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Janis Terpenny, a leader in innovative engineering education and longtime faculty member and academic administrator, was named a Fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) this spring. Terpenny and other new Fellows will be inducted at ASEE’s annual conference in June in Montreal.
Terpenny was named a Fellow for “serving as a pioneer and thought leader in engineering education dedicated to impacts of partnerships and real problems on motivation and learning. Her work has resulted in new degree programs, new courses, revised curriculum, and faculty development.”
“In academia we have what I call the bucket system where we look at research, education, and outreach as separate things, but I don't see it that way,” she said. “I see them as extremely integrated and we should approach what we do in preparing the next generation in a very thoughtful way, whether it's how we motivate, how we retain, and what we do in the classroom with respect to pedagogy.”
In addition, she was recognized for her membership in ASEE since 1998, and her leadership roles in the organization. She organized several ASEE workshops and published more than 40 papers in ASEE annual and regional conferences. This year, she completes her term as director at large for the ASEE manufacturing division.
Terpenny said that early in her career a mentor encouraged her to get involved in ASEE. “He had me sign up as the newsletter editor for the engineering economy division. Little did I know that also meant that I was then going to be the secretary, then the treasurer…and then the program chair, etc.,” she said with a laugh.
She values her time at the annual conference, noting that the sessions are valuable, but so too are the informal interactions. “What I get out of the ASEE conference is that the network feels like family. Those who are truly invested in excellence in engineering education are respected and valued there. It's a place of ideas and sharing."
Terpenny is a professor in both the Department of Systems Engineering and Operations Research and the Department of Mechanical Engineering at George Mason. Currently, she is on assignment from George Mason at the National Science Foundation (NSF) as program director in engineering. Previously, she served as dean of engineering at the University of Tennessee, department head of industrial and manufacturing engineering at Penn State, department chair of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering at Iowa State, director of the NSF Center for e-Design, program director at NSF in the division of undergraduate education, and professor at Virginia Tech and the University of Massachusetts.