30 September 2014 - The Philippine Consulate General in New York helped open a possible cooperation arrangement between the University of the Philippines College of Engineering and the New Jersey-based Rowan University.
In a meeting that the Consulate General was able to set up between Dean Aura Matias of UP College of Engineering and high ranking officials of Rowan University on August 28, the two sides agreed to explore cooperation in biomedical engineering and disaster risk management. They also looked into possible exchange of faculty and graduate students as well as collaboration on curriculum development, research and thesis direction.
Dean Matias, who was in New Jersey at that time to meet with a group of UP engineering alumni, met with Rowan University’s President Dr. Ali Houshmand, Board of Trustees Member Lita Abele, Provost & Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. James Newell, Dean for the College of Engineering Dr. Anthony Lowman, and International Center Director Mr. Timothy Torre.
Deputy Consul General Zaldy Patron arranged the meeting and accompanied Dean Matias.
Rowan University, a public university based in Glassboro, New Jersey, is recognized for its engineering and medical science programs. Its College of Engineering is nationally ranked in the US and it has existing technology partnership with Lockheed Martin to develop radar system applications in support of national defense. It is one of the few US universities that own two medical schools, namely Cooper Medical School and School of Osteopathic Medicine, and became only the second university in the US to offer both an M.D. and a D.O. program. Rowan also has partnership with large pharmaceutical companies in New Jersey.
Prior to the visit of Dean Matias to Rowan University, Consul General Mario De Leon, Jr. and Deputy Consul General Patron had already met with Dr. Houshmand and other officials last June 10 to discuss Rowan’s interest in forging partnership with Philippine universities.
Dean Matias was given a tour of the university’s Virtual Reality Laboratory which uses 3D technology for advanced modeling and simulation. She was shown a demonstration of the laboratory’s Floodwater Simulations program, which is used to model rainwater runoff and project the effectiveness of flood mitigation projects. The technology can be utilized for flood control projects and early warning systems in key cities like Metro Manila.
Consul General De Leon expressed hope that the UP College of Engineering and Rowan University would be able to come up with a formal cooperation agreement and implement concrete joint projects in the near future. END