Alice M. Agogino Honored by ASME for Furthering Engineering Design Education

NEW YORK, Nov 23, 2015 – Alice M. Agogino, Ph.D., a resident of Berkeley, Calif., and Roscoe and Elizabeth Hughes professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California (UC), Berkeley, was honored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). She was recognized for tireless efforts in furthering engineering design education including curriculum changes that blend cutting-edge design topics with state-of-the-art educational practices; promoting wide-ranging interaction between industry and students; performing game-changing design research and mentoring the next generation of designers, educators, researchers and engineers. She received the Ruth and Joel Spira Outstanding Design Educator Award.

The award, established in 1998, recognizes a person who exemplifies the best in furthering engineering design education through vision, interactions with students and industry, scholarship and impact on the next generation of engineers, and a person whose action serves as a role model for other educators to emulate. It was presented to Dr. Agogino during the International Design Engineering Technical Conferences held this past summer in Boston.

Agogino is also affiliated faculty at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. She serves as chair of the Graduate Group in Development Engineering in the Blum Center for Developing Economies and the Product Design Master of Engineering Program of the Fung Institute for Engineering Leadership. She directs research in the BEST (Berkeley Energy and Sustainability/Expert Systems/Emergent Space Technologies) Lab, co-directs the Berkeley Institute of Design, and works with approximately 50 San Francisco Bay Area companies and nonprofits on research and educational projects in product design and sustainability.

Agogino previously served as chair of the UC Berkeley Academic Senate, associate dean of engineering and director of the Instructional Technology Program. She also served as director for the Synthesis Engineering Education Coalition and continues as principal investigator for theDesignExchange community portal. She has supervised 130 master’s projects/theses, 41 doctoral dissertations and numerous undergraduate researchers.

Prior to joining the faculty at UC Berkeley in 1984, Agogino worked in industry for Dow Chemical, General Electric and SRI International.

Agogino has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed publications and serves on the editorial board of a number of journals. She has served on various committees and has given numerous invited talks.

An ASME Fellow, Agogino served as chair of the Santa Clara Valley (Calif.) Section (1979-80) and was a member of the Program Committee for the Design for Manufacturing Conference (1997). She also served on the board of directors for the Center for Education (2004-06) and was a member of the Fellows Review Committee (2008-10). She received two Best Paper awards at ASME conferences (1991, 2004).

Agogino earned her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, in 1975. In 1978 she earned her master’s degree in mechanical engineering from UC Berkeley. She earned her Ph.D. in engineering–economic systems (renamed management science and engineering) from Stanford University, California, in 1984.

About ASME
ASME helps the global engineering community develop solutions to real world challenges. Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society. ASME codes and standards, publications, conferences, continuing education and professional development programs provide a foundation for advancing technical knowledge and a safer world. For more information visit www.asme.org.

Media contact:
Deborah Wetzel
Manager, Media Relations
wetzeld@asme.org
212.591.7085