I am pleased to serve as president of
the American Society for Engineering Education.
In ASEE’s 113-year history, this
year is particularly important with respect
to the national interest in engineering
and its role in the economic vitality,
security and health of the nation’s
citizens. Important aspects of the contributions
of engineering to these critical national
issues have been highlighted in two recent
reports and one book:
- “Rising Above the Gathering
Storm: Energizing and Employing America
for a Brighter Economic Future,”
National Academies, 2006
- “The Engineer of 2020,”
National Academy of Engineering
- “The World Is Flat,” Thomas
L. Friedman, 2005
These publications identify the essential
need for and the role of engineers in
advancing the nation’s health and
welfare. They also cite the importance
of engineering’s contributions to
innovation and the introduction of new
technologies into the global economy.
In particular, the National Academies’
report identifies the need for future
engineers to prepare for careers that
require increased emphasis on the creative
and innovative aspects of engineering.
The American Society for Engineering
Education has a critical role in advancing
engineering and engineering technology
education during this time of heightened
national interest in engineering’s
role. In the plenary
session at this year’s annual
conference, a Socratic dialogue was conducted
to address “What Is an Effective
Education for the Future and How Is It
Best Learned?” The plenary initiated
the ASEE Year
of Dialogue, which will be focused
at every level within the organization
on how the ASEE community can advance
engineering and engineering technology
based on the wisdom and experience of
faculty and students, as well as industry
and government professionals. Work is
already in progress under the leadership
of Immediate Past-President Ron Barr to
have meetings
in each of our 12 sections building on
the dialogue that began at the ASEE annual
conference. The goal of these meetings
is to engage all of our members in the
task of developing the education necessary
to produce effective global professionals
for 2020 and beyond. In each issue of
this year’s Prism, leading engineering
educators will be writing about the Year
of Dialogue.
This effort will also be supported and
strongly informed by engineering and engineering
technology education research published
in the Journal
of Engineering Education and with
research and best practices that will
appear in the new ASEE Web-based online
journal that’s currently being launched.
Our members are encouraged to identify
their own and their colleagues’
educational research efforts that are
appropriate for publishing in both the
print and the online journals.
 In
light of the effort focused on the Year
of Dialogue and with the emphasis on global
engineering, ASEE’s work with educators
across the world has never been more timely.
We need to draw collectively from the
best thoughts and wisdom from around the
world to produce graduates who can truly
make a difference from a global perspective
in the future. To further these efforts,
ASEE has become the home for IACEE,
a global continuing engineering education
society, and will sponsor the 5th
Global Colloquium on Engineering Education
this fall in Rio de Janeiro. The efforts
to engage the global engineering community
will be accelerated during this coming
year at ASEE.
Finally, we could not engage collectively
in developing the education for the global
engineer of 2020 and beyond without focusing
on prospective engineers and the critical
need to attract and provide an education
for prospective students, especially those
from historically underrepresented groups.
It is clear that these efforts must be
significantly increased to make younger
students more aware of engineering and
engineering technology careers. To do
this, we must join forces with K-12 students
and teachers. This effort will be facilitated
by ASEE’s new K-12
Division and K-12
Engineering Center in Washington.
For example, the development of the outstanding
publication “Engineering, Go for
It!” has been a significant success,
and plans are in progress for the next
edition, which will bring the number of
copies published in excess of 1 million.
Significant opportunities exist for ASEE
members to become engaged in ASEE’s
K-12 activities and to have a measurable
impact on students entering the profession.
In closing, I am deeply honored to serve
as ASEE’s president. I look forward
to working with our members in furthering
the important goals of advancing engineering
and engineering technology education,
strengthening our global connections and
engaging prospective students in our profession.
David N. Wormley is the president
of ASEE and the dean of the College of
Engineering at Penn State University.
The national publication and design community
recognized ASEE’s publications department
with 15 awards during the past year, up
from 10 the previous year.
Prism won an Association of Educational
Publishers (AEP) Distinguished Achievement
Award for Excellence in Educational Publishing
in the Feature Writing category for “Down,
but Not Out,” a story about
engineering schools in New Orleans that
were temporarily shut down by Hurricane
Katrina.
Prism also won four AEP Distinguished
Achievement Finalist Awards:
Prism took home six APEX 2006 Awards
for Publication Excellence from Communications
Concepts, which recognize the best
in editorial content and graphic design
by professional communicators:
In addition, ASEE’s K-12 publication,
Engineering,
Go for It!, won an APEX Grand Award
in the One-of-a-Kind Publication for Children
category.
Lastly, Prism’s March 2005 cover,
“Why
I Became an Engineer,” was honored
with three prestigious design awards,
one each from the Society of Publication
Designers, Print magazine and the Society
of Illustrators.
By Richard Blais
In a relatively short time, engineering
education has become a significant part
of the curricula in the nation’s
secondary schools, yet no national standards
for pre-college engineering education
exist. National learning standards guide
instruction in K-12 science, mathematics
and technology, but not in engineering.
This noticeable absence comes at a time
when a valid set of comprehensive and
rigorous learning standards for K-12 engineering
is needed most.
Project Lead the Way (PLTW) has been
committed to preparing an increasingly
more diverse group of students to be successful
in science, engineering and engineering
technology programs at the post-secondary
level for 10 years. Now through a dynamic
partnership with the National Association
of State Directors of Career Technical
Education Consortium (NASDCTEc) and with
oversight of that organization’s
STEM Career Cluster, PLTW will be coordinating
and facilitating the development of engineering
standards for the pre-college program
with invested stakeholders.
Invited representatives from business
and industry, higher education, government,
engineering organizations and societies,
along with K-12, will gather in Baltimore
later this year to begin the development
of these vitally needed learning standards.
This diverse and informed development
forum will include representatives from
the Corporate Member Council of ASEE,
Duke University, the University of Maryland
Baltimore County, Purdue University, St.
Louis Community College and Central Missouri
State University, as well as representatives
from ASEE, AAES, NAE, NAMEPA, NAPE, NASA,
SME, NFPA, EIA and the Department of Defense.
In addition, the group will include representatives
from national teacher education associations
for science, mathematics and technology
education, other national STEM programs,
CISCO Systems and Project Lead the Way.
We at Project Lead the Way are committed
to leading this national effort to profoundly
impact achieving the desired outcome of
effective and applicable standards for
STEM programs for the future of our nation.
Richard Blais is vice president of
Project Lead the Way.
For this year’s annual
conference, ASEE set up camp in Chicago,
a place known for its engineering and
architectural marvels, the same city where
ASEE was founded during the 1893 World’s
Columbian Exposition. Within view of engineering
feats like the Sears Tower, the John Hancock
Center and the 150-foot Ferris wheel,
a record number of attendees filled the
Hyatt Regency Chicago for ASEE’s
113th annual conference. From June 18-21,
3,500 attendees, including just over 2,250
prime registrants, were treated to a premier
plenary, six distinguished lectures, almost
1,500 paper
presentations and a variety of informative
workshops. Conference goers participated
in the main
plenary, where a panel of experts
discussed key issues in advancing scholarship
in engineering and engineering technology
education. Attendees also enjoyed a happy
hour and an ice cream social while they
mingled with the 120 companies in the
exhibit hall. On Sunday evening, attendees
made their way to Navy Pier for the 2006
ASEE Picnic: Roar into the ’20s!
presented by Dassault Systemes. A record
level of corporate
sponsorship helped make the conference
one of ASEE’s best. When they weren’t
in meetings or presentations, ASEE members
saw engineering come alive in Chicago
(View
a Photo Slideshow) with an architectural
boat cruise, a tour of the Frank Lloyd
Wright Home and Studio and a King Tutankhamun
exhibit at Chicago’s Field Museum.
 Campus
Representative Awards
Campus representative award winners in
the 12th annual “Spread the Word”
membership recruitment campaign were honored
at the Campus Rep Reception during the
annual conference in Chicago. Shown
here with Vice President, Member Affairs
Renata Engel (2004-06) are the society-wide
winners: Kanti Prasad, pictured
right, University of Massachusetts, Lowell
(most professional members recruited)
and Dean Warren R. Hill, accepting on
behalf of William G. Clapp, Weber State
University (highest percentage faculty
membership). The complete list of
winners from each section can be found
at www.asee.org/activities/organizations/campus/index.cfm.
2006 ASEE National and Society Awards
Abstract submission is open till 5:00
p.m. EST on Wednesday, October 4, 2006.
If you have any questions, please contact
the ASEE Program Coordinator, Jennifer
Atkinson via email: j.atkinson@asee.org.
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