Watson Professor to teach in Vietnam

The Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science at Binghamton University continues to connect with peer institutions around the world.

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Roy McGrann is one of six American professors that will teach at Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City (VNU) this fall as part of the Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF) U.S. Faculty Scholar Program.

“I am looking forward to working with Vietnamese engineering students in the classroom and finding out what differences in preparation, skills, and attitudes there are between them and Binghamton students,” McGrann said. “I am also interested in working with faculty in Vietnam and presenting workshops on STEM pedagogy and educational philosophies. Similarly, I look forward to giving presentations on graduate engineering education in the U.S.”

McGrann - who is the Undergraduate Director for the Mechanical Engineering Department and the co-Director of the Watson School’s Minor in Sustainability Engineering - will take a sabbatical from Binghamton to participate in the program. Beyond research interests that include sustainable energy, structural fatigue life analysis and welding engineering, McGrann has fifteen years of experience in steel production and fabrication (primarily associated with the petrochemical industry), management, machine design, and project engineering.

Academically, McGrann specializes in computer-aided machine design and will be an instructor in dynamics and help develop a semester-long mechatronics course at the International University within VNU.

VNU is one of the two largest national universities in Vietnam with 35,391 total students in 120 undergraduate programs, 83 master’s level programs and 82 Ph.D. programs. The university was founded in January 1995 when nine smaller institutions merged together. The International University, which has an accreditation similar to that of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc. (ABET), became the first public university in Vietnam where teaching is done primarily in English when it was founded in 2003.

“I am interested in incorporating international collaboration projects into undergraduate engineering education. An engineer in today’s economy will more than likely be working on research, development, and design projects as part of a team with colleagues located in other countries with other cultural backgrounds,” McGrann said.

McGrann taught short courses internationally before - during winter semester breaks in Pune, India - but the chance to dive deeper into a different culture is important to him.

“Many of our recent graduates from mechanical engineering at Binghamton University have taken jobs overseas. I believe preparation for international collaborations needs to be incorporated into undergraduate engineering education,” he said.

The experience was facilitated by the Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF) which is an independent agency created by Congress and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. The VEF aims to strengthen U.S.-Vietnam relations through educational exchanges in the fields of science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine. Beyond sending American teachers abroad, the VEF brings Vietnamese nationals to the U.S. for graduate and postgraduate studies.

“From the educational exchanges, the citizens of Vietnam and the United States will gain a deeper understanding of each other and our respective histories and, thus, will foster and promote a closer and enduring friendship,” VEF Executive Director Sandy Deng says on the Foundation’s website.

McGrann to applied to the program in late 2015 for the education experience, but the recommendations from friends and colleagues about the Vietnamese culture and cuisine were also part of the equation.

“We are looking forward to traveling around Vietnam on weekends, seeing the countryside and visiting other provinces,” he said. “We have planned several outings during the time we are there.”

Joining McGrann in the program are:

• Max Häggblom - Distinguished Professor and Chair of Biochemistry and Microbiology at Rutgers University

• Aixuan Holterman - Professor of Surgery/Pediatrics, Vice Chair of Surgical Research at the University of Illinois College of Medicine

• Duc Thai Nguyen - Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Modelling Simulation & Visualization Engineering at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia.

• Keith A. Teague - Professor and Immediate Past Head of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Oklahoma State University.

• Rao Vemuri - Emeritus Professor at the College of Engineering, University of California, Davis

McGrann’s trip follows the signings of two memorandums of agreement (MoA) between the Watson School, the University and a pair of high-profile institutions in India this summer: the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar and the Mangalore Institute of Technology And Engineering (MITE). There are also strong connections between the Watson School and China, South Korea, throughout Europe, and the Middle East.