Posted by Van Arnold on Friday, June 21, 2024 at 9:02 AM
The word “quantum” may come up from time to time in discussions of engineering, and it’s perhaps an apt word to describe the University of Southern Mississippi’s (USM) leap in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Engineering Schools – Graduate Rankings” released this week.
USM was ranked 199th in the 2024 rankings, but will rise 58 places to 141st in 2025. In terms of its ranking methodology, US News gives 25% weight to reputation, 30% to research funding, and 50% to research impact.
Dr. Derek Patton, director of USM’s Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, said the leap is a testament to the exceptional quality and impact of the school’s programs.
“This is recognition of the hard work, dedication and excellence of our faculty, students and staff,” Patton said. “This ranking highlights the dedication of our pioneering faculty to providing an excellent graduate education, fostering cutting-edge research opportunities and enabling graduate students to make significant contributions to the field of polymer science and engineering.”
Patton added, “This accreditation enhances our ability to attract and retain top talent for our faculty and to recruit students into degree programs, including doctorates and ABET-accredited undergraduate programs.”
Patton attributes the significant improvement in the U.S. News rankings to several factors. In addition to the hard work and tireless dedication of faculty and students, he highlights the faculty's innovative research, high-quality publications and significant research funding as major contributors to the latest ranking.
“Our strategic focus on interdisciplinary collaborations and partnerships has increased the impact and visibility of our research,” Patton said. “This is particularly remarkable since the Department of Polymer Science and Engineering has achieved this with a relatively small number of research-active faculty members compared to larger engineering schools. This success highlights the incredible talent and dedication of our department and is a collective achievement of which we should all be proud.”
USM Graduate School Dean Dr. Katie Anthony said 65 graduate students have enrolled in the polymer science and engineering doctoral program for the 2023-24 academic year. Three students in the middle of completing their master's degrees and three students in the middle of completing their doctoral degrees in polymer science/engineering were awarded in fall 2023. This spring, five students in the middle of completing their master's degrees and five students in the middle of completing their doctoral degrees were awarded.
“I am pleased that the graduate program in the School of Polymer Science and Engineering has received this well-deserved recognition,” Anthony said. “Our faculty are exemplary in both their research activities and their mentoring of students. Our graduate students are extremely active in their research and have been very successful in all of the professional development award opportunities the Graduate School offers.”
Patton emphasized that the school's ongoing research addresses complex, societally significant questions and often requires collaboration across multiple disciplines.
“This research has far-reaching implications for advanced materials, environmental sustainability and biomedical applications,” Patton said.
Recently, researchers discovered that:
We reported the conversion of waste plastics into advanced carbon-based materials for innovative water purification, carbon capture and electrification initiatives; We designed degradable polymers that enable the production of sustainable polymer composites with end-of-life strategies that allow recovery and reuse of used blocks; We created high-performance materials to help protect soldiers; We developed composites and processes that will enable advances in next-generation urban aviation mobility; We expanded the range of conductive polymer materials that can be used in wearable organic electronic devices; We demonstrated the feasibility of preparing sugar-based polymers that target interactions with biomolecules for applications in the biomedical field.
“These projects underscore our commitment to advancing scientific innovation and contributing to a sustainable, healthier future,” Patton said.
See the complete rankings.
For more information about USM's Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, call 601.266.4868.
