From Tennessee to Taiwan to Purdue: Brooks Leftwich Finds Purpose in Engineering Education

Born and raised in Tennessee, Brooks Leftwich began his academic path in mechanical engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. After a year-long co-op in a manufacturing plant, he realized he wasn’t satisfied with a desk job. Consulting work at an HVAC engineering internship—where he interacted directly with clients and job sites

During his senior year, Brooks earned a Fulbright grant to teach English in Taiwan, where he spent six months teaching students ages 5 to 13. That experience sparked a new curiosity: how could he combine his technical training with his growing interest in education? A well-timed Google search for “engineering and education” led him to Purdue’s School of Engineering Education—close enough to home, yet rich with research opportunities. Brooks joined Purdue directly as a PhD student after completing the Fulbright grant. He quickly found his place in the community—completing his master’s in mechanical engineering, serving as a graduate research assistant, copy editor for a professional journal, graduate teaching assistant for first-year engineering courses, and even president of the ENE Graduate Student Association.

Now preparing for his prelim exams, Brooks is focused on his dissertation exploring engineering ethics—specifically how students’ sense of social responsibility shapes their career choices. “I like to ask questions. I like to learn,” he says. “What I love most is being surrounded by a community of people who know so many things and are eager to share them.” Outside the lab, you might find him working summer shifts at the Purdue golf courses, taking in the Indiana sunshine while dreaming of one day becoming a professor…ideally somewhere a bit warmer.