October 9, 2009 — Edward Berger, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Virginia, is among 41 young engineering researchers and educators selected to take part in the National Academy of Engineering's first Frontiers of Engineering Education symposium.

Engineering faculty members in the first half of their careers who are developing and implementing innovative educational approaches in a variety of disciplines were invited to take part in the three-day event, where they can share ideas, learn from research and best practice in education and leave with a charter to bring about improvement in their home institution.

The participants were nominated by fellow engineers or deans and chosen from a highly competitive pool of applicants.

"The Frontiers of Engineering Education program will create a unique venue for engineering faculty members to share and explore interesting and effective innovations in teaching and learning," academy president Charles M. Vest said. "We intend for FOEE to become a major force in identifying, recognizing and promulgating advances and innovations in order to build a strong intellectual infrastructure and commitment to 21st-century engineering education."

The program will focus on effective ways to ensure that students learn the engineering fundamentals, the expanding knowledge base of new technology, and the skills necessary to be effective engineers or engineering researchers.

"In our increasingly global and competitive world, the United States needs to marshal its resources to address the strategic shortfall of engineering leaders in the next decades," said Edward F. Crawley, Ford Professor of Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who will chair the symposium. "By holding this event, we have recognized some of the finest young engineering educators in the nation, and will better equip them to transform the educational process at their universities."

The symposium will be held Nov. 15-18 in Herndon, Va.