Northwestern College to launch engineering program

ORANGE CITY, Iowa (KTIV) - Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa has hired a distinguished engineering educator with experience in administration, teaching and research to develop a new undergraduate engineering program that is set to launch Fall of 2024.

Dr. Young-Ji Byon will begin his role as the founding director of Northwestern’s engineering program in July. He will be structuring the curriculum, hire faculty, designing classroom and lab spaces, leading accreditation processes, and providing oversight.

Byon is the associate chair of the department of civil infrastructure and environmental engineering at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Northwestern’s program will offer a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering. Engineering concentrations currently being considered include mechanical, civil, computer and electrical. Regulatory approval for the program is pending with the Higher Learning Commission.

Northwestern’s new program will offer numerous hands-on learning experiences, such as 3D printing, wooden bridge building, machining, electric circuits, programming, geospatial analysis and traffic simulation.

The new major will build upon Northwestern’s existing pre-engineering program and collaborate with other programs in the Natural and Applied Sciences division.

For more information about Northwestern’s new engineering program, visit nwciowa.edu/engineering.