2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

1. Dr. Kenneth A Connor http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4216-763X Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute [biography]

   Kenneth Connor is a professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering (ECSE) where he teaches courses on electromagnetics, electronics and instrumentation, plasma physics, electric power, and general engineering. His research involves plasma physics, electromagnetics, photonics, biomedical sensors, engineering education, diversity in the engineering workforce, and technology enhanced learning. He learned problem solving from his father (ran a gray iron foundry), his mother (a nurse) and grandparents (dairy farmers). He has had the great good fortune to always work with amazing people, most recently professors teaching circuits and electronics from 13 HBCU ECE programs and the faculty, staff and students of the SMART LIGHTING ERC, where he is Education Director. He was ECSE Department Head from 2001 to 2008 and served on the board of the ECE Department Heads Association from 2003 to 2008.

2. Dr. Kathleen Meehan http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-7380-5796 Virginia Tech [biography]

   Kathleen Meehan earned her B.S. in electrical engineering from Manhattan College and her M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois under the supervision of Prof. Nick Holonyak, Jr. She worked as a member of technical staff at Lytel, Inc., following graduation. At Polaroid, she was appointed a Senior Research Group Leader, responsible for the design of laser diodes and arrays. After leaving Polaroid, she was employed at Biocontrol Technology. She moved into academia full-time in 1997 and worked at the University of Denver, West Virginia University, and Virginia Tech. She is currently the director of the University of Glasgow-University of Electronic Science and Technology of China Electronics and Electrical Engineering programme. While at Virginia Tech, she collaborated with Dr. Robert W. Hendricks, with assistance of a number of undergraduate students, to develop an instructional platform known as Lab-in-a-Box, which is used in a number of courses within the Virginia Tech B.S.E.E. program. She continues to be actively involved in the development of mobile hands-on pedagogy as well as research on other topics in STEM education, the synthesis and characterization of nanoscale optical materials, and fermentation processes.

3. Dr. Bonnie H. Ferri Georgia Institute of Technology [biography]

   Dr. Bonnie Ferri is a Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech and a Vice Provost. She performs research in the areas of active learning, embedded controls and computing, and hands-on education. She received the IEEE Undergraduate Education Award and the Regents Award for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. She received her BS in EE from Notre Dame, her MS in ME/AE from Princeton, and her PhD in EE from Georgia Tech.

4. Dr. Deborah Joy Walter Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology [biography]

   Dr. Deborah Walter is an Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. She teaches courses in circuits, electromagnetics, and medical imaging. Before joining academia in 2006, she was at the Computed Tomography Laboratory at GE’s Global Research Center for 8 years. She worked on several technology development projects in the area of X-ray CT for medical and industrial imaging. She is a named inventor on 9 patents. She has been active in the recruitment and retention of women and minorities in engineering and currently PI for an NSF-STEM grant to improve diversity at Rose-Hulman.

5. Dr. Yacob Astatke Morgan State University [biography]

   Dr. Yacob Astatke completed both his Doctor of Engineering and B.S.E.E. degrees from Morgan State University (MSU) and his M.S.E.E. from Johns Hopkins University. He is currently Assistant Vice President for International Affairs at MSU. Dr. Astatke was a full-time faculty member in the School of Engineering for over 20 years, where he rose to the position of Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education. He has more than 20 years experience in the development and delivery of synchronous and asynchronous web-based course supplements for electrical engineering courses. He also runs several exciting summer camps geared towards middle school, high school, and community college students to expose and increase their interest in pursuing Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. For over a decade now, Dr. Astatke has facilitated the donation of 250+ Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) portable laboratory instrumentation boards and has conducted capacity-building training workshops for five universities in Ethiopia. This work has improved the education of thousands of ECE students in Ethiopia annually. He has expanded his services to other African countries such as Nigeria, South Africa, and Cameroon. Dr. Astatke is recipient of several awards, including the 2016 Global Engineering Deans Council (GEDC)-Airbus Diversity Award, 2016 Black Engineer of the Year (BEYA) for College Level Promotion of Education, and the 2013 American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) National Outstanding Teaching Award.

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