Supporter Delores M. Etter Awarded Top Honor
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Pictured from left to right: IEEE President-Elect, Jose M.F. Moura, Delores M. Etter, and IEEE President and CEO, James A. Jefferies.
STILLWATER, Okla. – Former electrical and computer engineering student and OSU supporter, Delores M. Etter, was awarded the IEEE James H. Mulligan, Jr. Education Medal on Thurs., May 11 in San Francisco, Cal. This selection was for her contributions to engineering through innovative textbooks on problem solving with computing languages and software tools.
Etter holds a bachelor’s and master’s in mathematics and a Ph.D in Electrical Engineering. After serving as a faculty member for several years, she was nominated in 1991 to serve as the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology by President Bill Clinton. In 2001 she became the first Office of Naval Research Distinguished Chair in Science and Technology. President George W. Bush nominated Etter as Assistant Secretary of the Navy in 2005. An IEEE Life Fellow and member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, Etter is now a Professor Emeritus with the department of electrical engineering at Southern Methodist University.
“[Etter] is strongly affiliated with OSU, even though she left to follow her husband’s career just short of graduation,” said Jill Johnson, senior director of development at the OSU Foundation. “She and her husband, Jerry, have funded a scholarship for Eagle Scouts/Gold Award recipients in CEAT. She has presented to student groups in the past and we look forward to having her more involved and sharing her expertise with the faculty and students at OSU.”
Etter’s bio on the IEEE website reads, “A pioneer in the field of computer education for engineers, [Etter’s] groundbreaking vision has produced some of the most influential educational works that have transformed and improved undergraduate engineering education in the fields of computers and programming. Etter has written more than a dozen textbooks that have helped educate hundreds of thousands of students worldwide. A unique characteristic of her textbooks is the focus on a consistent problem-solving methodology beyond just writing code. She refined her initial approach with feedback from hundreds of students over several years into a problem-solving technique based on five steps. New editions of her textbooks have been translated into different languages including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish and Italian, benefitting students around the world.”
The IEEE James H. Mulligan, Jr. Education Medal (formerly the IEEE Education Medal) was established in 1956 by the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, and continued by the Board of Directors of IEEE. It is through this medal that IEEE recognizes the importance of the educator's contributions to the vitality, imagination, and leadership of the members of the engineering profession, according to the IEEE website.
IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity, according to their website. IEEE and its members inspire a global community to innovate for a better tomorrow through its more than 423,000 members in over 160 countries, and its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities.
RELEASE CONTACT: Kylie Fanning | CEAT Marketing | 405-744-2745 | kyliecf@okstate.edu
Oklahoma State University is a modern land-grant university that prepares students for success. OSU has more than 35,000 students across its five-campus system and more than 24,000 on its combined Stillwater and Tulsa campuses, with students from all 50 states and around 120 nations. Established in 1890, Oklahoma State has graduated more than 240,000 students who have been serving the state of Oklahoma, the nation and the world.
##