Two College of Engineering faculty members were recently selected to take part in the National Academy of Engineering's eighth Frontiers of Engineering Education symposium (FOEE). They are among 48 of the nation's most innovative engineering educators who were chosen from a highly competitive pool. They are Katherine Fu, an assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Design, and Donald Webster, professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. In addition, Elizabeth DiSalvo, assistant professor of Interactive Computing, was also chosen. 

Attendees are faculty members who are developing and implementing innovative educational approaches in a variety of engineering disciplines will come together for the 2-1/2-day event, where they can share ideas, learn from research and best practice in education, and leave with a charter to bring about improvement at their home institution. The attendees were nominated by NAE members and engineering deans. The symposium will be held Sep. 25-28 in Irvine, Calif.

"The goal of the Frontiers of Engineering Education program is to strengthen US innovation by nurturing and catalyzing the insights of education leaders on today’s 21st century engineering education needs,” said NAE President C. D. Mote, Jr. “The program builds this community of engaged engineering educators as a resource committed to the preparation of engineering students for today’s engineering world.”

“With today’s unprecedented pace of technological advances and the significant challenges the world faces, engineering education plays a crucial role. But it must reinvent itself in order to produce a larger and more diverse engineering workforce highly capable of innovation and value creation for society,” said Nadine Aubry, University Distinguished Professor and Dean of the College of Engineering at Northeastern University and Chair of the FOEE Advisory Committee. “The Frontiers of Engineering Education symposium provides a forum for creative engineering educators to generate novel approaches, share early implementation schemes, establish a national network, and serve as change agents in their home institutions.”

The 2016 Frontiers of Engineering Education symposium is sponsored by John McDonnell, Nandita and Sanjit K. Mitra, and the National Science Foundation.

Founded in 1964, the National Academy of Engineering is a private, independent, nonprofit institution that provides engineering leadership in service to the nation. The mission of the Academy is to advance the well-being of the nation by promoting a vibrant engineering profession and by marshalling the expertise and insights of eminent engineers to provide independent advice to the federal government on matters involving engineering and technology. The NAE is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.