As the Fowler School of Engineering (FSE) reflects upon the 2024-25 academic year and prepares for the upcoming fall semester, it is the perfect opportunity to express gratitude for Dr. Tom Piechota, who has greatly impacted excellence in research and engineering at Chapman. Since fall 2023, Dr. Piechota has played an integral role in advancing the Fowler School of Engineering as Interim Dean, enriching the foundational aims of students, staff, and faculty, and pursuing new ideas that have helped the School of Engineering truly blossom during this period of growth and transition. 

Today, we honor Piechota’s own transition back into research and instruction, delving into his rich history at Chapman University, celebrating his instrumental impact as Interim Dean, and looking forward to his next steps as a professor. 

Joining the Chapman, Fowler, and Schmid Communities

When Piechota came to Chapman in September 2016, he brought decades of academic leadership experience, an interest in supporting student-focused research, and a passion for solving global environmental challenges through advanced technologies. Through his appointments as a Professor of Engineering and Environmental Science & Policy (both housed under Schmid College of Science and Technology at the time) as well as the Vice President for Research, Piechota began bringing these aims to life in the classroom, lab, and beyond.

During the Spring ’25 Student Scholar Symposium (a biannual event which showcases student research through poster and oral presentations), Piechota encouraged students like Ellie Nguyen (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science ’26) to take their world-changing engineering research to the next level.

For Piechota, much of his research has focused around water resources, hydrology, and climate change, using high resolution remote sensing data to better understand and mitigate drought impacts. “I think one of my favorite parts about being among the faculty has always been the opportunity to work with students on really cool, interesting projects that make a difference in the world,” shared Piechota. “Whether it’s centering sustainability, healthcare, or technology, people come to engineering schools like Chapman’s because they want to make a difference. Part of why I like doing what I do is because I believe my work conducted with students can make a difference at some level.”

Throughout this period, Piechota also facilitated rich interdisciplinary research opportunities among his fellow faculty—many of which began through eager networking. One such endeavor formed at the intersection of technology and agriculture between Piechota and Dr. Hagop Atamian, who wished to better understand how Piechota’s research and remote sensing data could support Atamian’s exploration into drought-tolerant plants like chia. Four years later, the two still meet every Friday at 8 o’clock to further this collaboration, joined by an ever-shifting and passionate community of student researchers across Fowler and Schmid.

Serving during a Key Transitional Period

When Dr. L. Andrew Lyon stepped down from his deanship to resume his role among the Science and Engineering faculty in 2023, it was evident that filling his shoes would be no small feat. Yet Piechota’s extensive administrative experience and passion for Chapman’s engineering students, staff, and faculty were the precise assets the Fowler Engineering community needed. 

From the beginning of his term as Interim Dean in August 2023, Piechota directed Chapman Engineering’s next pivotal steps with wisdom and care. Piechota envisioned the chance to both advocate for a relatively young school by putting existing, initial plans in motion while paving the way for exciting ideas. This process began with supporting the brand new MS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science program as it gained traction.

“From one standpoint, an Interim Dean is trying to keep things going. This has included developing the MS EECS graduate program, which has been especially successful for the school—we now have over 50 students in it, it has become popular with both existing and new students, and it’s helping elevate our research. It’s felt really good to help MS EECS come to life over the last couple of years; you see both students and faculty getting so deeply involved, you see staff like Hilary Anderson supporting it and the leadership of Director Dr. Mohamed Allali. That has played a significant role [in my deanship]: ensuring that certain things are coming to life the way they should.” 

From faculty promotions to student successes, Piechota has been present to honor them all throughout his time as dean. Above, Piechota and Dr. Nicole Wagner celebrate Asiyah Speight (Data Science & Philosophy ’25), one of nine students awarded the prestigious Gene Haas Foundation Scholarship this year.

Piechota’s deanship also celebrated incredible milestones among educators, including Dr. Erik Linstead’s promotion to full Professor in 2024 and Dr. LouAnne Boyd obtaining tenure in Spring 2025—the first to do so from Chapman’s Engineering esteemed faculty. 

Yet, progressing the school’s foundational aims was not the only element that guided his decisions as Interim Dean; embodying the spirit of a true engineer, Piechota knew it was equally vital to keep an eye out for exciting breakthroughs and take bold, student-centric risks. 

“The other crucial part of this role has involved seeing new things that come along more organically and getting involved there, pursuing the impact that you can have with—and because of—students in real time,” expressed Piechota. “It’s been great to see our students wanting to have an active role and form their own student group, our Fowler Engineering Circuit.
I’ve truly appreciated their enthusiasm and relied on them as an advisory group, as advocates and ambassadors for the school. We were able to go to them while making classroom upgrades, ask for their advice on what they would like in their classrooms, then take their feedback and actually apply it. It’s incredible that we were able to actualize their direct input—I think on the student side, to support the growth and leadership of our students has been so special.”

Solidifying a Supportive, Engaged, and Impactful Engineering Ecosystem

Connecting with students has always thrived at the center of Dr. Piechota’s deanship, manifesting in a variety of unique ways. Doughnuts with the Dean/Sweets in the Suite, an event which took place multiple times throughout the 2024-25 academic year, invited students to recharge and converse with Dr. Piechota in the Dean’s Suite over sugary snacks.

An additional hallmark of Piechota’s deanship has been his dedication to Fowler Engineering as a community, enriching the school’s supportive environment while appreciating the aid he has personally relied upon throughout this transitional period. Above all, Piechota expressed his utmost gratitude for all members of the FSE family who made a difference throughout the past two years. “I appreciate when everyone is united by a project or aim—no matter who you are or what you’re trying to achieve. As Dean, you always see the role staff, students, and faculty play because you’re right there with them. Whether it’s the support provided in the Design/Create/Innovate Lab while working on the R2-D2 project or that tour that Adena Hamlin gave with the exact personal touch a student needed to decide on Chapman, you really come to appreciate the day-to-day community support,” said Piechota. 

For Piechota, the chance to bolster the lives of engineering students, faculty, staff, alumni, families, and external partners inspired his administrative choices, making his own experiences as Interim Dean all the more fulfilling in return. 

“Being at a place like Chapman, it’s special that the Dean is able to connect with all the students and staff; even the incoming students and parents, too, are part of that,” said Piechota. “This past year, as part of developing our recruitment practices, I made about 200 phone calls to our admitted students. It makes you reflect on what impact you have: although you don’t really know what might happen—maybe it might impact only two of those students—the possibility of making such a difference for those two students that it brings them to Chapman makes it worth it.”

Reflecting further upon the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others, one of Piechota’s favorite memories from his two years as Interim Dean involved an interaction with engineering students’ families at the annual Parent Spring Summit—an event which invites families to learn about and celebrate the impact Chapman Engineering has had on their undergraduate students.

“I remember talking to one parent after one of our sessions, and she was so complimentary of how

things were going with her son because she had seen what a huge difference Chapman Engineering had made in him coming out of his shell—not just staying in his dorm room, but really being encouraged to get involved in things. That’s the Chapman environment,” shared Piechota.

Returning to Instruction and Research

Following Fowler Engineering’s transition from one Dean to the next, Piechota’s next steps take him back to the classroom and research lab—returning to the spaces that brought him into higher education. Though Piechota feels enthusiastic about all the instructional, collaborative, and interpersonal joys that come with teaching and research, one specific program he is excited to delve back into is the Grand Challenges Initiative, a unique, two-year, interdisciplinary project that brings incoming Fowler Engineering and Schmid students into research spaces from day one. Returning to his position as Co-Director will allow Piechota to continue serving the research community at Chapman for years to come. 

“A few years back, I got involved in the Grand Challenges Initiative; it’s so unique to Chapman, being able to involve freshman students in doing research projects,” shared Piechota. “I’m really looking forward to continuing and being able to invest even more time in that, and be able to kind of bring projects to life that get students excited about research and experiential learning.”

Piechota and Dr. Javier Espeleta—fellow Co-Director of the Grand Challenges Initiative—celebrate the Education/Technology Category Winners and Runners-Up at the Spring 2025 Grand Challenges Initiative Showcase.