Martin-Vega to deliver talk on engineering research, education

Dr. Louis A. Martin-Vega, dean of the College of Engineering at North Carolina State University, will present a talk titled “Engineering Research and Education: Past, Present and Future Perspectives” on Monday, May 1 at the University of Arkansas.

In a description of his talk, Martin-Vega explained: “The world of engineering research and education is evolving rapidly from one that has been primarily discipline based to one driven by cross-cutting interdisciplinary work that is more responsive to societal needs and challenges. This talk will describe how various entities in the U.S. such as the National Academy of Engineering, the National Science Foundation, and the American Society of Engineering Education have driven this change and how it has impacted both the research and educational directions of a major U.S. College of Engineering. The talk will also provide thoughts on the relevance of these changes to future directions in engineering education and research.”

Martin-Vega has served as dean of the College of Engineering since 2006. He is the current president of the American Society for Engineering Education.

Under his leadership, the College has grown from 7,500 students to more than 10,000 students, annual research expenditures have grown from $100 million to more than $189 million, and the College was selected to lead two prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Research Centers (ERC): the ASSIST Center and FREEDM Systems Center. Only one other university in the nation currently leads two ERCs.

Before arriving in Raleigh, he spent five years as dean of engineering at the University of South Florida. He has held several prestigious positions at 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 received a B.S. in industrial engineering from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez, an M.S. in operations research from New York University, and M.E. and Ph.D. degrees in industrial and systems engineering from the University of Florida.

– heath –