March 2, 2020

Dean Emerita Jamieson receives IEEE Mulligan Education Medal

Purdue Engineering’s Leah Jamieson will receive the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ (IEEE) James H. Mulligan Jr. Education Medal, which is the highest honor bestowed by the group for achievement in education.

Jamieson, the Ransburg Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Professor of Engineering Education (by courtesy), and the John A. Edwardson Dean Emerita of Engineering, was given the award “for contributions to the promotion, innovation, and inclusivity of engineering education.”

The IEEE James H. Mulligan, Jr. Education Medal (formerly the IEEE Education Medal) was established in 1956 by the American Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and continued by the Board of Directors of IEEE. By giving this Medal, IEEE recognizes the importance of the educator's contributions to the vitality, imagination, and leadership of the members of the engineering profession. The Medal is sponsored by MathWorks, Pearson, and the IEEE Life Members Fund.

"This recognition has meaning for me both because of my decades-long connection with IEEE and the role that education has played in my life," said Jamieson. "I was a first-generation college student. I deeply believe that education is one of the most powerful sustainable agents for change. It is a wonderful honor to be recognized for having an impact on engineering education, on diversity and inclusion in engineering, and on contributing to the understanding that engineering is about making difference in the world."

The award recognizes the international impact of Jamieson’s leadership in:

  • promoting engineering as a vocation and improving the messaging landscape around engineering in ways that attract more young people to the profession, especially women and underrepresented groups;
  • propelling innovation in engineering education and being among the first to champion the field of engineering education and the importance of empirical research on engineering education; and
  • advancing inclusion and diversity in engineering education and the broader engineering profession.

“From co-founding the service learning program, Engineering Projects in Community Service, to serving as President and CEO of IEEE, to leading Purdue’s College of Engineering during a period of major growth, Leah Jamieson has had a profound impact on the engineering profession,” said Mark Lundstrom, Acting Dean of Purdue Engineering and the Don and Carol Scifres Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Jamieson joined the Purdue faculty in 1976 and was selected as the John A. Edwardson Dean of Engineering in August 2006, a position she held until June 2017. In 2018, Purdue University's Women In Engineering Program directorship was named the Leah H. Jamieson Director of the Women in Engineering Program in her honor.

Her work has involved engineering education, engineering and society, public understanding of engineering, and speech processing and parallel algorithms.

A selected list of Jamieson's other notable awards and accomplishments includes:

  • 2017 Inducted into the Purdue Innovators Hall of Fame
  • 2016 National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates (NAMEPA) Dean of Engineering Champion Award
  • 2015 Inaugural recipient of the Kate Gleason Medal for Leadership in Engineering Education, Rochester Institute of Technology
  • 2014 Presented the Key to the City of Medellin, Colombia
  • 2013 Simon Bolivar Medal from the National Ministry of Education of Colombia
  • 2013 IEEE Richard M. Emberson Award for contributions to IEEE’s Technical Activities
  • 2011 Elected Member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences
  • 2006 Women Pioneers of Purdue University inaugural class
  • 2005 National Academy of Engineering
  • 2002 Indiana Professor of the Year, Carnegie Foundation
  • 2001 Inaugural recipient of the National Science Foundation Director’s Award for Distinguished Teaching Scholars
  • 2000 Harriet B. Rigas Outstanding Women Engineering Educator award
  • 1999 Helen B. Schleman Gold Medallion for her "outstanding contribution and concern for women students, encouragement of women in academic and professional areas, leadership and service within and outside the university, and scholarship and character," Purdue University
  • 1999 Founding chair of the Women Faculty in Engineering Committee at Purdue
  • 1995 National Academy of Engineering’s Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering Education for her work as a co-founder of the EPICS program

IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.

Read more: Jamieson: A mentor without borders

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