Purdue's top showing among new ASEE Hall of Fame members underscores pioneering leadership in engineering education
The Purdue College of Engineering’s trailblazing role in enriching how engineers are prepared took center stage when the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) named the newest members of its Hall of Fame. Seven of the 22 individuals and three teams added to the circle of standouts that have affiliations with Purdue’s pioneering School of Engineering Education (ENE), and no other university appears more than once on the new inductee list. Leah Jamieson, the Ransberg Distinguished Professor in the Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, professor by courtesy in engineering education, and the John A. Edwardson Dean Emerita of Engineering, is among the honorees.
Jamieson has been an educator at Purdue for more than 47 years. She is most widely known as co-founder of EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) at Purdue. In this program, students earn academic credit for multi-year, multidisciplinary, team-based design-build projects in partnership with not-for-profit and education organizations. Her decade of leadership saw the program grow nationally and internationally, with EPICS recognized for innovation in engineering education through many awards, including the ASEE Carlson Award and the National Academy of Engineering Gordon Prize.
The first class of new ASEE Hall of Fame members in 30 years was announced on Oct. 10, 2023, in Washington, D.C., at the 130th Anniversary Gala of ASEE — a 12,000-plus member nonprofit organization committed to furthering education in engineering and engineering technology.
“The ASEE Hall of Fame honors engineering and engineering technology education leaders in all settings whose work has made a significant impact on engineering education,” said ASEE President Doug Tougaw, professor and chair of electrical and computer engineering at Valparaiso University. “The number of inductees affiliated with the Purdue School of Engineering Education reflects its commitment to the discipline and underscores the school’s impact on engineering education scholarship and research.”
The seven Purdue-affiliated honorees are current or former faculty with primary or courtesy appointments in Purdue ENE, which became the first engineering education school in the U.S. when it was established in 2004. Since then, ENE has been a national and global leader in spearheading dialogue and innovation to define, build, and shape the emerging discipline. The school maintains a strong research portfolio in pre-college, higher education, and engineering workplaces to advance the student experience and improve engineering education culture and workforce practices.
ASEE Hall of Fame nominations were considered based on areas of influence in which a group or individual could have a significant impact, including pedagogy (method and practice of teaching), broadening participation, research, service or leadership, commercialization of technology, entrepreneurship, and practice.
“So many of our current and former faculty, who are all true pioneers in this discipline, have been recognized by ASEE,” said ENE’s interim head, Edward Berger. “The ripple effects of their leadership, student mentorship, collaborations, and deep intellectual innovation have been vital to building our discipline and ensuring its future. In this 20th academic year of our operation as a school, these awards are high-profile symbols of our continued leadership in the community.”
In addition to championing the power of connecting engineering to the community, Jamieson has become a spokesperson and activist for change in engineering education, co-leading the ASEE report “Innovation with Impact: Creating a Culture for Scholarly and Systematic Innovation in Engineering Education.” She also advocates for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in engineering, as well as recognition of engineering education as an essential discipline in its own right.