Description:
As an engineer in today’s world, you are facing a professional development challenge early in your career. Should you continue to develop your technical expertise, or prepare to move into management?
The Master of Science degree has long been the choice for those in technical positions. However, engineers on the management path, looking for an advanced management degree often defaulted to the MBA; unfortunately that route is devoid of one’s technical expertise. For aspiring engineers looking to balance their career aspirations, there is another, not-so-well-known option. The Master of Engineering and Technology Management (METM) degree is designed for professionals working in STEM fields who need management skills to successfully lead highly skilled people and technical projects, units, and organizations. This webinar will help participants understand the distinct differences among Master of Science, Master of Business Administration, and Master of Engineering and Technology Management, with a closer look at how the METM degree can provide the right balance between technical expertise and operational management.
Speaker Bios:
G. Todd Vanek
Dr. Vanek is the Director of the Engineering and Technology Management (ETM) Online Master’s Degree Program and the Director of Online Learning Programs for the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture at Washington State University. Todd earned his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Washington State University and his BA in Psychology from Norfolk State University. His curiosity and passion lie in continuous process improvement, learning, assessment and evaluation, and engineering education.
Todd teaches management and leadership in the ETM program using his diverse leadership background, which includes positions in the United States Navy, private manufacturing and retail, local government, and higher education. Todd’s background in learning and teaching includes curriculum development, program evaluation, qualifications as a US Navy instructor and Master Training Specialist, studies in early childhood education, K-12 teaching, corporate workforce training, and teaching in higher education. Todd has learned, used, and taught many of the concepts, tools, and techniques taught in Engineering Management programs, but his background in psychology and learning give him a unique perspective on engineering education. Todd is currently the secretary for the Council of Engineering Management Academic Leaders (CEMAL) for the American Society of Engineering Managers (ASEM).
Jena Asgarpoor
Jena Asgarpoor is a Professor of Practice at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln College of Engineering and the Director for the Master of Engineering Management Program. Dr. Asgarpoor received her Ph.D. and M.S. in Industrial Engineering, specializing in Engineering Management, from Texas A&M University – College Station, where she had previously earned a B.A. in Political Science (Summa Cum Laude). Her interests lie in quality control, engineering management, and customer satisfaction improvement in manufacturing and service industries, as well as teaching, pedagogy, and assessment of student learning outcomes, particularly in the web-based asynchronous online space.
Prior to UNL, she was Professor in Supply Chain Management and Decision Sciences at Bellevue University, Nebraska for 26 years where in 1994 she developed and taught the first asynchronous web-based online course for that institution as part of her teaching portfolio. She is active as an officer for the Council of Engineering Management Academic Leaders (CEMAL) of the American Society for Engineering Management; Secretary for the Engineering Management Division of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE); and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer for the Engineering Leadership Development Division of ASEE.
Dr. Carlo Ciliberti, PE
Dr. Carlo Ciliberti, PE earned his PhD in engineering management at Drexel University. He has earned a Master’s Degree in engineering management from Drexel University, a Master’s Degree in electrical engineering from Widener University and a Bachelor of Science degree in biomedical engineering from Temple University. Carlo is currently the Senior Manager of Automation and Engineering at Johnson & Johnson (Fort Washington Consumer Division) and is a licensed professional engineer in Pennsylvania and New York. His is also a Project Management Professional and holds patent No. US 10,000,339 B2 for Gravity-Fed Housings for Gasification Systems.
Dr. Ciliberti has over 35 years of industrial experience in pharmaceutical/biotechnology, defense, power, foods and hydrocarbon sectors. His career includes positions of increasing responsibility with the US Navy as an Electrical Engineer; Flour Daniel as a Lead Control Systems Engineer; Gannett Fleming as a Project Manager; CDI Engineering as the Instrumentation and Control Systems Department Manager; Lockheed Martin as a Renewable Energy Division Project Engineer; and adjunct professor of Engineering Management, Construction Management, and Systems Engineering with the University of Nebraska, Drexel University, Temple University and Rowan University.
Jessi Hall
Jessi Hall is the Senior Director for Vertical Integration at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories in Pullman, Washington. She joined SEL in 2011 as a mechanical engineer in the Manufacturing division and held various positions before moving into her current role in July 2020. Jessi leads SEL’s US-based vertical integration teams, including production, engineering, and support activities. The vertical integration groups currently include: Magnetics (Lewiston, ID), Plastics (Lewiston, ID), Tool & Die (Lewiston, ID), Sheet Metal (Lewiston, ID), Machine Shop (Pullman, WA and Lewiston, ID), and is currently working on the start-up of SEL’s Printed Circuit Board Factory in Moscow, ID (December 2022). The components manufactured by these teams are used by all of SEL’s global manufacturing facilities.
Prior to working at SEL, Jessi worked as an Equipment Support Engineer and Equipment Support Engineering Supervisor at Micron in Boise, Idaho. She taught economics and operations management for three semesters as an adjunct professor at Boise State University. Jessi received a B.S. of Mechanical Engineering from Washington State University in 2000, and an MBA from Boise State University in 2007. In 2018, Jessi joined the external advisory board of the WSU School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, where she is currently the chair. Jessi has served on the Steptoe School District board since 2014.