Northwestern College is establishing an engineering major, which will launch in the fall 2024 semester.
With a growing demand for engineers, NW is eager to add an engineering major, which may also recruit new students. “NW is one of the well-respected Christian colleges nationwide and most of those colleges have their own engineering programs,” Dr. Young-Ji Byon, the founding director of the engineering program at NW, said. “In the past, we have been missing out on recruiting students who want to be Raiders and major in engineering. There is a growing demand for engineers regionally and nationally. Finally, NW can expand God’s redeeming work in the field of engineering as well.”
Dr. Byon is excited to teach students engineering in a Christian setting. He has always enjoyed math and science, participating in competitions since a young age through his high school years. Ever since he accepted God into his heart, he prayed to become a Christian engineering professor. “When I was in grade 12, I had a chance to attend a Christian summer camp in Toronto, Canada where I met a Christian engineering professor from MIT who shared the gospel to me which broke down my pride before God,” Dr. Byon said. “That evening, I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior. My very first prayer to God as a newly born-again Christian was that I wanted to become a Christian engineering professor just like the professor I met.”
Dr. Byon went on to complete his bachelor’s, master’s and PhD in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Toronto. In Canada, he continued his engineering career “into the field of transportation engineering and artificial intelligence applications,” he described. “Throughout my career, I came to a realization that the best engineering designs are embedded in God’s creations in nature and engineers can be inspired from God’s designs for optimal efficiencies.”
Future engineering majors will focus on the mathematical and scientific aspects of engineering, and there will be four engineering concentrations: mechanical, civil, electrical and computer. The four concentrations “will prepare students with broader, exposure to different disciplines of engineering,” Dr. Byon said. “With current and relevant hands-on skills accompanied by core engineering courses that are designed and planned to be accredited with the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, the NW engineering graduates will stand out in the job market and also be ready for graduate studies in other major in other major institutions.”
Depending on the concentration, engineering major required credits will range from 127 to 135 credits.
Although the engineering major will not launch until next fall, students have a chance to take MAT200 (later ENGR200), Intro to Engineering and Design, this spring semester. If current NW students wish to declare an engineering major, this class will count towards an engineering major. “Students will have hands-on experience with engineering projects and preview to various fields of engineering and fundamental math and science to continue on as an engineering major student,” Dr. Byon said.
This engineering major contributes to the mission and vision of NW. According to Dr. Byon, “The engineering program aims to produce graduates who will: ethically and responsibly apply their engineering practices with an appreciation/understanding of a Christian confession that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; solve engineering problems by creatively applying appropriate theories, skills and tools; apply engineering design to produce sustainable solutions considering social, environmental, economic and societal factors; lead or collaborate with teammates through written and oral communication and management skills; and develop and conduct appropriate experiments to draw effective conclusions by adopting emerging techniques and tools.”
