visit author page

Dr. Ronald J. Bennett is Founding Dean and Professor Emeritus of the School of Engineering at the University of St. Thomas. Prior to entering academia, Bennett held leadership positions for three decades in the appliance, electronics, medical device and knowledge engineering industries, as well as in several entrepreneurial organizations. His responsibilities ranged from R&D, engineering and manufacturing to sales, marketing and general management.

He founded the School of Engineering at the University of St. Thomas, and teaches and publishes in the areas of materials engineering, innovation, strategy, technology transfer, leadership and engineering education. His current focus is on webinars and workshops on leadership for engineers in industry and academia.

Bennett is a member of numerous scientific and professional societies, is an ABET program evaluator and commissioner.

He has a wide variety of academic publications, and is co-author with Elaine Millam of the 2012 McGraw-Hill book 'Leadership for Engineers: The Magic of Mindset.'

visit author page

visit author page

Dr. Niaz Latif is the dean of the School of Technology at Purdue University Calumet. He also has served for two years as the dean of the graduate school and an additional two years as the interim associate vice chancellor for research and graduate studies. Dr. Latif was responsible for the graduate education activities for 14 master’s degree programs, developing new degree programs and courses. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri, Columbia and an M.S. from South Dakota State University (SDSU); both degrees are in agricultural engineering. He holds a B.Sc. in mechanical engineering from the University of Chittagong in Bangladesh. Dr. Latif has authored or co-authored numerous refereed journal articles and peer-reviewed conference proceedings articles, and has made national and international conference presentations. His publication record includes articles related to academic program development and assessment of academic programs. Dr. Latif was the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Engineering Technology.

visit author page

visit author page

Mr. Sikoski completed his bachelor's of science degree in electrical engineering at the University of Saints Cyril and Methodius (Kiril I Metodij) in Skopje, Macedonia. He continued his education at Purdue University, where he obtained his master's of science in engineering. Since starting his career at Ivy Tech Community College in 1997, Mr. Sikoski, a consultant for various institutions and organizations, has served as a professor, program chair, dean, and the campus Vice Chancellor. As a program chair and dean, he was involved in developing several technology and engineering programs, including the energy technology and pre-engineering programs. Developing programs to meet industry workforce needs and student’s successes are his priorities. He served as an educational co-chair and chair of the curriculum committee of the Indiana Energy Consortium and is a member of the executive board of the Association of Technology Management and Applied Science and a visiting team member. Additionally, he serves on the advisory boards for the College of Technology at Purdue University Calumet, Purdue University North Central, and the Porter County Career Center.

visit author page

visit author page

Steve Wendel serves as director of the National Center for Manufacturing Education (NCME). Originally established as a National Science Foundation Center of Excellence in the NSF Advanced Technological Education program, the NCME provides leadership development for deans, program chairs, faculty, and other educational leaders in manufacturing and engineering technology. Steve is also the director for the Project Lead The Way (PLTW) affiliate in Ohio. PLTW-OH has grown to over 340 programs in more than 150 school districts across Ohio preparing students for STEM career and college endeavors.

visit author page

visit author page

Mohammad A. Zahraee, Ph.D, P.E., is a professor and assistant dean for graduate studies in the College of Technology, Purdue University Calumet. He holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Southern Illinois University, and an M.S. in structural engineering and Ph.D. in engineering mechanics, both from the University of Illinois, Chicago. Mohammad joined Purdue University Calumet in 1989 and was the head of the manufacturing engineering technologies and supervision department from 1996 through 2007. He was also acting head of the electrical and computer engineering technology department from 2000 through December 2006.
Mohammad served ABET from 1992 through 2010 as a program evaluator and commissioner (Accreditation Team Chair), as well as national chair of the engineering technology accreditation commission during 2009-2010. He recently was elected to the ABET Board of Directors as a representative of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). A professor of mechanical engineering technology, Mohammad chairs the Graduate Education Council in the College of Technology, advises all incoming graduate students, and approves all graduation audits for M.S. students. The M.S. in technology program at Purdue University Calumet has more than 150 students, the third largest enrollment for such degree.

visit author page