Dean's Welcome

Welcome to Duke Engineering!

The Pratt School of Engineering is a highly ranked engineering school whose community of scholars defines the leading edge of innovation. Set in one of the world's top research universities, our faculty and students are solving complex challenges to improve the quality of life for communities locally and globally—whether by improving human health, working toward more resilient and sustainable environments, discovering new materials, or advancing novel data analytics, computing and intelligent systems.

Our award-winning faculty are not only passionate about what they teach but how they fuel student curiosity and open new horizons for students to explore inside and outside our classrooms. For example, our signature First-Year Design Course challenges all Duke Engineering students to develop solutions for real-world community clients. This experience launches our students on a four-year journey focused on creative, needs-based design projects to develop engineering skills. More than 60 percent of our undergraduate students conduct faculty-mentored research in our labs, while our graduate students routinely receive national awards celebrating the impact of their research.

In the rich environment of Duke Engineering, students can also discover and develop their passions for entrepreneurship, global outreach, team leadership, societal impact and more. Students lead a wide range of clubs focused on everything from robotics to world health to international infrastructure development, and pursue study abroad, entrepreneurship training, medical device design, machine learning and more through co-curricular opportunities across the university—gaining experiences and skills that prepare them to become leaders in industry, academia, medicine, and other professional pursuits.

No matter what inspires you, you’ll find that Duke Engineering is a community vested in your success.  We value the different perspectives and backgrounds our faculty, staff, and students bring to our community, and strive to empower each individual on their journey of self-discovery, education and the application of engineering knowledge to positively impact the world.

In 1984, Duke President Terry Sanford famously described the “outrageous ambitions” propelling Duke University's rise and rapid advance along the path of excellence. Our goals for Duke Engineering are very much in this dynamic Duke spirit. In undergraduate and graduate education, in research, in entrepreneurship and in service, we’re committed to leading boldly to shape this technological era by creating an environment that enables our community to achieve great things for the benefit of society.

You’ll find inspiring examples throughout our website of how our faculty, graduate students and undergraduates are dreaming big, acting boldly and making a difference in the world. I hope you’ll enjoy learning more about Duke Engineering. Contact us if you have any questions.

With best wishes,

Jerome P. Lynch, PhD, F.EMI
Vinik Dean of Engineering
Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering
Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering
prattdeansoffice@duke.edu