FROM THE WEBB
I. DEAN’S INTRODUCTION
From the Dean…
Engineering Programs Thrive:
New Makerspace on the Horizon:
It has been another dynamic and exciting year of growth and transformation for our programs. We’re pleased to share just a few highlights and updates with you:
Our Mechanical, Mechatronic, and General Engineering degree programs officially launched in August 2024, and the inaugural cohort is now concluding their first year. Early indicators suggest that the incoming August 2025 cohort will be even larger—we are excited to welcome these new students to campus soon.
Planning for our new makerspace is nearing completion. Renovations are scheduled over the summer, and equipment is already on order to ensure the space is fully functional by August 2025. This facility will play a critical role in supporting hands-on learning and innovation across disciplines.
Faculty Expansion Across Disciplines:
The continued expansion of our academic programs has driven the need for new faculty across multiple areas. Recent hires include additions to Mathematical Sciences, Computer Science, and Mechanical Engineering. Notably, the Mechanical Engineering program has welcomed both a founding department chair and an additional faculty member. We are thrilled to have them join us this August as they continue shaping an innovative curriculum designed to pursue ABET accreditation following the graduation of the first cohort.
ABET Accreditation Efforts:
Over the past year, we formally pursued ABET accreditation for three of our programs: Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Computer Science. While the final decision will be announced at the commission’s meeting in July, we are highly confident that the next edition of this newsletter will share the exciting news that accreditation has been officially granted.
Michael Oudshoorn Dean, Webb School of Engineering
II. DEPARTMENTAL NEWS: COMPUTER SCIENCE
by Dr. Michael Oudshoorn
Message from the Chair
Academic Growth and Program Development
The Department of Computer Science has continued its upward trajectory this year, marked by growth in student enrollment, strategic faculty hires, exciting academic developments, and outstanding student accomplishments.
Enrollment in both Computer Science and Cybersecurity remains strong, and this continued demand has enabled the department to make three new faculty hires for the 2025–26 academic year. These hires are expanding our expertise, particularly in the field of Artificial Intelligence, and have led to an exciting evolution in our curriculum.
Cybersecurity Major Competes in U.S. Cyber Challenge
Beginning in August 2026, the B.S. in Data Science will transition to become the B.S. in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science. This change reflects the program’s growing emphasis on AI-powered approaches to large-scale data analysis, and represents a natural next step for the discipline.
ABET Accreditation Efforts
As mentioned in the Dean’s introduction, the department formally pursued ABET accreditation for both the B.S. in Computer Science and the B.S. in Computer Science with a concentration in Cybersecurity this past year. The accreditation review visit occurred in October 2024, with the final decision expected in July 2025.
Gio Centofanti, a Cybersecurity major, was invited to participate in the prestigious U.S. Cyber Challenge (USCC), a national initiative previously supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and run by the Center for Internet Security. The USCC aims to identify and train the next generation of elite cybersecurity professionals.
Accreditation is a rigorous process, and I extend my sincere thanks to all faculty members who contributed to this milestone effort. The dedication, collaboration, and teamwork displayed throughout the process have been truly commendable.
The competition begins with regional contests, in which approximately 200 students from each coast are divided into teams for an 8-hour Capture the Flag (CTF) competition. Gio’s team won first place in the Western Regional.
Michael Oudshoorn Dean, Webb School of Engineering
At the next stage, the top three teams from the East and West coasts compete in the U.S. Cyber Bowl, a 24-hour CTF followed by team presentations, judged by industry leaders including CEOs and CTOs. Gio’s team placed 2nd overall in this elite national competition.
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Gio and to the exceptional faculty mentors who supported him and all participating students.
II. DEPARTMENTAL NEWS: MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
Message from the Chair
by Dr. Jenny Sharpe
Hello from the Department of Mathematical Sciences! Our academic year is off to a great start in the Department. Students are hard at work in their courses, while engaging in undergraduate research, internships, and determine their next steps after completing their studies at HPU.
During the 2025 Mathematical Association of America
Southeastern Meeting, hosted at HPU in March five students presented ongoing research projects. In April, three HPU data analytics students competed in DataFest at Wake Forest University. Nick Sheridan was paired with two Wake Forest students and their team earned first place in Level 2:
This fall, we hosted a student internship panel, at which some of our current students shared their experiences with their Summer 2025 internships. Attendees learned about the application and interview process, “lessons learned,” and more, from students who had interned at companies large and small.
On the faculty side, we are pleased to announce two promotions in the department. Dr. Adam-Graham Squire has been promoted to Professor, and Mr. Tremaine Skeen has been promoted to Senior Lecturer. We are grateful for their leadership and excellence!
We’ve also welcomed two new full-time instructors to our team. Ms. Sydney Lang comes to us with an M.S. in mathematics from Virginia Tech and has most recently taught at Gaston College. Mr. Jonathan Boateng joins us with a M.S. in mathematics from the University of North Dakota, and most recently worked as a market analyst in the energy sector. We are currently working to hire two further full-time faculty as Assistant Professors, beginning next fall. Please reach out to me at jsharpe1@highpoint.edu with opportunities or ideas related to mathematics, mathematical economics, actuarial science, or data analytics and statistics. I’d love to hear from you!
Dr. Jenny Sharpe
Dr. Jenny Sharpe Professor of Mathematics Chair of the Department of Mathematical Sciences
Data Analytics and Statistics Students Present Research at Local Undergraduate Research Conference
Nick Sheridan and Braedyn Jacobson, seniors majoring in Data Analytics and Statistics, presented their research in November at the State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium (SNCURCS), hosted in 2025 by Elon University. The SNCURCS conference, which began in 2005, is held annually in the fall to showcase undergraduate scholars’ work across a wide range of fields. Nick and Braedyn presented “Swing Science –Modeling Hitter Performance Against Pitch Types,” a project culminating from work in their capstone course in the major. The project explored how different pitch types – fastballs versus non-fastballs – shaped hitter performance in Major League Baseball. Using Baseball Savant data and predictive modeling, the students analyzed swing metrics such as exit velocity and launch angle to see how they influenced expected offensive success. Their findings highlighted which swing characteristics matter most for each pitch type and offered insights useful for player evaluation and offensive strategy. Nick and Braedyn’s project was mentored by Dr. Jakub Michel, Assistant Professor of Data Analytics and Statistics, and funding for them to attend SNCURCS was generously provided by HPU’s Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Works.
Message from the Chair
by Dr. Brian Bernard
II. DEPARTMENTAL NEWS: MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Within Couch Hall, three new engineering classrooms are renovated and ready for mechanical and mechatronics students. Out with the old chemistry hoods, and in with the force sensors and strain gages!
High Point University welcomed our first two Mechanical Engineering faculty this fall, Dr. Brian Bernard and Dr. Neil Petroff, and a new Engineering Lab Manager, Walker Hall. Our second freshman class of students is double the size of our sophomore class, so with growth this quick, you can expect more faculty, labs, equipment, and student organizations to be added over the next few years.
Brian P. Bernard
Brian P. Bernard Associate Professor and Chair, Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics
The 7000 sqft Makerspace at College Village won’t be ready for student use until the spring, but we hosted our first Sneak Preview Tour for students in October. There’s a beautiful modern classroom available for our design and manufacturing classes, and three sections of machine shop equipment: additive manufacturing, wood shop, and metal working. There’s also an additional large open space with heavy lifting equipment ready and waiting for students ready to compete in Formula SAE or any other competition they choose.
The sky is the limit for our new engineering program and we are looking forward to the next few years where we’ll see plenty of new faces, new industry partnerships, and our first graduates in May 2028.
Watch Dr. Bernard’s Teaching Assistants on YouTube (PS: They’re Cats)
by Dr. Brian Bernard
Dr. Bernard has a longstanding YouTube channel for his engineering students where he’s published >100 videos across a variety of mechanical engineering courses. https://www.youtube.com/@ BrianBernardEngineering .
Now his teaching assistants Indiana and Serenity are getting in on the action with their own channel https://www.youtube.com/@ExplainedByCats where they teach Engineering, Science, and Math through pop culture, current events, and a lot of cat related humor.
In recent videos, the cats have explained engineering scenes in popular tv shows Severance, Andor, Silo, and The White Lotus. They’ve explained engineering news regarding an Indian bridge collapse and advancements in quantum computers. Their most popular videos explain math concepts like the monumental scope of the number 52 factorial and how to reason your way out of the Necktie Paradox.
As the trio close in on 1 million total views (841k currently), they are excited to start filming on HPU’s beautiful campus and collaborating with HPU faculty and students on future videos. Reach out to Dr. Bernard if you have an idea you’d like to work on together.
III. FACULTY FEATURE
Dr. Neil Petroff
1. What motivated you to choose your field of practice and what do you enjoy about it?
My path to mechanical engineering started more with curiosity than with a clear plan. Over time, with the influence of key undergraduate faculty, I discovered a passion for control systems, for artificial intelligence, for learning, and for helping others. Those factors led me from industry to graduate school, and eventually to academia, while my desire to help people inspired my focus on developing technology and systems for healthcare and performance – areas where I could combine my passions. Through a spirit of life-long learning, I’ve found that I’ve been able to contribute to areas outside of traditional mechanical engineering.
2. What are your current research interests?
My current research interests focus on physical medicine and rehabilitation and health and performance. While I once described my work as ‘human’ health and performance, I was recently part of a team that did an electroencephalogram (EEG) study on horses using brain signals as an early predictor of lameness. So, I’ve dropped the human part!
Dr. Petroff is one of two new faculty members in the recently established Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering programs at HPU. He received a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering in 2006 and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the hand rehabilitation lab at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (now Shirley Ryan AbilityLab). He brings over a decade of industry experience in steelmaking, steel processing, and hip implant development before transitioning to academia in 2013. His primary interest is in fostering transdisciplinary teams of students and faculty to advance healthcare by developing outcomes-based solutions that provide equitable access to healthcare technologies.
3. What are you most excited about in regards to the upcoming semester?
As a new member of HPU and in a new program, I’m excited to explore ways to incorporate HPU’s life-skills mission while further differentiating our programs through hands-on, practical engagement of our students with our curriculum. My goal is to bridge the gap between textbook and reality, working at the confluence of theory, practice, and application.
4. Do you have any hobbies/interests outside of work that you would like to share?
I enjoy running, sometimes barefoot, and strength training. Staying active not only connects me more fully to my research interests but also reinforces the evidence that exercise boosts cognition.
5. If you could go back in time, what, if anything, would you do differently as a student?
Hindsight being 20/20, I would tell my young self what I tell my students today: focus on understanding the concepts; the grades will follow. Everything worked out in the end, so I am still thankful.
Dr. Sarah Caudill
1. What motivated you to choose your field of practice and what do you enjoy about it?
To be honest, money was my initial motivation for entering the field. However, after writing my first “real program,” I was hooked. I’ve always loved puzzles and logic games, and I quickly realized that programming allowed me to do something I enjoyed recreationally as part of my career. As I continued my education, I discovered software engineering, which let me go beyond writing code. I could collaborate with stakeholders and end-users to design systems that truly met their needs— work that felt both creative and impactful.
Although I love the technical aspects of my field, my real passion is teaching. The idea of helping others discover the excitement of problem-solving and software development motivated me to complete my PhD in Computer Science. I’ve often heard the saying, “If you enjoy what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life,” and I believe there’s a lot of truth in tha
2. What are your current research interests?
My current research interests revolve around artificial intelligence (AI). AI is rapidly becoming integrated into nearly every aspect of our lives. In just the past five years, it has
advanced from producing low-quality, often unrealistic images to generating highly convincing videos that can be difficult to verify as authentic. With AI evolving so quickly and unpredictably, there are countless potential directions for meaningful research.
3. What are you most excited about in regards to the upcoming semester?
I am excited to meet all of the senior-level students in the program through the software engineering course. My master’s degree is in Software Engineering, so this class is always especially meaningful for me to teach. It’s incredibly rewarding to watch students take everything they’ve learned throughout their time at HPU and bring it together in a fully functioning application. I love seeing their creativity and innovation emerge as they take an initial idea and transform it into something impressive within a collaborative team environment.
4. Do you have any hobbies/ interests outside of work that you would like to share?
My main interest outside of work is my family. My husband and I were high school sweethearts, and we now have two wonderful daughters—one is a freshman here at HPU, and the other is a sophomore at a school in
Dr. Sarah Caudill is a dedicated computer science educator with extensive experience teaching a wide range of CS courses. She is thrilled to join the HPU community and looks forward to engaging in its innovative learning environment. As a new faculty member, she brings a strong commitment to student-centered learning, hands-on instruction, and fostering a supportive environment where learners can grow as problem-solvers and creators. She is passionate about helping students build confidence in coding, understand real-world software development practices, and develop the skills needed to thrive in the ever-evolving field of computing.
Statesville, where we live. My daughters have always been active in sports, and I love supporting them in everything they do, from volleyball and golf to wrestling—and my absolute favorite—soccer.
In my free time, I also enjoy creating quilted hugs and wheelchair lap throws in memory of my MaMa, a project I share with two of my sisters. I sing in my church choir, and I absolutely love taking photos whenever I get the chance.
5. If you could go back in time, what, if anything, would you do differently as a student?
Looking back, I wish I had spent less energy stressing over grades. I devoted countless hours to engaging with the material, and I wish I had recognized sooner that the learning itself mattered far more — the grades would follow naturally from that effort.
As a programmer, it’s easy to want to dive straight into typing code. But taking a moment to pause, fully understand the problem, and map out the logic beforehand can make a tremendous difference. That’s a lesson I learned a little later than I would have liked, and it’s something I now emphasize with my students to help them build stronger, more thoughtful problem-solving habits.
Amir Hamidpour B.S (Cybersecurity), 2026?
1. What are you studying at HPU? I’m studying Cybersecurity.
2. Why did you choose HPU?
I chose High Point University because it came highly recommended by peers and upperclassmen, and once I visited, I immediately understood why. There’s a distinct energy on campus—a sense of growth, support, and investment in students’ success. I was especially drawn to the strong co-curricular opportunities, like clubs and competitions that are accessible to everyone.
The small class sizes and low student-to-professor ratio were also major advantages, but what truly sealed the decision were the people. Every staff member and student I met was welcoming, inspiring, and genuinely excited to be part of the community. It felt like the right place to grow both personally and academically.
3. What interests do you have outside of your major?
Outside my major, I enjoy watching and playing sports—especially soccer and basketball.
4. What are some of the challenges that you have faced or overcome this semester? This semester was one of my busiest: I conducted undergraduate research, served as President of the Computer Science Society, competed in the National Cyber League, and managed a full course load. Balancing all of that pushed me to improve my time-management skills and stay disciplined. Even with the challenges, it never felt like work because cybersecurity isn’t just my major—it’s something I’m genuinely passionate about.
5. What do you hope to do with your degree when you graduate? After graduation, I hope to work as a cyber forensics analyst, earn my OSCP certification, and eventually develop my own cybersecurity tools and software. My goal is to contribute and leave my mark in the field.
6. Are you involved in any activities on campus? In what capacity? Yes—I currently serve as President of the Computer Science Society.
7. What advice would you like to share with your peers or with future students? Take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way. You never know which experience will open a door, shape your path, or make a lasting impact—so step forward before it’s too late.