February 1998

Chairman’s Corner

I cannot believe that we are already in the middle of the spring semester! Tempus fugit. Many of you will be on spring break when you receive this newsletter, which means that it’s time to register for our spring meeting at the College of New Jersey (details are included within the body of this newsletter).

Before discussing some of the Middle Atlantic Section’s future plans, I wish to express my sincere thanks to DuPont Engineering Research & Development for hosting our fall meeting in Wilmington, Delaware. Personally, it was the first ASEE meeting I have attended which was hosted by a corporate sponsor at an industrial site (and not on a college campus). What a terrific event! As stated in a recent issue of Forbes Magazine: "Fortunes come and go, companies wax and wane, but the DuPont Company – almost alone in U.S. industry – has managed to stay on top throughout this century." As a visitor to the DuPont Experimental Station, it was easy to understand how DuPont has managed to "stay on top" after almost 200 years in business.

Special thanks and congratulations go to Art Murphy and his DuPont Conference Committee (Dan Amey, Tom Keane, Henn Kilkson, Concetta LaMarca, Jae Lynam, Emeka Nwanko, and Lewis Shumaker) for organizing such a successful affair. Over three dozen papers were presented during the conference, and there were numerous opportunities for informal discussion with colleagues. Hats off to Art and his colleagues at DuPont!

For those of you who were not able to attend one of our recent section meetings, here’s some information about future meetings for your advanced planning schedules:

• April 25, 1998 at the College of New Jersey in Ewing, New Jersey. Conference Chair: Harry Hess. Theme: "Re-engineering Engineering Education." Details included inside this newsletter.
• November 6-7, 1998 at Howard University in Washington, DC. Conference Chairs: Ahmed Rubaai and Gajanan Sabnis. Theme: "Engineering Education Without Boundaries."
• April 24, 1999 (tentative) at Monmouth College in West Long Branch, New Jersey. Host: Frank Lutz. Theme: TBA.
• Late-April 2002 at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Host: Brigadier General Fletch Lamkin. Theme: TBA.

As you can see from this list, our schedule of future meetings is beginning to fill out. If your institution is interested in hosting a Middle Atlantic Section meeting, please contact me or our Meetings Committee Chair (Dennis Silage, silage@vm.temple.edu) for more information. A section meeting is a splendid opportunity to bring engineering educators to your campus or industrial site, and promote your institution and its programs. Hosting a section meeting is a visible display of your institution’s support of engineering education.

In our last newsletter, I acknowledged a couple of our section’s "unsung heroes." We are fortunate to have untold numbers of these "unsung heroes" in the Middle Atlantic Section -- members who demonstrate selfless service to the section. They are too numerous to mention in one or two articles. However, I plan to mention a couple in each of my communications as section chair. Here are some more examples:

1. A past-chair of our section, Renata Engel (Penn State University), has worked tirelessly on a multitude of "special projects" for the section. Renata has revamped our Bylaws, established continuity documents for our section’s officers, re-energized our awards program, and accomplished a host of other projects for the section. In my opinion, she has been THE dynamo in the section over the past several years.
2. Dennis Silage (Temple University) and Nelson Macken (Swarthmore College) have worked as informal "advisors" to the planning committees of several of our recent conferences. Their "behind the scenes" work and guidance has guaranteed the success of our biannual meetings.
3. Sam Bridwell (Bridwell Enterprises), Ed Reitz (CCNY), and Hew Zimmer (USMMA) have steadfastly supported the section over the last decade as advisors to the officers of the section. They have become an invaluable asset to our Executive Committee as a source of "institutional knowledge" and "lessons learned" from the past. They collectively exemplify selfless service to engineering education.

I would like to remind our membership that this is the year for each of us in the Middle Atlantic Section to "mentor a member." I urge all of you to convince a colleague (perhaps that new faculty member in your department) to become an active member of ASEE. Most of us believe that ALL engineering educators should be members of at least two professional organizations: the professional society representing their engineering discipline (e.g. ASME, IEEE, ASCE, etc.) and the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). Share your knowledge and experience about ASEE with a colleague. Bring a colleague with you to a regional meeting. Tell a colleague about the rewarding programs conducted by ASEE at the regional and national level. Convince a colleague that there are many other engineering educators across the nation who are interested in promoting quality engineering programs at our colleges, universities, and technical colleges. "Mentor a member."

I would also like to mention two excellent faculty development programs that should be of interest to engineering educators – and that are presently accepting applications for their summer programs. As a graduate/participant of both of these programs, they get my highest recommendation and personal endorsement. The two programs are:

• The National Effective Teaching Institute (NETI) organized by Richard Felder, Jim Stice, and Rebecca Brent (see Prism, December 1997, page 36). The workshop provides a broad perspective on the fundamentals of teaching to include planning and delivering effective courses, implementing cooperative learning strategies, and teaching creative problem solving skills. The next NETI will be held in Seattle, Washington from June 25-27, 1998 – immediately prior to the ASEE Annual Conference. For more information, see www2.ncsu.edu/effective_teaching/.
• Teaching Teachers to Teach Engineering sponsored by the faculty of the D/Civil & Mechanical Engineering of the United States Military Academy. The course (July 26-31, 1998) is oriented toward relatively inexperienced engineering educators; however, applications will also be accepted from a limited number of senior faculty members who wish to observe the course for the purpose of establishing similar programs at their own institutions. For more information, see www.dean.usma.edu/cme/outreach/t^4eflyer.htm.

As a final note, special thanks to our Editor, Suzanne Keilson (Loyola College), for putting together this newsletter. Suzanne works diligently to keep our membership informed of upcoming activities and events. Thanks Suzanne!

See you at the College of New Jersey on April 25th!

- Tom Lenox

email: it1860@trotter.usma.edu

Letter From the Editor:

As mentioned in the last newsletter, we will continue to communicate with the membership primarily through a newsletter and the US Mail, although we will keep looking towards the future of electronic media. A rudimentary section web page is here – check it out at www.loyola.edu/asee. It can also be accessed from the ASEE national site, www.asee.org, and looking under membership and then sections. Your comments on the page and its usefulness are greatly appreciated!

The Fall 1998 ASEE Mid-Atlantic meeting will be at Howard University.

We are still searching for host institutions for future meetings. Past meeting sites (going back to 1990) have included Drexel, NYC Technical College, U of Maryland, Manhattan, Penn State, Morgan State, NJIT, Bucknell, Hofstra, Ocean County, SUNY Stony Brook, Temple, Wilkes, USMA, DuPont, and College of New Jersey this spring! The Executive Committee will work with any interested faculty member to bring the meeting to your campus. Contact
Dennis Silage, Ph.D., Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122
(215) 204-6761 (Voicemail)
(215) 204-5960 (Fax)
silage@vm.temple.edu

Remember communication is a two-way street. You can send comments and suggestions to my e-mail address at keilson@loyola.edu or "snail mail" address at Loyola College, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Engineering Science, 4501 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21210.

-Suzanne Keilson
keilson@loyola.edu

Middle Atlantic Section member Thomas G. McWilliams, Jr., PhD, was nominated by the section and elected Delaware Valley Engineer of the Year for 1998 by representatives of over 90 local sections of professional societies in the Delaware Valley. Dean McWilliams is the second chemical engineer and the fourth dean of engineering to be elected Engineer of the Year in 46 years.

Dr. McWilliams was appointed Professor and Dean of the School of Engineering at Widener University in 1980. The ABET accredited engineering programs have been increased from one to four supported by state-of-the-art laboratories and computer facilities. He has developed a faculty with significant professional engineering experience. Fifteen percent are women. He has fostered interaction with engineers in industry and government through the four-year co-op, senior projects, evening practice oriented graduate programs, industry supported research and consulting.

After receiving a B.E.S. in chemical engineering from The Johns Hopkins University in 1956, Dr. McWilliams attended the University of Maryland and earned a Ph.D. in 1964 with studies in chemical, metallurgical and nuclear engineering, and was an Instructor of Metallurgy. In 1963, he joined Old Dominion College as a founding faculty member of the School of Engineering. Dr. McWilliams was appointed Chairman of the Department of Chemical Engineering at West Virginia institute of Technology in 1966 and Professor in 1969. He was Chairman of the Department of Chemistry from 1972-1977.

His career has included employment and consulting with Union Carbide Corporation, Glenn L. Martin Co., Norfolk Naval Shipyard, NASA Langley, Pressure Products, Inc., and the U.S. Bureau of Mines.

Dr. McWilliams is a member of the American Society of Engineering Education Board of Directors as Zone I Chairman. His awards include the University of Maryland School of Engineering Centennial Medal and membership in Tau Beta Pi.

The Middle Atlantic Section Spring Conference will be held at The College of New Jersey, located in suburban Ewing, New Jersey, 60 miles southwest of New York City and 30 miles northeast of Philadelphia. "RE-ENGINEERING ENGINEERING EDUCATION" is the conference theme. Educators from all engineering disciplines, administrators, governmental, and industrial professionals are invited to attend this regional forum.

Representatives from software, hardware, laboratory equipment and textbook publishing companies will display the most current educational products. Several senior project activities will also be exhibited.

Nearby areas such as New Hope and Peddler’s Village in Pennsylvania plus Lambertville and Princeton in New Jersey are all short drives from the College and offer a variety of cultural opportunities. Please indicate on the registration form if you would like to receive additional information concerning events in these towns for April.

Your registration fee includes: conference materials, parking, buffet breakfast, luncheon and coffee/juice breaks. Student registrants will not receive conference materials. All participants, including presenters, must register.

Possible local accommodations - please reserve immediately.
Palmer Inn - 8 miles from TCNJ - Singles from $82 (609) 452-2500
Stage Depot - 8 miles from TCNJ - Singles from $47 (609) 466-2000
McIntosh Inn - 7 miles from TCNJ - Singles from $61 (609) 896-3700