Year to Commit to P-12: WhEn Engineering Begins
Professional Development to Meet Growing Demand
Engineering educators have crafted standards and a matrix to guide K-12 instruction.
By Stacy S. Klein-Gardner and Cheryl Farmer
The recent emergence of K-12 engineering education standards, both in the context of and independent of K-12 science standards, demands that we address the professional development and instructional support needs of the diverse educators who are tasked with implementing these standards. In 2012, recognizing the need for clear guidance to assist teachers and administrators in selecting appropriate professional development opportunities, a group of engineering educators from across the nation came together to develop a set of standards that could guide the creation, analysis, selection, and revision of such programs. Over the course of two years more than 50 individuals from the K-12, higher education, and not-for-profit sectors collaborated on an effort to craft both a set of Standards for Preparation and Professional Development for Teachers of Engineering and a matrix to illustrate how these standards might be implemented with different levels of emphasis (i.e., high, medium, low, none) in a particular professional development program. This work was supported by ASEE and is available to educators free of charge on the ASEE website.
Standards
To develop the Standards for Preparation and Professional Development for Teachers of Engineering, the national working group first defined the field of engineering in terms of its nature, content, and practices with respect to engineering design (for example, engineering is creative and collaborative and requires both critical and systems thinking), engineering careers (for example, engineering includes numerous disciplines; multiple engineering career pathways exist), and engineering’s relationship to society (engineering is relevant to current events; engineering both influences and is influenced by cultures and societies). Having achieved consensus on this definition of engineering, the group went on to identify five high-level standards that should be met by programs seeking to prepare educators to teach in the discipline. These standards assert that professional development for teachers of engineering should:
- Address the fundamental nature, content, and practices of engineering and encourage literacy in engineering design, engineering careers, and engineering and society;
- Emphasize engineering pedagogical content knowledge;
- Make clear how engineering design and problem solving offer a context for teaching standards of learning in science, mathematics, language arts, reading, and other subjects;
- Empower teachers to identify appropriate curriculum, instructional materials, and assessment methods; and
- Be aligned to current educational research and student learning standards.
Matrix
With multiple elements required to address each of these five standards, it quickly became apparent that both consumers and providers of professional development programs would need a standardized way of assessing whether a particular program emphasized the elements that were most desired. To this end, over 45 contributors worked both virtually and in-person to create the matrix describing what might constitute high, moderate, low, or no emphasis on each element of each standard. Ten engineering education groups beta-tested the first draft of the matrix and provided formative feedback, which was incorporated into the final version of the document that was first published by ASEE in 2014. The following year, the matrix was republished in the online Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER) along with its supporting literature survey.
These standards and their supporting matrix are intended to inform the design of future professional development efforts and, while not evaluative, may be used informally as a tool for describing and providing formative assessment of the content and characteristics of current professional development programs. They may also be used by consumers of professional development to identify programs that emphasize the elements most needed by particular educators at a particular time. It is the authors’ hope that these standards will serve to inform the efforts of those who design and deliver professional development in support of teachers seeking to integrate engineering into K-12 classrooms across the nation.
Resource Location
The introduction and literature review that informed the development of the standards and matrix may be found both through J-PEER (http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/jpeer/vol5/iss1/5/) and through the ASEE website (https://www.asee.org/conferences-and-events/outreach/egfi-program/k12-teacher-professional-development). If you would like to further explore these tools, putting them to work for your own engineering education efforts, we hope that you will join the PreCollege Engineering Education (PCEE) division of ASEE for a Wednesday workshop in Columbus during the ASEE Annual Conference in June.
Stacy S. Klein-Gardner is adjoint associate professor of biomedical engineering and of radiology and radiological sciences at Vanderbilt University, and director of the Center for STEM Education for Girls at Harpeth Hall School. Cheryl Farmer is founding project director of UTeachEngineering at the University of Texas at Austin.
Meet Your Staff
Data Analyst and Fan of Standup Comedy
By Nathan Kahl
When Austin Ryland joined ASEE’s office of Assessment, Evaluation, and Institutional Research in the spring of 2016, it couldn’t have been a better fit for him or the Society. His graduate work was in higher education administration, and his dissertation title sounds as though it’s right out of ASEE’s conference proceedings: “A review of graduate STEM degrees by gender in the context of the great recession.”
A Midwesterner by birth, Austin considers himself a Southerner, having spent time in Atlanta, Jacksonville, and Birmingham. His family moved frequently because his father worked in the railroad industry, with many years at CSX. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Alabama. He notes, “In D.C. people have said to me, ‘You don’t sound like you’re from Alabama.’ What am I supposed to say to that?”
Language “barriers” aside, he has enjoyed being transplanted to the nation’s capital. “It was a positive culture shock. I had never ridden a subway before and that was an experience. Plus, I like the access to soccer—in Alabama, I had to drive an hour just to see the college team play.” He also likes the music scene and being able to enjoy a comedy show at the Improv, just down the street from the office. Dislikes? “Well, in the South people are nice to you and it’s okay to talk to people; here people think it’s weird if you talk to them. Also, there’s a thing called ‘winter’ here and for me, it’s tough—February, to be specific.”
Outside of the office he enjoys taking part in spin classes and something called master’s swimming, a group class with instructors. He also joins in professional social activities, such as those organized by the group Data Community D.C. Austin’s work regularly appears in the Databytes section of Prism and Connections.
Austin says he appreciates the bright and talented people he gets to work with at ASEE. Shortly after starting here, he was able to attend the Annual Conference, where he enjoyed interacting with members and getting to know folks in the graduate studies division. “I was also really surprised by the exhibit hall and the size and scope of the entire thing.” In addition, he adds with a wry smile, “Engineers have a sense of humor like no one else.”
Best Diversity Paper Recognized
The Best Paper Awards presented at the ASEE Annual Conference now include an award for the best paper from the previous year on the topic of diversity. The 2015 Best Diversity Paper was recognized at the 2016 Annual Conference in New Orleans.
Presented To:
Christina H. Paguyo, Colorado State University
Rebecca A. Atadero, Colorado State University
Karen E. Rambo-Hernandez, West Virginia University
Jennifer Francis, West Virginia University
PAPER: “Creating Inclusive Environments in First-Year Engineering Classes to Support Student Retention and Learning”
Nominations for Two Thousand Seventeen ASEE Board Elections
Presented on the following pages are candidates for offices to be voted on in the 2017 ASEE elections. These candidates were selected by the 2016 Nominating Committee, chaired by Nicholas Altiero. The nominations were received by the executive director as required by the ASEE constitution. The Nominating Committee believes that the candidates offered here are eminently qualified and deserve the close consideration of the membership. Members are reminded that additional nominations of eligible candidates may be made by petition of at least 200 individual members. Nominees so proposed must indicate a willingness to serve before their names are placed on the ballot. Such petitions and agreements must be presented to the executive director no later than Jan. 1, 2017. Write-in votes will be accepted for all offices. In all cases, a simple plurality constitutes election. The official ballot, which will be furnished to each individual member by March 1, must be returned by March 31.
Candidates for the Office of President-Elect
Kenneth Burbank
Professor and Head, School of Engineering Technology,
Purdue Polytechnic Institute
Purdue University
After graduating from Brown University, Kenneth Burbank entered the world of manufacturing. Working in the analog integrated-circuit industry in Rhode Island and Pennsylvania, he went from process engineer to section head for process development. After 10 years, he went “back to school,” earning a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Brown, where his research centered on the optical and electrical properties of compound semiconductors. He has been teaching in engineering and engineering technology programs ever since. While at the New England Institute of Technology and the University of Rhode Island, he taught electronics engineering technology and participated in thin film device research. After he moved to Virginia State University and then to Western Carolina University, serving as department head at each school, his role encompassed program development and leadership. Interfacing the university with the regional engineering community has long been a passion, and he has been an active participant and leader in local sections of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Burbank is also a senior member of IEEE.
Burbank joined Purdue in 2011 as head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology. In 2014, he became head of the newly created School of Engineering Technology, the largest school within the Purdue Polytechnic Institute. At the national level, his most recent role has been as immediate past chair of the Engineering Technology Council of ASEE.
Candidate’s Statement
ASEE is our society.
We have a proud history of dedicated volunteer leaders and equally dedicated staff.
We have spent the past two-plus years looking at the value ASEE provides to us. The Strategic Doing process has been used to look at the functions and processes of the society, and there are ongoing efforts to look at the governance structure. The recent institutional dues increase caused the Engineering Technology Council and the Engineering Deans Council members to have long conversations about ASEE’s value. We need to continue this conversation, as both financial and societal pressures will energize the system and require continuous improvement and efficiency.
Building on this positive momentum, I plan to concentrate on three focus areas.
What value are we, the members, bringing to the people we serve? The Long Range Planning Committee is working on new vision, mission, and value statements, and the ongoing discussions come from deep reflection and strategic thinking. One key question is whether ASEE exists to serve the engineering education enterprise or to serve all those involved in the education of engineering professionals.
What does industry want in the graduates we are educating? It is industry that hires engineers and provides for their continuing professional development. We need to listen to what competencies are most needed in new graduates. And we need to have a long conversation that extends beyond the industry wish list to gain an understanding of what can be accomplished in four years by universities under extreme financial pressure. Industry understands these harsh realities better than most academic leaders. We need a Corporate Member Council that is a strong voice in this conversation.
What does inclusion mean to us and hence to ASEE? The grand challenges facing humanity are universal. Our search for global solutions will rely on local innovation and implementation. Consequently, we need multiple educational pathways; we need dynamic credentialing; we need open collaborations; and we need the agility fostered by inclusion. We need everyone, and all need to feel welcomed and valued.
It is a great honor to be nominated for President-elect. I welcome the opportunity to meet more engineering educators, researchers, and employers, and to represent us to the wider community. As President I will continue the leadership long demonstrated by the volunteers of ASEE.
We are the American Society for Engineering Education. We can do this!
Stephanie Farrell
Professor and Founding Chair, Experiential Engineering Education
Rowan University
An active member of ASEE for 20 years, Stephanie Farrell has served the Society in multiple leadership positions. Currently the Chair of the Diversity Committee, Farrell has also served twice on the Board of Directors as Zone I Chair and as Vice President, Member Affairs. She has held other elected positions as Chair of the Chemical Engineering Division and also Chair of the Mid-Atlantic Section. She has represented ASEE in the engineering education arena as the representative to the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies, where she currently serves as Vice President for Science and Education. At the campus level she served as Rowan University’s ASEE Campus Representative for many years and has won both Section and Zone Outstanding Campus Representative Awards. In 2015 Farrell was elected as a Fellow of ASEE.
Farrell is Professor and Founding Chair of Experiential Engineering Education in the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering at Rowan University. In 1998 she joined Rowan’s then new College of Engineering, and played a key role in the development of the Chemical Engineering Program and multidisciplinary Freshman Engineering program, and in industry-academic collaborations. Her scholarship has focused on innovative, experiential teaching methods that bridge the gap between research and practice in undergraduate engineering education.
Currently, Farrell is involved in cutting-edge initiatives funded by the National Science Foundation to create change in engineering by transforming engineering diversity, both at Rowan and on a national level. She is deeply committed to inclusion of women and minorities as well as groups that have been underserved by traditional efforts to broaden participation, such as LGBTQ students, individuals from low socioeconomic backgrounds, first-generation college students, people with disabilities, and veterans. Farrell has secured over $6 million in research funding for her efforts to transform engineering education.
Farrell’s contributions to engineering education have been recognized with several ASEE awards, including the Mid-Atlantic Distinguished Teaching Award, Robert G. Quinn Award, and the National Outstanding Teaching Award. In 2014, she received an Honoris Causa in Engineering Education award from the International Society for Engineering Pedagogy (IGIP). In 2014-15, Farrell spent one year at Dublin Institute of Technology as a Fulbright Scholar in Engineering Education.
Candidate’s Statement
To be nominated as ASEE’s President-Elect and be provided an opportunity to play a significant role in setting the direction for engineering education is a deeply felt honor for me. A passion for advancing engineering and engineering technology education has been the cornerstone of my academic career.
Two areas that set the direction for my work in engineering education are faculty development and increasing diversity within engineering. The rapid growth of engineering education research has generated new knowledge about how students learn, but only a small fraction of instructors are frequent users of research-based instructional practice. I will work to expand access to professional development in our rapidly changing academic workforce, which comprises an increasing number of contingent faculty members. To me, increasing diversity and inclusion in engineering education and in our profession goes beyond fairness; it is also a business, learning, and ethical imperative. As a member, and now chair, of the Diversity Committee, I have spearheaded initiatives that have increased the participation of underrepresented groups. For example, I played a major role in creating and promoting Safe Zone workshops that have significantly increased the visibility and inclusion of groups that are traditionally left unseen and underserved. I have established synergistic partnerships between ASEE and other organizations, such as AIChE, that will increase the impact of best practices for diversity and inclusion.
I have always considered ASEE my primary professional society, and for over 20 years it has been my honor to work with the members of ASEE. As campus representative and through leadership roles as Section and Zone Chair and chemical engineering division chair, Vice President, Member Affairs, and Diversity Committee chair, I have worked with the ASEE leadership and contributed to promoting ASEE’s vision of advancing excellence in all aspects of engineering and engineering technology education. As Vice President, Member Affairs, I worked with Zone and Section Chairs to develop and advocate activities that meet the needs of their membership. All of my roles within ASEE have provided me a depth and breadth of understanding of the challenges facing ASEE and a set of active leadership experiences that will enable me to continue my commitment to the ASEE goals of advancing innovation, excellence, and access at all levels of engineering education. I look forward to continuing to serve the members of ASEE for the rest of my academic career, and it would be my honor to be able to do so as President-Elect.
Candidates for Vice President, Finance
Dan Sayre
Executive Marketing Manager
John Wiley and Sons Inc.
A publishing professional for more than 30 years, Dan Sayre graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in history, earning distinction in the major. Since 2005, he has served in both editorial and marketing roles as part of Wiley’s Engineering Education team in its Knowledge and Learning Division. He is currently executive marketing manager for engineering and computer science. He was previously vice president and publisher of Island Press in Washington, D.C., and is a past president of Washington Book Publishers. Prior to that, Sayre was an engineering editor in Wiley’s Professional and Trade Division, where he began his career. He is currently chair of the Corporate Member Council of ASEE, serves on the Board of Directors of ASEE as first vice president, and is also an adviser to the ASEE Student Division.
Candidate’s Statement
Both my work at Wiley and my volunteering for ASEE are dedicated to the education of the next generation of engineers—enabling young people from all backgrounds and perspectives with the skills, knowledge, and abilities needed to address the world’s grand challenges.
I’ve been active in ASEE’s Corporate Member Council since joining Wiley’s education group in 2005. Through my engagement with CMC, most recently as CMC chair and a member of the ASEE board, I have observed how crucial a strong financial position is to the growth and health of the Society. The current board and Society leadership have worked diligently, in concert with membership, to effect a rebound in fiscal stability. I am eager to bring my business experience and long involvement with all sectors of the Society to help build on that base—balancing the growth of member services and Society activities with prudent stewardship of the resources of the Society and its members.
I am committed to helping expand and strengthen the role that ASEE plays in advancing innovation, excellence, and access at all levels of education for the engineering profession. Education is undergoing rapid change due to both economic forces and disruptive technological innovation. The Society is challenged not just to adapt but to help lead the engineering education community to evolve and thrive. I welcome the opportunity to help the Society meet that challenge.
Douglas Tougaw
Department Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering,
Richardson Professor of Engineering
Valparaiso University
Douglas Tougaw received a bachelor’s degree from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame. He joined the engineering faculty at Valparaiso University in 1996. He earned an M.B.A. from Valparaiso in 2004 and a Master of Higher Education Administration degree from North Park University in 2013.
He is currently the department chair of electrical and computer engineering and holds the Richardson Professorship of Engineering. He has received two university-wide teaching awards and was named one of the 150 Most Influential People in Valparaiso University History in 2009. Tougaw’s research interests focus on nanotechnology and engineering pedagogy. He has published more than 70 refereed publications, split almost evenly between those two areas.
Tougaw has been an active member of ASEE since 2000, beginning with service as the Valparaiso University Campus Representative. He also served as the Illinois/Indiana Section Chair, and has been the section’s Annual Conference co-chair three times. He received the Outstanding Teaching Award, the Outstanding Service Award, and the Outstanding Campus Representative Award from the Illinois/Indiana Section. He received the Outstanding Paper Award for the Section Conference four times and the Outstanding Zone Paper at the national conference once.
Tougaw completed a four-year sequence of officer positions in the Ethics Division, including serving as division chair during 2010-2011. He is currently serving as program chair for the Entrepreneurship and Engineering Innovation Division. He also chaired two national ad hoc ASEE committees. The first of these revised the Board of Directors Statement on Engineering Ethics Education, and the second wrote the first-ever ASEE Code of Ethics. Both of those documents were approved unanimously by the ASEE Board of Directors.
He served on the ASEE Board of Directors as Zone II Chair during 2010-2012. During that time, he also participated in the Membership Policy Committee, the Long-Range Planning Committee, and the Nominating Committee. In 2011, Tougaw was appointed as one of three members of the inaugural ASEE Audit Committee (later renamed the Risk Management Committee). He served on that committee for three years, the last of them as committee chair.
Tougaw is currently serving as one of two at-large members of the ASEE Finance Committee. He is also serving on the Awards Committee and on an ad hoc committee to review the finances associated with annual awards given by ASEE.
Candidate’s Statement
This is an exciting and a challenging time to be a member of our profession. New technologies are constantly being developed that promise to dramatically improve the education we offer to our students. Yet, engineering programs are not immune to the financial stresses being faced by the field of higher education, and neither is ASEE. Our profession and our professional society are both in the midst of a time of transition, and both require thoughtful and forward-looking leadership to successfully navigate the challenges that face us.
I have been actively involved in ASEE throughout my career, assuming many leadership positions of increasing responsibility and service to the organization’s members. I believe these experiences have helped prepare me well for the position of Vice-President of Finance. My time on the Board of Directors as Zone II Chair and my service on the Risk Management Committee and the Finance Committee over the past several years have helped me to see how strong leadership at headquarters, from the current Board of Directors, and from the Engineering Deans’ Council and the Engineering Technology Council has helped return ASEE to a strong financial footing. I’m grateful to know that the organization I love is once again operating with a strong financial foundation.
As vice president, finance, my primary goal will be to help ASEE provide the highest possible level of sustainable service to our members. Every organization must strive to meet the needs of current members while also operating sustainably so as to ensure ongoing service to future generations. My objective as vice president, finance will be to listen carefully, work collaboratively, and communicate openly so that this balance is maintained.
I will also work closely with the professional staff in the ASEE finance office to ensure that timely and accurate budget information is provided to sections, zones, and divisions. This information is critical for these units to make informed decisions about the programs they offer, especially at the annual conference. My time as an officer at each of these levels has helped me to recognize the importance of such timely and accurate budgetary information, and I will work to ensure it is made available.
I am honored to be nominated as Vice President, Finance, and if elected, I promise to work diligently on your behalf.
Candidates for Vice President, External Affairs
Catherine Skokan
Associate Professor Emerita,
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
Colorado School of Mines
Catherine Skokan is an associate professor emerita at the Colorado School of Mines in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences. She received her B.Sc., M. Sc., and Ph.D. in Geophysical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and was the first woman to receive a graduate degree from that institution. After a short stint working for the U. S. Geological Survey, she returned to the Colorado School of Mines Geophysics Department (1976–1996). She then transferred to the Engineering Division (Electrical Engineering), where she remained until her retirement in 2015. Her research areas include use of geophysical tools in groundwater mapping, curriculum development, and humanitarian engineering. She has been active in curriculum advancement both at her university working on Senior Design, Introduction to Circuits, Digital Signal Processing and integrated liberal arts/engineering courses and externally working with local high schools, tribal colleges, and the Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi. She is also active in K-12 outreach, in particular working with teachers in summer workshops and academic year follow-up programs. Humanitarian engineering has provided her an opportunity to expose students to different cultures by use of their engineering skills for the underserved. She has taken groups of students on engineering projects to Senegal, Ghana, and Honduras and worked with an Athabaskan Tribal Community in Alaska. Other international experiences with students include Honors trips to Southeast Asia, Turkey, and Eastern Europe, and music/engineering trips to Italy, Peru, Jamaica, and Ireland. She believes that these international experiences for students are vital to their education as engineers. In retirement, Skokan enjoys lecturing on cruise ships around the world, covering engineering and geologic topics. In addition, she volunteers for a humanitarian organization, Funzeleo, and holds workshops for teachers in Tanzania in the areas of engineering and energy resources. She is an active ASEE member and has served as Secretary/Treasurer, Program Chair/Vice Chair, and Chair of the Multidisciplinary Division. She was the PIC II chair from 2011 to 2014 and served on the Executive Committee of the Board as the vice president of PICS (2013-14). She presently holds the position of Vice President, External Relations (2015-2017), and is eligible for a second term. She is also an active member of the Colorado Association of Science Teachers (past president), the Environmental and Engineering Geophysical Society (past president), American Geophysical Union, Sigma Xi, and Tau Beta Pi, and is a regular contributor to the International Colloquium on Engineering Education.
Candidate’s Statement
I am honored to be nominated to the position of Vice President, External Relations. I have held this office for the past two years and am eligible for re-election for a second term. This is a position with several responsibilities. I feel as if I have gotten started working on these responsibilities and would like to be able to continue my efforts. This position has two major components: the Projects Board and the International Advisory Committee (IAC). Also, the Vice President, External Relations serves on the Finance Committee and chairs the ad hoc ASEE Public Policy Committee.
The Vice President, External Relations chairs the Projects Board and is concerned with proposals from ASEE for such activities as fellowships, workshops, and data collection. The Projects Board has recently implemented a new policy and reviews proposals from ASEE for approval or editing. Also, the chair oversees the Institutional Review Board (IRB) when required to review research involving human subjects. A major effort of the Projects Board this last year (outside of project review) has been to update and revise a Procedure Manual and Bylaws. My goals include continuing review of ASEE proposals, updating the membership of the IRB, and seeking out new funding opportunities.
This position also involves connections with organizations outside of ASEE, including managing MOU’s with both national and international organizations, and chairing the IAC and the International Forum. These responsibilities are important to ASEE’s vision to facilitate international cooperation. During my term, one major thrust for the IAC has involved international membership at both institutional and individual levels. How can we best serve these members, and how can they remain active in ASEE events? This is an ongoing effort and will continue in future years. Another goal is to create a set of bylaws and a procedures manual for the IAC similar to that of the Projects Board.
These responsibilities involve close contact and coordination with the board and ASEE staff, something I enjoy. Having served in numerous offices for ASEE, I know the time commitment and am willing to participate fully. This includes regular monthly conference calls with each of the committees. As the recipient of over 40 research grants from state and federal funding agencies, I have had extensive experience in project management and financing. As our world becomes more and more connected, it is imperative that ASEE continue to be an active leader in collaborations throughout the world.
Sheryl Sorby
Professor of Engineering Education
The Ohio State University
Sheryl Sorby, currently a professor of engineering education at Ohio State University, was recently a Fulbright Scholar at the Dublin Institute of Technology in Ireland. At Michigan Technological University, where she is professor emerita of mechanical engineering-engineering mechanics, she served as associate dean for academic programs and chair of the Engineering Fundamentals Department. In the latter position, she was responsible for the development and delivery of the newly adopted First Year Engineering Program. Sorby has been the principal investigator or co-PI on more than $13 million in grant funding, mostly for educational projects. For nearly three years, she served as a program director in the Division of Undergraduate Education at the National Science Foundation. Sorby earned a B.S. in civil engineering, an M.S. in engineering mechanics, and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering-engineering mechanics, all from Michigan Tech.
Sorby has a well-established research program in spatial visualization and is actively involved in the development of various educational programs. She received a grant in 1993 to develop a course and course materials for helping engineering students develop their 3-D spatial skills. She has received numberous follow-up grants from the NSF to further her work in developing and assessing spatial skills. In 2005 she received the Betty Vetter award for Research on Women in Engineering through the Women in Engineering Pro-Active Network (WEPAN) for her work in improving the 3-D spatial skills of engineering students. She has published more than 150 papers in journals and conference proceedings and is the author of seven textbooks.
Sorby has been a member of ASEE since 1991 and has served the Society in various capacities. She was chair of the Engineering Design Graphics Division in 2002 and has served as program chair for EDGD for several conferences. She was director of programs for EDGD from 2010 to 2013. In addition, she was conference chair for the 2010 midyear meeting of EDGD. She is one of the inaugural associate editors of Advances in Engineering Education, ASEE’s online journal. She currently serves as Professional Interest Council III Chair and Vice President of PICs for ASEE.
Sorby received a Dow Outstanding New Faculty Award in 1996 and a Distinguished Teaching Award in 1998, both for the North Midwest Section of ASEE. She received a Distinguished Service Award from the Engineering Design Graphics Division of ASEE in 2007. In 2009 she was inducted as a Fellow of ASEE, and in 2011 she received the Society’s Sharon Keillor award as an oustanding female engineering educator.
Candidate’s Statement
It is with great honor and enthusiasm that I accept the nomination of Vice President, External Relations for ASEE. I have been a member of the Society for virtually all of my professional life, serving in various capacities through the years. I look forward to continuing my service to the Society if elected to this position.
The two primary functions of the Vice President, External Relations are projects and building/maintaining connections with external organizations, primarily international entities. Projects are important because they allow us to offer fellowships and workshops that provide members with additional avenues for professional activity. As Vice President, External Relations, I would work to continue existing projects and to develop strategies for implementing additional ones in service to the society. On the international front, I have lived in Switzerland, Australia, and Ireland for extended periods of time and have numerous colleagues and collaborators around the world. I will be attending the SEFI 2016 conference in Tampere, Finland, representing ASEE among our European peers. I welcome the opportunity to extend our global presence while working toward increasing the number of international institutional memberships.
As a former program officer at the National Science Foundation, one thing that I value is project and program evaluation. As a Society, we should be responsive to the needs, concerns, and ideas of our members. One of the initiatives I would like to undertake is installation of a mechanism such as a periodic survey to receive members’ feedback on current projects to determine if a) these are being implemented optimally and b) there are projects we should eliminate or add to the slate of what we offer. Along a similar line, we should survey international engineering programs to determine what types of services we could provide that would make institutional membership in ASEE more attractive to them. Not only might these activities improve our bottom line, through increased membership fee income, but an expanded global reach will make us a stronger, more attractive Society for our domestic members. Engineering has become a global activity, with designers working collaboratively on projects around the world and around the clock; I believe engineering education should reflect this globalization, especially through a Society such as ASEE.
In closing, I welcome the opportunity to serve ASEE in the capacity of Vice President, External Relations as we propel the Society to new heights and engage in strategies to better meet the needs of our members.
Candidates for Chair, PIC II
Saleh M. Sbenaty
Professor, Materials Engineering
California Polytechnic State University
Saleh M. Sbenaty, a professor of engineering technology, earned his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Tennessee Technological University and his B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Damascus University in Syria.
Since joining MTSU in 1993, Sbenaty has taught graduate and undergraduate courses and been actively engaged in program and curriculum development, assessments, and evaluations. He participated in three major National Science Foundation-funded Advanced Technological Education grants and two U.S. Department of Justice Grants in Computer Forensics. He is currently serving as a program evaluator for the Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission of ABET.
Sbenaty has authored and co-authored several industry-based case studies, published and presented over 36 refereed national and international articles, and attended or conducted more than 65 workshops in accreditation, curriculum development, assessments, using technology in the classroom, case-based learning, problem-based learning, Corporate Scholar Solution-based learning, just-in-time learning, and modular-based learning.
Sbenaty has conducted research in the area of mass spectrometry, power electronics, lasers, instrumentation, biosensors, electrical characteristics of concrete, digital forensics, and microcontroller applications. He has several years of industrial and research experience with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Lockheed-Martin, Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Syrian Networks.
In ASEE, Sbenaty has served as a division chair and program chair of the Systems Engineering Division as well as the Instrumentation Division. He is a past chair of the ASEE Robert G. Quinn Award for Excellence in Engineering Education. He also was a member of the International Review Board, International Journal of Modern Engineering, a guest editor and member of the Editorial Board, Journal of SMET Education: Innovations and Research, and a panelist on the IEEE Pulse Panel and PC Magazine Advisory Panel.
Sbenaty’s awards and honors include the MTSU Foundation Outstanding Teacher Award in 2006; Outstanding Classroom Teacher, CBAS, in 2001; Faculty Achievement Award, CBAS, in 1996; Who’s Who Among the Students in American Universities, Tennessee Technological University, in 1988; Top Graduating Student, College of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, Damascus University, 1980; and Dresden University Scholarship, Summer 1978, Dresden, Germany. He is a member of the honor society Phi Kappa Phi, the national engineering honors society Tau Beta Pi, the electrical engineering honor society Eta Kappa Nu, and the International honorary Society for Professionals in Technology, Epsilon Pi Tau.
Peter L. Schmidt
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
University of Evansville
Peter Schmidt is a relative newcomer to the engineering education field, but not to the profession. After receiving a Bachelor of Science degree from the Speed Scientific School at the University of Louisville in 1986, he accepted a position as a mechanical engineer at the Naval Weapons Support Center (now the Naval Surface Warfare Center) in Crane, Indiana. While working for the Department of Defense on SONAR systems and components, he completed his master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He then moved to private industry, with Wynn’s International/Precision Rubber in Lebanon, Tenn., as a product design engineer, with CDAI in Atlanta as a senior consultant, and with Carrier/ICP in Lewisburg, Tenn., as a mechanical engineer. During this time, he obtained professional registration as a mechanical engineer in both Tennessee and Georgia.
Schmidt seized an opportunity to pursue a Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University in 2000 and completed his graduate studies in 2006. In support of a long-time professional goal of taking his practical experience to academia, he also obtained a Future Faculty Preparation Certificate from Vanderbilt University. After serving for a year as a postdoc and lecturer in mechanical engineering, he obtained his first academic appointment at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte in the Department of Engineering Technology, helping mold the capstone design program implemented during the prior year. This program is a multidisciplinary, industry-sponsored experience open to all engineering and engineering technology students. He was promoted to associate professor in 2013. During his time at UNC Charlotte, Schmidt was involved with the NASA Lunabotics competition team, as well as the Air Force Design Challenge Team. He was appointed as a NASA Faculty Fellow at Kennedy Space Center in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012, working on in situ resource utilization (ISRU) projects.
In 2015, Schmidt accepted an appointment as an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Evansville in Indiana, where he remains active in capstone design.
Schmidt has served the organization since becoming a member in 2007. Starting as a director, and moving through the ranks as an officer in the Design in Engineering Education Division, he is currently serving as past division chair.
Candidates for Chair, PIC III
Atsushi Akera
Associate Professor
Historian of Engineering Education,
Department of Science and Technology Studies
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Atsushi Akera is associate professor and historian of engineering education in the Department of Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. in the history and sociology of science from the University of Pennsylvania. His current research is on the history of engineering education reform in the United States—research that encompasses the history of ASEE—the goal of which is to produce a policy-relevant study on how to develop more effective and enduring changes within engineering education. He presently serves as the team lead for the Connections Team of the board’s Strategic Doing initiative.
Akera is also chair of an Ad Hoc Committee on Interdivisional Cooperation that predates the present board initiative; a member of the Strategic Doing Governance Team; and a past chair of the Liberal Education/Engineering and Society Division. He also serves as associate editor of the international journal Engineering Studies, is an Editorial Board member and past associate editor in chief of the IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, and is a former member of the Executive Council of the Society for the History of Technology. He also served for 11 years as director of the First Year Studies Program at Rensselaer. Selected presentations and publications include “Institutional Responses to the Bologna Process in Danish Engineering Education” (2015); “The MIT Lewis Survey: Creating a Cold War Blueprint for a Technological University” (2012); “Engineering ‘manpower’ shortages, regional economic development, and the 1960 California Master Plan for Higher Education,” (2010), all in the Proceedings of the ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition; and, with Bruce Seely, “A historical survey of the structural changes in engineering education,” in International Perspectives on Engineering Education, ed. Steen Christensen at al. (Springer, 2015). He is also author of Calculating a Natural World: Scientists, Engineers and Computers During the Rise of U.S. Cold War Research (MIT Press, 2006).
P.K. Imbrie
Head and Professor
Department of Engineering Education,
Professor
Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
University of Cincinnati
P.K. Imbrie received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in aerospace engineering from Texas A&M University. He is an advocate for research-based approaches to engineering education, curricular reform, and student retention. Imbrie conducts both traditional and educational research in experimental mechanics, piezospectroscopic techniques, epistemologies, and assessment, as well as modeling of student learning, student success, student team effectiveness, and global competencies. He helped establish the scholarly foundation for engineering education as an academic discipline through lead authorship of the landmark 2006 Journal of Engineering Education special reports “The National Engineering Education Research Colloquies” and “The Research Agenda for the New Discipline of Engineering Education.” He has a passion for designing state-of-the-art learning spaces. While at Purdue University, Imbrie co-led the creation of the First-Year Engineering Program’s Ideas to Innovation (i2i) Learning Laboratory, a design-oriented facility that engages students in team-based, socially relevant projects. While at Texas A&M University, Imbrie co-led the design of a 525,000-square-foot state-of-the-art engineering education-focused facility, the largest educational building in the state. His expertise in educational pedagogy, student learning, and teaching has impacted thousands of students at the universities with which he has been associated. Imbrie is nationally recognized for his work in active/collaborative learning pedagogies, teaming, and student success modeling. His engineering education leadership has produced fundamental changes in the way students are educated around the world.
Imbrie has been a member of ASEE since 2000 and has been actively involved with the society in various capacities. He has served in multiple leadership roles in the ERM and FPD divisions, including ERM board of directors (2002-2004), program chair for ERM (2005 and 2009), ERM program chair for Frontiers in Education (FIE) (2004), and FIE Steering Committee ERM representative (2003-2009), as well as program chair (2016) and division chair (2016-17) for FPD. He has also served on two ASEE advisory committees.
Imbrie’s ASEE honors include the 2015 William Elgin Wickenden Award for research publications in JEE and the 2014 ERM Division’s Best Paper Award. Additionally, while at Purdue he received the Engineering Faculty Excellence Team Award, the University Teaching for Tomorrow Award, and a teaching award. He looks forward to continuing to serve ASEE as we take the next steps toward creating a more diverse, inclusive, and better-prepared workforce that will tackle the 21st-century global challenges.
Candidates for Chair, Council of Sections, Zone II
Andrew Kline
Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education
College of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Western Michigan University
Andrew Kline earned his Ph.D. in chemical engineering in 1993 from Michigan Technological University, where he was then employed as a senior research engineer and instructor. After a postdoctoral appointment at Cornell University, he joined Western Michigan University (WMU) in the Department of Chemical and Paper Engineering in 2001 and is now a tenured professor. In September 2016, he was appointed associate dean for research and graduate education for the WMU College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS).
Kline has taught chemical engineering courses from freshman through graduate level, emphasizing senior capstone design, material and energy balances, and thermodynamics. He has taught Introduction to Engineering for freshmen within his discipline and for students across the college. He has been a faculty adviser for 95 capstone design teams and 33 senior honors theses since 2002, and has chaired or served on 12 graduate student thesis committees. He is a peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission.
Since 2003, Kline has been the principal investigator on three federally funded engineering education grants totaling approximately $1.19 million. He has joined other grant projects exceeding $1.5 million as senior personnel or site director. He has 17 peer-reviewed journal publications or book chapters, 25 peer-reviewed conference papers, more than 40 research project reports to sponsoring agencies, and more than 90 presentations at various peer- and non-peer-reviewed conferences or university-wide symposia.
Kline’s research focus is engineering education, rather than the typical chemical engineering lab or process research, and has included incorporating service learning into engineering design courses, STEM outreach to local K-8 students, and increasing undergraduate student retention and diversity. Since 2008, he has been WMU site director for the Michigan Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (MI-LSAMP) Program. He is faculty adviser for the WMU student chapters of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), and the Society of Automotive Engineers Baja car team. His grants have supported student attendance at conferences, where they presented 30 papers or posters as first authors.
Kline has been an ASEE member since 2002 and a member of the Executive Board of the North Central Section (NCS) since 2008. He has been chair of the NCS regional conference Best Paper award process (2009-11); section vice chair (2011-13); section chair (2013-15); section past chair (2015-17); and an ASEE Zone II Best Paper judge in 2010, 2011, and 2012.
Scott Schultz
Associate Dean, School of Engineering
Mercer University
Scott Schultz began his academic career at Mercer University in 2002 where he was introduced to and joined ASEE. That year he attended his first of 14 consecutive Southeast section conferences and was hooked. During these 14 years, he has held various officer positions within the Southeast section. These positions included the Section President for 2015-16, Vice President of the Programs Unit in 2011-2012 and 2012-13, and Vice President of the Publications and Promotion Unit in 2008-09. His primary service roles included the technical program chair for the 2011 Southeast section conference at The Citadel, assistant site coordinator for the 2014 conference at Mercer University, and chair for the 2016 conference at the University of Alabama.
Schultz joined the School of Engineering at Mercer University in 2002 as an assistant professor in Industrial Engineering. He also served as Chair of the Industrial Engineering Department from 2010 to 2014. Since 2014, he has served as the Associate Dean for the School of Engineering at Mercer University during an era of rapid enrollment growth in the engineering school.
Schultz regularly consults on Air Force projects through the Mercer Engineering Research Center. He has also recently engaged in undergraduate research focused on local community problems, partnering with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, the local school system, and the regional transit system.
He received his B.S. degree in industrial engineering from the University of Florida in 1984, his master’s degree from North Carolina State University in Integrated Manufacturing Systems Engineering in 1985, and his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from North Carolina State in 2001. Schultz also spent 13 years at Ford Motor Company in various manufacturing and management positions in Dearborn, Mich. and in Windsor, Ontario.
Candidates for Chair, Council of Sections, Zone IV
Ananda M. Paudel
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Technology
Metropolitan State University of Denver
An active member of ASEE since 2010, Ananda M. Paudel is an assistant professor of engineering technology at Metropolitan State University of Denver, where he teaches courses in manufacturing processes, statistical process control, computer-aided manufacturing, and advanced energy technologies, among others, and supervises senior projects. He was formerly on the faculty at Colorado State University-Pueblo. Paudel served as ASEE Rocky Mountain Section (RMS) chair from 2013 to 2014. He revitalized the section and hosted the 2013 ASEE RMS conference. He is active in engineering education research and has published more than 10 papers in ASEE proceedings. He received the ASEE RMS best paper award in 2012. He has a B.S in mechanical engineering from Tribhuvan University, Nepal, a M.S. in mechatronics from Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, South Korea, and a Ph.D. in industrial engineering from Western Michigan University. With academic and professional experience in the United States and abroad, Paudel will contribute to strengthening ASEE Zone-IV activities. He is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and serves on the board of directors of the American Society of Nepalese Engineers. He has advised undergraduate and graduate students in various research topics. He also led a team of government officials, professionals, and academics in a state-funded study of the potential impacts of highway solar arrays on driver safety, environmental resources, and maintenance operations.
Call for Award Nominations
ASEE is currently seeking nominations for awards to be presented at the Awards Ceremony of the ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition in Columbus, Ohio, in June 2017.
All it takes is a little of your time for a deserving colleague to receive national recognition in the presence of an audience of esteemed colleagues in the engineering education community.
Descriptions of all awards—including award criteria and nomination requirements—and online award nomination forms are available on the ASEE website at http://www.asee.org/member-resources/awards. Hard-copy nominations, which will also be accepted, should be sent to:
ASEE
Awards Administration
1818 N Street, N.W., Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
The deadline for submitting award nominations is January 15, 2017. If you have questions, please call (202) 331-3516 or send an e-mail to awards@asee.org.