Graduate Engineering Association

The Graduate Engineering Association (GEA) promotes, enhances, and furthers the welfare of all graduate students of the KU School of Engineering. GEA’s role is to represent the interests and concerns of graduate students by: acting as an advocate for student issues within the School and University communities, administrating the student-generated differential fees (094) allocated by the School of Engineering and other organizations according to established procedures, and by maintaining communication with the departmental graduate student organizations and the graduate students enrolled in SoE. Graduate students should use the Funding Request Form to request funds for graduate student-related activities. This includes allocation of 094 funds for graduate student travel. The GEA hosts several events throughout the year that enhance graduate students’ professional development.

Membership is open to all students currently enrolled in the Graduate Division of the School of Engineering. Application and membership are assumed upon enrollment; there are no financial obligations assumed with membership. The representative body of GEA is the student-elected GEA Officers; it serves as the legislative and decision-making body of GEA. Its decisions are subject to review upon petition of two-thirds of the enrolled graduate students on the Lawrence campus. It is comprised of representatives from each of the departments and established educational programs within the School, as determined by the SoE Administration, as well as four officers: President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary, and others upon agreement by the graduate student body.

Meetings are held at least once a month; locations will be announced here. All graduate students are welcome to attend, and, most importantly, participate.

Previous events and workshops have focused on Intellectual Property, Resumes and Curriculum Vitas, Theses and Dissertations, Scholarships and Fellowships, a Poster Competition, and a Presentation Competition. The picture above is from Jorge Cham's visit during April 2010. From left are Adam Cyr, past GEA president, Lindsey Ott, past GEA vice president, Jorge Cham, author of the PhD comic strip, "Piled Hire and Deeper," and Lei Shi, president of the CReSIS Student Organization. All engineering students are welcome to attend GEA events unless otherwise noted.

GEA Officers for 2011-12 are:

Lei Shi, president, Phd student in electrical engineering
Woan Jing Teh, vice president, MS student in petroleum engineering
Brock Roughton, treasurer, PhD student in bioengineering
Manogna Thimma, secretary, MS student in computer science

Minutes and presentations from this year's meetings are below.

Congratulations to the 2011 Research Competition Winners

The Graduate and Professional Student Association organized a Research Competition sponsored by the Office of Graduate Studies and GEA on March 16, 2011. Over 100 students participated in the event, and two engineering graduate students earned top prizes. The School of Engineering extends its congratulations to the 2011 Research Competition winners: Piyush Mehta, PhD student in aerospace engineering and Griffin Roberts, PhD student in chemical and petroleum engineering. Both received $250.