Drs. Mark Budnik and Ruth Wertz will be speaking about the characteristics of PUIs, and the experience of being a faculty member at a PUI. As an example, they will focus on the types of research faculty and students are involved in, as well as the expectations and evaluation of tenure-track faculty at Valparaiso University.

Bio:

Mark M. Budnik is the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Chair and the Paul and Cleo Brandt Professor of Engineering at Valparaiso University.  Prior to joining the faculty at Valparaiso University in 2006, Mark worked in the semiconductor industry, culminating as a Principal Engineer and Director of White Goods at Hitachi Semiconductor.  He is the author of more than fifty book chapters, journal articles, and conference proceedings.  Mark’s current research interests are in the field of creativity and innovation instruction.  He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and a Fellow of the International Symposium on Quality Electronic Design.

Ruth E. H. Wertz is an Assistant Professor in the Department of General Engineering at Valparaiso, Indiana, and a recent graduate of the Engineering Education doctoral program at Purdue University. Prior to returning to graduate school in 2010, Ruth worked as a Project Engineer for Patriot Engineering and Environmental, Inc. in the field of geotechnical engineering. Ruth’s research interests are in the role of interaction and community on student learning in online learning environments, as well as development of inclusive engineering education curriculum.