MSU professor named fellow of engineering education society

Contact: Phil Hearn

STARKVILLE, Miss.--A longtime Mississippi State mechanical engineering professor is a new Fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education.

B. Keith Hodge, a Macon native and 1965 alumnus of the land-grant university, is the first member of the Bagley College of Engineering faculty to hold the ASEE honor. Campuswide, the only other ASEE Fellow is MSU Career Center director Luther Epting.

The ASEE Fellow is conferred by the organization's board of directors upon a member with outstanding qualifications and experience in engineering or engineering technology education who has made significant contributions to the society.

"The American Society for Engineering Education is the premier professional society focused on education excellence," said Dean Kirk Schulz. "The selection of Dr. Hodge as the engineering college's first ASEE Fellow is a testament to his exceptional career as an engineering educator."

A member of the MSU faculty since 1978, Hodge is a William L. Giles Distinguished Professor, Tennessee Valley Authority Professor of Energy Systems and the Environment, and a Hearin Professor of Engineering. He became one of MSU's first four John Grisham Master Teachers in 1993.

He also is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Association of Energy Engineers.

The well-published research professor's specialty areas include fluid mechanics, heat transfer, compressible flow, and energy systems.

"To be named a Fellow of the ASEE is an indication of a reasonable career in education," said Hodge. "I was surprised to be named because there are currently about 12,000 members, and they only name 11 Fellows per year for the organization."

Hodge earned bachelor's and master's degrees in aerospace engineering at MSU, respectively, in 1965 and 1966. He received a second master's degree in mechanical engineering in 1971 and earned a doctorate in that field in 1973, both from the University of Alabama.

Founded in 1893, ASEE is a nonprofit organization committed to furthering education in engineering and engineering technology. ASEE promotes excellence in instruction, research, public service, and practice. The society also exercises worldwide leadership, and provides quality products and services to members.

NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For more information, contact Courtney Thompson at (662) 325-0151 or cthompson@engr.msstate.edu.