Invited by Professor Steven Feng Chen, associate dean of the College of Engineering (COE), Professor Edward F. Crawley of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) , President of Skoltech (Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology) delivered a lecture on the topic of engineering education innovation and introduced the newly established Skoltech in Moscow to the COE faculty and students on September 23rd.

Edward F. Crawley is a Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and of Engineering Systems at MIT. His teaching and research focuses on Space Systems, Systems Architecture and Systems Engineering. He serves as the co-chair of NASA Exploration Technology Development Program Review Committee and formerly served as the Director of the Gordon Leadership Program at MIT.

Since 2011, he is President of Skoltech in Skolkovo innovation center, located in Moscow, Russia. According to Crawley, Skoltech aims to establish a special standing in its role of research, education and innovation, by attracting elite researchers from the globe and partnering with world institutions. In the past two years, Skoltech experienced a fast growth. It is now home to over 50 full-time faculty members and 80 master and Ph.D. students. In his lecture, Crawley introduced that Skoltech focuses on research with a consideration of use, and their current research priorities include Biomedicine, Energy, Nuclear, IT, Space and Cross-cutting. He welcomed COE students to study and work there.

Chen then introduced about COE’s history and current situations, and particularly international exchange programs such as the Globex Education program. Launched in the summer of 2012 in COE, the program served as a platform for student exchange between COE and many engineering institutions in the world.

Professor Edward F. Crawley and Professor Steven Feng Chen