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Awards and Honors

Martin-Vega, Lavelle honored for engineering education work

Dean Louis-Martin Vega, left, and Dr. Jerove Lavelle.

Two leaders of the College of Engineering at North Carolina State University were honored by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) at the organization’s 2022 annual meeting in June.

Louis Martin-Vega, dean of the College, was named as an ASEE Fellow. Jerome Lavelle, the College’s associate dean of academic affairs, received the National Engineering Economy Teaching Excellence Award.

Louis Martin-Vega receives Fellow recognition from ASEE President Adrienne Minerick.
Louis Martin-Vega receives Fellow recognition from ASEE President Adrienne Minerick.

Martin-Vega is the Louis Martin-Vega Dean of Engineering at NC State. He came to NC State in 2006 after spending five years as dean of engineering at the University of South Florida. He has also held several prestigious positions at the National Science Foundation (NSF), including acting head of its Engineering Directorate and director of NSF’s Division of Design, Manufacture and Industrial Innovation. Additionally, he has served as chairman of the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering at Lehigh University and Lockheed Professor in the College of Engineering at Florida Institute of Technology. He has also held tenured faculty positions at the University of Florida and the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez.

Martin-Vega was elected as a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2021. He is also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS), the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers.

Martin-Vega served as president of ASEE from 2016-17. 

The ASEE National Engineering Economy Teaching Excellence Award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated classroom teaching excellence and teaching scholarship in engineering economy. The award is presented biennially.

Louis Martin-Vega, left, and Jerome Lavelle are shown with their awards during the American Society for Engineering Education 2022 annual conference.
Louis Martin-Vega, left, and Jerome Lavelle are shown with their awards during the American Society for Engineering Education 2022 annual conference.

Lavelle recently completed his 14th year as associate dean of academic affairs. During that time, undergraduate enrollment has grown in size, quality and opportunity, and retention and graduation rates are at all-time high levels. His leadership has led to the development of the First Year Engineering and Transfer Engineering programs, the Engineering Village Living and Learning Community, Recognition of the Graduates event, Engineering Ambassadors program, and successful dual degree and 2+2 programs with UNC System schools and community college partners, among many other initiatives.

His academic career spans 30 years as a faculty member and academic administrator. Lavelle has taught more than 37 sections of engineering economy at the undergraduate and graduate levels to more than 2,000 students. He was an early adopter of active learning and video/flipped pedagogies, and is co-author of the leading undergraduate textbook in engineering economy. He has 40 archived citations in topics in the field, is both an ASEE and IISE Fellow, and is a past awardee of the ASEE Wellington Award for lifetime contributions to engineering economy.

ASEE held its 2022 annual conference in Minneapolis, Minn., June 26-29.