Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science


The Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science at Hofstra University, a private university located in Hempstead, New York, United States, was created in 2012 out of the previously existing Departments of Engineering and Computer Science. It currently offers five ABET-accredited degrees, along with a B.S. Industrial Engineering, a B.S. Civil Engineering, a B.S. Bioengineering, a B.S. Computer Science & Cybersecurity, a B.S. Computer Science and Mathematics, an M.S. Computer Science, an M.S. Cybersecurity and an M.S. Engineering Management.

History

An Engineering Science program first emerged in the early 1960s from a previous program offering the first two years of an engineering education to be completed at either Columbia University or Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. By 1963, several four-year degree options were being offered within a B.S. Engineering Science, including specializations in engineering science, engineering mechanics, engineering electronics, and industrial engineering. By the early 1970s, the B.S. Industrial Engineering had become a separate degree, and evening part-time B.S. programs were available in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Engineering Mechanics. The B.S. in Engineering Science became the first engineering program at Hofstra to earn accreditation in 1971, and remained the only accredited program until the mid-1980s. In 1983, the degree title changed from a B.S. to a B.E., and after being established as separate programs in the 1984–85 academic year, the B.S. Electrical Engineering and B.S. Mechanical Engineering programs received their initial accreditations in 1988. Over the last 25 years, Civil and Biomedical Options have served as the two routes to a degree in the Engineering Science program. Likewise, the Department of Computer Science has offered B.A. and B.S. degrees since the 1960s. A separate B.S. degree in Computer Engineering has been offered since 2003. M.A. and M.S. degrees have been offered by the department since the 1980s and the 1990s respectively.
In 2012, the two departments became the constituent members of the School of Engineering and Applied Science. The school was formally named the Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science on October 20, 2016. In 2017, the B.S. Bioengineering, B.S. Civil Engineering and B.S. Computer Science and Cybersecurity programs were created, and in 2019, the M.S. Cybersecurity and the M.S. Engineering Management were inaugurated.

Academics

The school is distinguished by its emphasis on undergraduate teaching, with close to 800 undergraduates matriculating in the fall of 2019, served by a full-time faculty of approximately 30, and select adjuncts who are professionals in industry. Approximately 60 graduate students are enrolled in the various graduate programs. A co-op program initiated in the spring of 2015 offers upper level students the opportunity to work full-time for six to eight months at competitive salaries for one of over 200 high-tech companies, mainly in the New York metropolitan area.
A robust summer research program, with funding for undergraduates, is available in a variety of subject areas. The Center for Innovation, a program operating in SEAS, offers solutions to technical problems brought to its attention by industries, but with the industry maintaining all intellectual property rights. Largely overseen by current SEAS faculty, it also offers opportunities for students to work on practical projects.
According to the most recent U.S. News & World Report data released in September 2019, Hofstra's DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science ranks in the top 15% of non-PhD granting engineering schools throughout the United States ranking 32nd our of 212 schools.

Department of Engineering

The Department of Engineering offers bachelor's programs in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, engineering science, bioengineering, civil engineering, and industrial engineering, the first three of which are ABET-accredited. It also offers a master's program in engineering management. The Engineering Department has affiliations with several professional associations, including ASCE, ASME, ASEE, AIAA, IEEE, and IISE. Notable alumni include Michael P. Delaney, VP of Digital Transformation of the Boeing Company, who also directed the 787 program.

Department of Computer Science

The Department of Computer Science offers ABET accredited B.S. degrees in programs in computer science and computer engineering within the DeMatteis School. The department offers additional B.S. and B.A. programs at the undergraduate level and M.S. Computer Science and M.S. Cybersecurity programs at the graduate level. Notable alumni include Mike Seiman ’01, founder and CEO of CPXi, a digital media company he started while still attending Hofstra and Thomas Sanzone '82, former CEO of Black Knight Financial Services.

Facilities

Hofstra SEAS maintains the following laboratories, among others:
Several of these laboratories were created or enhanced through a recently completed $12 million upgrade of the facilities. The Big Data Laboratory and Robotics Laboratory were funded through $2 million in grants from New York State. A recently received $25 million grant from New York State is earmarked toward the construction by 2022 of a new building to house some DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science departments and laboratories.