Martin-Vega named chair of ASEE Engineering Deans Council Executive Board

Dr. Louis A. Martin-Vega, dean of the College of Engineering at North Carolina State University, has been elected chair of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Engineering Deans Council Executive Board for the 2013-15 term, which begins June 26.

The Engineering Deans Council is the leadership organization of the nation’s deans of engineering. The council has 344 members, representing more than 90 percent of all US engineering deans. The Council’s objectives include advocating and providing a vision for engineering education and research; serving as a resource to its constituents and the public at large; and articulating and influencing US public policy on engineering education and research. Martin-Vega currently serves as chair of the council’s Public Policy Committee.

Martin-Vega has been dean of engineering at NC State since 2006. Prior to coming to NC State, he spent nearly five years as professor and dean of engineering at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Fla. He has also held several prestigious positions at the National Science Foundation (NSF), including acting head of its Engineering Directorate and director of its Division of Design, Manufacture and Industrial Innovation.

His research and teaching interests are in production and manufacturing systems, logistics and distribution, operations management and engineering education. His work has been supported by NSF, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the US Air Force, Harris Semiconductor, and Hewlett-Packard, among other sources. A registered professional engineer in Florida and Puerto Rico, he is a Fellow of the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) and a member of INFORMS, ASEE, Tau Beta Pi, Alpha Pi Mu and Sigma Xi.

In 2007 Martin-Vega received the Tampa Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) National Hispanic Scientist Award and was named that same year by Hispanic Business magazine as one of its 100 Most Influential Hispanics. He was recognized in 2008 as the Outstanding Engineer in North Carolina by the North Carolina Society of Engineers.

He received the Industrial and Systems Engineering Alumni Leadership Award from the University of Florida in 2009 and IIE’s UPS Award for Minority Advancement in Industrial Engineering in 2010. He was awarded IIE’s highest honor, the Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Industrial Engineering Award, in 2012.

For his commitment to college education and the promotion of diversity, Martin-Vega was recognized in 2000 with the Hispanic Engineering National Achievement Award – Higher Education Category from HENAAC. In 2011, he was inducted into the HENAAC Hall of Fame.

Martin-Vega received his BS in industrial engineering from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez, his MS in operations research from New York University, and his ME and PhD degrees in industrial and systems engineering from the University of Florida.

Founded in 1893, ASEE is a nonprofit member association that strives for the advancement and expansion of engineering and technology education. ASEE members include more than 12,000 deans, professors, instructors, students and industry representatives nationwide.