/news-and-events/2026/09/computer-science-department-launches-new-ai-innovation-lab.html

08/31/2026

A new academic year begins. ✨

Today marks the first day of classes for the 2026–27 academic year, and the College of Engineering, Physics, and Computing is excited to welcome our newest students and returning Cardinals.

A new year brings new questions, opportunities to learn, and challenges to solve. We look forward to seeing our students take on hands-on projects, build meaningful collaborations, develop innovative solutions, and achieve milestones along the way.

To all our students, faculty, and staff: welcome to a new year. Here’s to curiosity, creativity, and meaningful impact. 🚀

08/28/2026

Introducing the College of Engineering, Physics, and Computing Class of 2030!

Over the next four years, these students will begin an incredible journey—mastering the fundamentals of engineering, physics, and computing, exploring the frontiers of research, and diving into transformative fields like artificial intelligence.

They’ll learn alongside top researchers, collaborate with peers, and thrive in a dynamic, supportive academic community. As they grow, they’ll also develop into leaders and independent thinkers—ready to make bold decisions and create meaningful change in the world.

At Catholic University, education is never only about technical mastery—it is about the development of the whole person. Rooted in the Catholic intellectual tradition, our formation unites faith and reason, cultivating not only knowledge but also wisdom. We believe students are called to recognize their dignity as persons created in the image of God and to place their gifts in service to the common good.

Beyond the classroom, our students will enrich their journey through athletics, student organizations, faith-based communities, and service opportunities that form them as generous, responsible, and faithful leaders.

The next four years will be challenging, inspiring, and rewarding—and we can’t wait to see all that the Class of 2030 will achieve!

08/21/2026

This summer, two local high school students in the Da Vinci Scholars Program, Andy Wu and Vasisht Perivill, gained hands-on research experience working with Dr. Jeffrey Herrmann, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, in the Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Engineering and Research (LASER) in Pangborn Hall.

As part of their summer research experience, Andy and Vasisht explored the performance of a Leo Rover mobile ground robot as it completed tasks needed for autonomously searching the laboratory for specific objects. Their work focused on improving the understanding and performance of robotic systems operating on resource-constrained hardware.

Vasisht Perivill developed a program that runs a ROS2 node to process images from a ZED stereo camera, detect orange cones and tennis balls, and estimate their locations using depth information from the camera. He also conducted experiments to evaluate the accuracy of his algorithm’s location estimates.

Andy Wu collected and analyzed data on CPU utilization and memory usage across the robot’s two onboard computers—a Raspberry Pi and a Jetson Nano Orin—as the robot moved around the lab and searched for objects. He also developed a program that uses a two-dimensional map to generate a space-filling path, allowing the robot to systematically explore the entire laboratory during its search.

Through this research experience, Andy and Vasisht contributed to Dr. Herrmann’s ongoing efforts to characterize and optimize computational performance in mobile robot autonomy systems. They also strengthened their research, programming, and engineering design skills—preparing them for future academic and professional opportunities.

The College of Engineering, Physics, and Computing is proud to support the next generation of innovators!

08/19/2026

Earlier this summer, the Department of Physics at The Catholic University of America, in collaboration with the Vitreous State Laboratory, welcomed undergraduate students to campus for its Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates Program in Physics.

Supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program, the 10-week program gives participants the opportunity to conduct hands-on research alongside internationally renowned physicists.

This year’s students participated in a range of exciting research projects, including the application of data science algorithms to physics. Research areas included nuclear physics, condensed matter physics, materials physics, single-molecule biophysics, physics instrumentation and technology, and computational physics.

The program was led by Ordinary Professor Tanja Horn and Assistant Professor Carlos Yero of the Department of Physics, with additional mentorship from faculty and researchers within the Department.

Learn more about this exciting research program: https://sites.google.com/cua.edu/cua-physreu/home?authuser=0

Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (REU) In Physics at The Catholic University of America

08/17/2026

This summer, Nathan Arega, a senior at Poolesville High School and participant in the Da Vinci Scholars Program, and Saliha Kavafoglu, an electrical engineering student at Yale University serving as a summer intern, gained hands-on research experience working with Dr. Charles Nguyen, Ordinary Professor of Electrical Engineering in the College of Engineering, Physics, and Computing.

With mentorship from Dr. Nguyen and Jessica Ngo, a doctoral candidate in Biomedical Engineering at The Catholic University America, Nathan and Saliha revived an inactive robotic manipulator system by integrating its hardware and software components, bringing new life to a robotic platform housed in Pangborn Hall.

Originally developed as a prototype to investigate in-space robotic operations, the system was designed to support research on robotic solutions for spacecraft maintenance and repair, including NASA applications involving the International Space Station and satellites.

Beyond aerospace research, these manipulators have potential applications where high stiffness and precision are important. These include high-precision assembly, medical and surgical robotics, motion simulation, and advanced manufacturing.

Their work has created new opportunities for robotics research and hands-on learning, enabling future students and researchers to continue exploring innovative robotic technologies.

Congratulations to Nathan and Saliha for their outstanding contributions to this research project and for advancing innovation in robotics!

Learn more: https://www.catholic.edu/all-stories/students-revive-robotic-arm-considered-nasa-build-international-space-station

08/07/2026

Dr. Minhee Jun, Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, presented her latest research at the 3rd International Conference on AI Sensors and Transducers (AIS 2026), held on August 6, 2026, in Jeju, South Korea.

AIS 2026 brought together more than 500 scientists, engineers, and AI researchers to explore emerging advancements at the intersection of sensors, sensing technologies, transducers, and artificial intelligence.

Dr. Jun’s oral presentation, “State-Centric Sensing: Toward Physical AI with AIoT and Human Demonstrations,” was featured in the Cross Data for Sensing Applications session.

Her research presents a vision for next-generation AI-enabled sensing in Physical AI. The work introduces a state-centric sensing framework that integrates human task knowledge with AIoT-based environmental information to maintain compact state representations for digital twins. By transmitting state updates rather than continuous raw sensor streams, this approach enables more scalable, energy-efficient, and trustworthy Physical AI systems.

Dr. Jun is conducting this research through the College of Engineering, Physics, and Computing’s Center for AI Research (CAIR), contributing to advancements in artificial intelligence and intelligent systems.

Explore more about Dr. Jun’s research, the Center for AI Research (CAIR), and AIS 2026:

🔹 Dr. Minhee Jun’s faculty profile:
https://engineering.catholic.edu/research-and-faculty/faculty-profiles/eecs/minhee-jun/index.html

🔹 Center for AI Research (CAIR):
https://sites.google.com/cua.edu/cair/about

🔹 AIS 2026 conference:
https://sciforum.net/event/AIS2026

07/31/2026

From student capstone projects to international research recognition!

We are proud to celebrate three Master of Science in Data Analytics capstone projects that have grown into research papers exploring the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to advance human health.

The research focuses on:

🔹 Skin cancer classification using deep learning
🔹 AI-assisted X-ray analysis
🔹 ICU readmission prediction using machine learning

Congratulations to Vijay Kumar Korra, Aziz Ahmed Syed, and Moses Kiprono for presenting their research at the 2026 Machine Learning in Medical Intelligence (MLMI) conference in Tokyo, Japan, and to all the student team members who contributed to these outstanding capstone projects. Your dedication, perseverance, and commitment to advancing AI for healthcare are inspiring. We also recognize the guidance and mentorship of faculty advisors Dr. Lin-Ching Chang and Dr. Matthew Jacobs, who supported the development of these projects from capstone experiences into impactful research.

Special congratulations to Vijay Kumar Korra, who received the Best Paper Award overall for the conference. We also congratulate Aziz Ahmed Syed, who received the Best Oral Presentation Award in the Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Systems Applications track and the Best Student Paper Award overall.

These achievements demonstrate how hands-on, interdisciplinary capstone projects can evolve into meaningful research with real-world impact. The College is proud of our students' accomplishments and grateful to our faculty mentors for helping cultivate the next generation of data scientists.

Read the full story: https://engineering.catholic.edu/news-and-events/2026/07/student-ai-research-earns-international-recognition.html

07/30/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Tanja Horn and Dr. Dominick Rizk on securing $300,000 in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy through its Genesis Mission: Transforming Science and Energy with AI—a landmark initiative advancing scientific discovery through artificial intelligence.

Their research will develop an AI-driven framework to analyze massive nuclear physics datasets, supporting the next generation of discovery at the DOE's Electron-Ion Collider and advancing AI-enabled scientific research.

Read the full story to learn more about this exciting achievement and its impact. 🔗
https://engineering.catholic.edu/news-and-events/2026/07/faculty-secure-300k-doe-grant-to-advance-ai-driven-scientific-discovery.html

Congratulations to Dr. Tanja Horn and Dr. Dominick Rizk on securing $300,000 in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) through its Genesis Mission: Transforming Science and Energy with AI—a landmark initiative advancing scientific discovery through artificial intelligence. Their research...