Silesian University of Technology

Gliwice, Poland

July 18, 2005

 

NEWS FLASH! 

 

DR. WIN AUNG SELECTED TO RECEIVE SILESIAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY MEDAL OF MERIT

 

The Senate of the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice, Poland announced today the selection of Dr. Win Aung, Secretary-General, International Network for Engineering Education and Research, and Senior Staff Associate – Engineering Education, Division of Engineering Education and Centers, U.S. National Science Foundation, to receive the Silesian University of Technology Medal of Merit.  He will be recognized for his visionary leadership, innovations and accomplishments in developing global partnerships among educators in engineering, science and related fields.  The honor is being bestowed on Win Aung in conjunction with the 60th anniversary celebration of the founding of Silesian University of Technology (SUT). 

 

Previously awarded only three times in SUT’s 60-year history, and second only to the Doctorem Honoris Causa (the honorary doctorate that is awarded only during formal graduation ceremonies) in honor, the SUT Medal of Merit will be presented to Win Aung by Prof. Wojciech Zielisnki, Rector of SUT, at a special ceremony in Gliwice on July 25, 2005, during the opening of the 2005 International Conference on Engineering Education.  Close to 400 persons from more than 40 countries are expected to attend.    

 

On being informed of the upcoming award, Win Aung said: “I am both pleased and humbled by this award, and I thank Silesian University of Technology, its Senate and Rector Zielinski for this extraordinary honor.  This award recognizes not only me as a person, but also the important role of international cooperation in engineering education and research.”    

 

Upon learning the news, Dr. Arden Bement, Director of NSF, wrote: “Dear Win: This is exciting news; this medal includes you among a rare class of individuals.  Such distinctions proclaim to the world the extraordinary talent we have here at NSF.  Congratulations!  Arden”.

 

The Silesian University of Technology is one of the biggest technical universities in Europe, with approximately 33,000 students of which 700 are Ph.D. students.  With a teaching staff of 1,900 including over 300 full-time professors, the University is organized into 12 faculties that are based in Gliwice, Katowice and Zabrze.  It also includes a subsidiary Engineering Education Center in Rybnik.  The University offers courses in 29 engineering disciplines.  It is a self-governing state university managed by elected bodies, including a Rector - who constitutes the supreme one-person body; and the Senate, a body composed of academics.  The Rector is assisted by three Vice-Rectors responsible for: Education, Research, and Organization, and by an Administrative Manager.  First elected in 2002, Rector Wojciech Zielinski won re-election to a second term in April 2005.

 

Win Aung started his professional career in 1969 as a Member of Technical Staff at Bell Telephone Laboratories where he carried out fundamental and applied research relating to electronic switching systems for telecommunication.  He joined NSF in 1974 as a Program Director in the then Division of Engineering.  Since 1985 he has served in various capacities in the Directorate for Engineering at NSF (as Program Director, Deputy Division Director, and Division Director).  In 1990 he was appointed to the position of Senior Staff Associate – Engineering Education in the Division of Engineering Education and Centers in the Directorate for Engineering. 

 

He has been a member of the U.S. Senior Executive Service since 1986, the year in which he received the first NSF Federal Engineer of the Year award.  In 1983, he became Fellow of American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).  He has written extensively on topics dealing with research and education and is a frequent speaker on campuses around the world and at international conferences.  He has over 120 technical publications, and has edited, co-edited and contributed to chapters in 15 books.  He received the ASME Classic Paper Award in 1999.  In the same year, he was awarded the Doctorem Honoris Causa (honorary doctorate degree) by VSB – Technical University of Ostrava, Czech Republic. 

 

Win Aung is the founder of the International Conference on Engineering Education (ICEE) and the International Conference on Engineering Education and Research (iCEER), two popular series of conferences held around the world that focus on international partnerships.  In 2000, he co-founded the International Network for Engineering Education and Research (iNEER) that now has over 26,000 members in 98 countries.  He is currently its Secretary-General.  An active member of the ASME Council on Education, he was an editor of the Transactions of ASME, Journal of Heat Transfer.  He is the principal editor of the annual iNEER Special Volumes series entitled: World Innovations in Engineering Education and Research which, in addition to serving as a forum for dissemination of innovations in engineering education and research worldwide, also helps promote further progress through international partnerships.  During 1976-2003, he was an adjunct or visiting professor at a number of universities in the U.S. and abroad, carrying out an active teaching and research program.