At the center of the technical universe sits Silicon Valley. At the center of Silicon Valley sits the City of San Jose. At the center of the city sits San Jose State University, and at the center of the university sits the Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering.
Currently, SJSU offers 12 undergraduate majors in engineering, 11 graduate majors, and a host of different inter-disciplinary programs at all levels. It’s a dynamic College of Engineering and a powerful magnet for study in Northern California.
Dr. Belle Wei (M.S.E. Harvard, Ph.D. U.C. Berkeley) has been Dean of the College of Engineering since 2002, and is now serving a second 6-year term. On Monday, June 4th, at the Design Automation Conference in San Francisco, Dean Wei will receive the 2012 Marie R. Pistilli Achievement Award.
Per the press announcement of her Marie R. Pistilli award: “Dr. Wei is the first person in the College of Engineering’s history to hold an endowed deanship. During her tenure as dean, Dr. Wei has increased extramural grants and endowment gifts, strengthened industry partnerships, and tripled corporate master’s degree programs from five to 14.”
Dr. Wei – first interviewed here on EDACafe in 2006 – has a long, distinguished career at SJSU. Her contributions to engineering education, in particular, the promotion of under-served populations who seek careers in technology, are extremely significant.
It was an honor to speak with Dean Wei this week about engineering education, innovation, and everything in between. We spoke on May 22, 2012.
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