Department Head Named President of American Society for Engineering Education

Walter Buchanan, head of the department of engineering technology and industrial distribution at Texas A&M University, assumed the presidency of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) on Wednesday, June 13 at the conclusion of ASEE’s annual conference.

Walter Buchanan of Texas A&M was named as the new president of the American Society for Engineering Education.

“ASEE has a long past to be proud of, a significant current presence in engineering and engineering technology education, and a future with a lot of promise. It is a great honor for me to have the opportunity to be its president for this next year,” said Buchanan. “I would like to work on what ASEE is doing for potential engineering and engineering technology students and show them the benefits of an engineering career and how they can get their education for less cost.”

Buchanan follows Don Giddens, retired dean of the School of Engineering at Georgia Tech, as president. The incoming president-elect is Kenneth Galloway, dean of the School of Engineering at Vanderbilt University. Buchanan will serve one year as president, and then become immediate past president for one year.

Buchanan has been a member of ASEE since 1984. His other external duties include: fellow of the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE); senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME); member of the board of directors of NSPE; past chair of the Engineering Technology Council of ASEE and the Professional Engineers in Higher Education of NSPE; and past member of the Executive Committee of the Technology Accreditation Commission (TAC) of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).

Buchanan is a recipient of the ASEE James H. McGraw Award, the ASEE Frederick J. Berger Award, the NSPE Outstanding Service Award, and the International Conference on Engineering and Computer Education Award. He is on the editorial boards of the Journal of Engineering Technology, the International Journal of Modern Engineering, and has authored or co-authored over 100 publications. He has also done consulting for more than 20 different organizations and has been a principal investigator for NSF and other grants.