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Alumnus establishes chair in software engineering
An endowed chair in software engineering is being established by Iowa
State graduate Long V. Nguyen (Ph.D., 1975, computer science) and his
wife Kimmy of McLean, Va.
The $1.5 million commitment will establish the Lanh and Oanh Nguyen Endowed
Chair in Software Engineering in Iowa State's Department of Computer Science
in honor of Nguyen's father and mother.
"It is a great pleasure for my family to establish this endowed chair
in honor of my parents, who always instilled the importance of education
in me," Long Nguyen said. "I received a first-class education at Iowa
State thanks to the generous people of Iowa. This represents a token of
our appreciation and continues our investment in education in the State
of Iowa."
"We are extremely grateful to Long and Kimmy Nguyen for creating
this endowed chair in software engineering in honor of Long's parents,"
said Iowa State President Gregory Geoffroy. "Software engineering
is one of the most important new areas in information technology, and
Iowa State University is committed to leadership in this exciting discipline.
This chair will help us recruit an established star in software engineering
to support these efforts."
The endowment will enable the department to attract a top-notch software
engineering faculty member to provide leadership in both research and
education at Iowa State. The endowed chair will also support the new undergraduate
software engineering degree program at Iowa State, which was approved
last fall by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa. The program is jointly
administered by the Department of Computer Science in the College of Liberal
Arts and Sciences and the Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering
in the College of Engineering.
"This generous gift by Long and Kimmy Nguyen will enhance our department's
reputation and build on our momentum in enhancing the current software
engineering research and establishing the new software engineering degree
program," said Carl Chang, professor and chair of the Department
of Computer Science.
"The Lanh and Oanh Nguyen Endowed Chair will allow the Department
of Computer Science to attract a top faculty member in software engineering,"
said Michael Whiteford, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences,
"and continue the level of excellence the department has maintained."
Software engineering is an evolving element of the computer science field
and has become a significant focus of instruction and research in the
Department of Computer Science. Evolving rapidly, software engineering
is seen in everyday life - from the Internet to airliners and beyond –
and the interest and need for cutting-edge research in building large
and complex systems continues to grow.
"Iowa State's Department of Computer Science currently has a critical
mass of faculty members of national and international importance in software
engineering," Chang said. "This endowed chair will help position
and transform the department from excellence to superiority in this burgeoning
field."
After receiving his Ph.D. from Iowa State, Nguyen went on to have a successful
career at IBM and then as a college professor at the University of Saigon
and Georgetown University.
In 1985, Long established Pragmatics, Inc., a company that provides information
technology solutions to the federal government and commercial firms. Pragmatics'
goal to be a technologically-focused organization has led the company
to successfully complete more than 170 projects for 60 different clients
in the federal government and industry. Since 1997, Pragmatics has over
20 prime contracts with the Federal Government and annual revenues of
over $60 million.
The Lanh and Oanh Nguyen Endowed Chair in Software Engineering is the
latest in a series of gifts that Long and Kimmy Nguyen have given to Iowa
State. They have also established the Dr. Robert Stewart Distinguished
Lecture and the Dr. Robert Stewart Early Research Recognition Award in
the Department of Computer Science and the Wayne and Eleanor Ostendorf
Farm House Graduate Assistantship with University Museums.
Endowed faculty positions allow Iowa State to recruit and retain world-class
leaders by providing the highest level of faculty recognition. Endowed
positions help support course development, graduate assistants, laboratory
equipment, salary enhancements, professional development and research
projects. These opportunities ultimately enhance course and curriculum
development, which improves the educational experience for students. The
gift was made through the ISU Foundation, a private, non-profit corporation
dedicated to securing and managing gifts and grants that benefit Iowa
State University.
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LAS Dean Michael Whiteford, Dr. Long Nguyen and
ISU President Gregory Geoffroy
Around LAS
February 19 to March 4, 2007
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