By Audrey Patterson | Reporter
Baylor’s School of Engineering and Computer Science is celebrating its 27th year as a school.
The school has seen cyber missionaries, had a professor featured in National Geographic and had Baylor researchers create car parts from coconuts, according to the School of Engineering and Computer Science Timeline.
Cindy Fry, senior lecturer in computer science, has been an employee at Baylor since 1997 and a part of the School of Engineering and Computer Science since its beginning. Fry said she thinks the school’s growth has been enormous.
“When I first came to work, there was a department of engineering and a department of computer science,” Fry said. “And department of engineering had two disciplines; it had mechanical and electrical. But again, the growth of the school itself has been fairly amazing.”
Dr. Jill Klentzman, senior lecturer in mechanical engineering, has worked at Baylor since 2014 and has also seen changes in the school.
“There’s been a lot of growth,” Klentzman said. “We have more faculty, and they’ve been pushing more research, so we have more labs in the BRIC, a lot more productivity and grants.”
With the school changing, the individual departments have also been fine-tuning their curriculum over the years.
“Computer science is a pretty dynamic field,” Fry said. “It’s constantly changing. That’s not too surprising when you think about how quickly the discipline has grown since the first computer was built. It’s a new discipline, relatively speaking, but constant change is a characteristic of any computer science department for it to be relevant.”
The engineering department is also constantly evaluating what curriculum should be in place for students.
“We have switched out some classes that seem to be more relevant for now,” Klentzman said. “So we now require numerical methods, which is having them have to take kind of a programming class … Since we’ve had more faculty hired, we have different electives that we didn’t used to be able to offer for students.”
Both senior lecturers said they have had countless memories from their time on Baylor’s campus but have collected favorites throughout the years.
“I’ve been on some mission trips with Engineers with a Mission, and I’ve really loved that,” Klentzman said. “We went to Haiti one year and went to Mexico another year. In Haiti, we installed solar panels and did some water testing.”
Fry said Baylor has given her and her family many opportunities to do things that go beyond the classroom, together and with students.
“I would say the other thing about the school, and our department in particular, is the camaraderie and collegiality,” Fry said. “I mean, we sometimes disagree on things, but we are a team, and I love that. I love all of my colleagues. They are good friends and outstanding people in their field, so I think that’s rare in jobs. I’ve had several jobs, and it’s rare to find a group of people that you enjoy working with as much as I have enjoyed working at Baylor in the School of Engineering and Computer Science.”
Fry said this school is rich in history, but disciplines don’t suit everyone, so it’s important to know what type of students should be a part of the future of the school.
“If you enjoy challenges and problems that never stay the same, if you enjoy that kind of problem-solving and coming up with good solutions to things that people need, then [computer science] is a good discipline for anybody,” Fry said.
“I think [a career in engineering] is such a rewarding profession,” Klentzman said. “You always get to explore things and learn things, and it’s very much getting to solve puzzles all the time and trying to make things better. I think as Christian engineers, we can really help make the world a better place with better structures for people to live healthier, happier lives. So I think it’s neat to be able to do those kinds of practical things but still make a big difference in people’s lives.”
