The IEEE Teaching Excellence Hub original Steering Committee
Timothy Kurzweg (Co-Chair)
Director, School of Engineering; Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Penn State Erie, the Behrend College
Dr. Timothy Kurzweg is the Director of the School of Engineering at Penn State Erie, the Behrend College, and professor of electrical and computer engineering. He previously served as vice provost for undergraduate education at Drexel University. Kurzweg holds a doctorate and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. He has a bachelor’s degree from Penn State. Kurzweg’s research in optical microsystems and alternative materials, which has applications in bio-sensing, communications, and medical imaging, has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, and private industry. He has served as principal or co-principal investigator for approximately $9.5 million in funded research and has published more than 80 journal and conference papers. He also holds multiple patents. Kurzweg is a Senior Member of IEEE, currently serves as the Chair of the IEEE Educational Activities University Resources Committee, and served as President of IEEE-HKN in 2017.
Russ Meier
Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department
Milwaukee School of Engineering
Dr. Russ Meier teaches computer architecture at Milwaukee School of Engineering. His funded research explores how first year students develop computational thinking. He received the Iowa State University Teaching Excellence Award, the Iowa State University Warren B. Boast Award for Undergraduate Teaching Excellence, and the MSOE Oscar Werwath Distinguished Teacher Award.
He belongs to IEEE and its HKN, Computer and Education Societies, as well as the American Society for Engineering Education and its Electrical and Computer Engineering and Educational Research and Methods divisions. In these groups, he helps deliver engineering education conferences, webinars, and certificate programs. He leads teams accrediting engineering degrees.
IEEE elevated him to Fellow for contributions to global online engineering education. And, the International Society for Engineering Education bestowed International Engineering Educator Honoris Causa for outstanding contributions in engineering education.
Steve E. Watkins
Professor and Interim Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Steve E. Watkins is the Interim Chair and a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Director of the Applied Optics Laboratory at the Missouri University of Science and Technology (formerly the University of Missouri-Rolla). He is active in IEEE (senior member), IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu, SPIE (Fellow), and ASEE. His research and teaching interests include smart sensor systems, UAV instrumentation, fiber optics, imaging, engineering education, and pre-college education. He is coordinator of the campus Smart Composite Bridge project and is advisor to the following student groups: IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Pi, and Toastmasters.
Stephen Phillips
Professor of electrical engineering and director of the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, Arizona State University
Stephen Phillips currently serves as professor of electrical engineering and director of the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering. Phillips received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University and master’s and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University. From 1988 to 2002, he served on the faculty of Case Western Reserve University where he held appointments in the Departments of Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics; Systems, Control and Industrial Engineering; and subsequently Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. From 1995 to 2002, he also served as director of the Center for Automation and Intelligent System Research. In 2002, he joined the faculty of Arizona State University as professor of electrical engineering. He has held visiting positions at the NASA Lewis (now Glenn) Research Center and at the University of Washington and is a Professional Engineer registered in the state of Ohio. His expertise includes the application and integration of microsystems, MEMS and flexible electronics; system identification and adaptive control; and assessment and improvement of novel delivery methods for accredited degree programs.