Engineering Industry Trends in 2014 – Expert Insights for Engineers from Women Deans

Women Engineering Deans

Our Engineering Experts


Meet Cherry Murray: Dean of Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Cherry Murray - Harvard University

Cherry Murray

Cherry Murray became Dean of the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Science and John A. and Elisabeth S. Armstrong Professor of Engineering and Applied Science and Professor of Physics in July, 2009. As Dean, she manages new faculty recruitment and faculty relations; directs and leads strategic planning; coordinates fundraising and alumni relations; and determines and implements educational, research, and administrative goals for the most recent new School of Harvard

Dr. Murray is a member of the National Academy of Science, the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has served on more than 100 national and international scientific advisory committees, governing boards and National Research Council panels. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), as well as fellow and Past President of the American Physical Society (APS). She chaired the National Research Council Division of Engineering and Physical Science, served on the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling and is currently serving on the Department of Energy, Secretary of Energy Advisory Board and the congressional Commission to Review the Effectiveness of the Energy Department’s National Laboratories.


Meet Dr Barbara Boyan – Dean at Virginia Commonwealth’s School of Engineering

Barbara Boyan Engineering Dean - Virginia Commonwealth University

Dr. Barbara Boyan

Dr. Barbara Boyan is Professor and the William H. and Alice T. Goodwin Chair in Biomedical Engineering and Dean, School of Engineering at the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. In addition, she is professor emerita in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Boyan directs the Virginia branch of the FDA-sponsored Atlantic Pediatric Device Consortium. She is a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and in the American Institute of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering (AIMBE) and in 2012 she was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and was inducted into the Fellows of the World Congress of Biomaterials. She was appointed to the National Materials Advisory Board of the National Research Council of the National Academies and chaired their Roundtable on Biomedical Engineering Materials and Applications from 2008 to 2011. She has founded a number of biomedical technology companies and currently serves on the Boards of both public and private companies. The author of more than 400 peer-reviewed papers, reviews, and book chapters, Dr. Boyan holds 15 U.S. patents.


Meet Nada Marie Anid: Dean of New York Institute of Technology’s School of Engineering and Computing Sciences

Nada Anid - New York Institute of Technology

Nada Marie Anid, PHD

Nada Marie Anid, Ph.D., is the first female dean of NYIT’s School of Engineering and Computing Sciences (SoECS). In this role, she oversees 77 engineering and computing sciences faculty members and approximately 2,700 graduate and undergraduate students at campuses located in Manhattan and Old Westbury, N.Y., the Middle East, and China.

She has been named one of the top 50 most influential women in business in recognition of her business acumen, mentoring, and community involvement by Long Island Business News (LIBN) and as a third time honoree, was recently inducted to the LIBN Hall of Fame. Dr. Anid also received the 2010 Long Island Software and Technology Network (LISTnet) Diamond Award in recognition of her significant contributions toward the advancement of women in technology on Long Island as well as for her professional achievements in the technology field. She is also the recipient of the first-­ever Advocates for Science and Technology Award by the Science Museum of Long Island, and is an active member of the Long Island Regional Council’s Education and Workforce Committee, the NY State STEM Education Collaborative, and the Intrepid Museum’s STEM Advisory Committee.

Dr. Anid earned her Ph.D. in environmental engineering from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH-Stockholm). Prior to joining NYIT, she was chair and graduate program director of the Chemical Engineering Department at Manhattan College.


Meet Dr. Candis Claiborn – Dean at Washington State University’s College of Engineering and Architecture

Candis Claiborn - Washington State University

Dr Candis Claiborn

Dr. Candis Claiborn has been Dean of the College of Engineering and Architecture since 2006 and is one of just a few women engineering deans in the U.S. As dean, she has contributed to the growth of the college through several successful initiatives. She is a co-Principal investigator on a $3.75 million, NSF ADVANCE grant that aims to increase representation and advancement of faculty women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The grant is developing new strategies for faculty recruitment, retention, and advancement. She is also principal investigator on a Department of Education grant to establish a program for recruitment, promotion, and advancement of women in science and engineering. During her tenure as dean, several scholarships for women in engineering fields have been established.

Dr. Claiborn has received several teaching awards in her department, including Outstanding Teaching Faculty in Civil Engineering in 1994, the Leon Luck Faculty Award for the Most Effective Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering in 1998, the Outstanding Teaching Faculty in Civil Engineering in 1999 and the Richard Crain Faculty Award for Distinction in Ethics Teaching in 2003.

Dr. Claiborn received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Idaho in 1980. After graduation, she worked in the petroleum industry for Chevron and then for Atlantic Richfield Corporation. She returned to college at North Carolina State University, where she received her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering.


1. Why are engineers integral to the American economy and infrastructure? What would happen without them?

Cherry Murray

Engineers design and make things- infrastructure, products and services. We can’t have an economy without that.


Dr Barbara Boyan

Engineers are the problem solvers of American industry and infrastructure. They tackle problems by reducing the issues to their component parts, and then develop solutions using first principles. This approach is used when inventing new technologies to address specific needs and when addressing problems in manufacturing products, building bridges and highways, or ensuring security of the internet. Engineers do work that is fundamental to our economy at every level.


Nada Marie Anid

The historic roots of engineering in the United States lie in the work of army engineers on canals and railroad projects in the 1800s making engineers an integral part of American infrastructure. Since that time, engineering has evolved from civil engineering to many other disciplines (mechanical, chemical, electrical, computer) all related to infrastructure, resource exploration, manufacturing, energy, metallurgy, aerospace, communications, and defense. The impact of engineers on the industrial revolution and the digital revolution can’t be ignored.

In the U.S. and globally, engineers are the engine behind strong economies. Most recently, President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness was specifically designed to strengthen the Nation’s economy and ensure the global economic competitiveness of the USA. The council’s “national imperative” is to graduate 10,000 new American engineers per year for the next 10 years to address the nation’s engineering shortage.

The nation’s changing demographics and continued need to remain globally competitive make it clear that colleges and universities must increase the number of engineering majors. The fact is that high school students in the United States are trailing behind their international peers in STEM areas. Currently, the United States ranks 17th in science and 25th in math among other nations (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2012). In engineering, China and India graduate many more engineers than the US (Gereffi et al., 2008). In 2011, China’s engineering graduates totaled 1,000,000 (Shammas, 2011), compared to the US’ 84,599 graduates (Deffree, 2012).

Natural disasters such as Superstorm Sandy are increasing the public’s understanding of the impact of engineering on society and making it clear that America must rely on its own engineers to fortify, reinvent, and repair infrastructure when needed. Climate change is making it necessary to increase the resilience of America’s critical infrastructure including its financial centers, command and control centers, hospitals and clinics, chemical and power plants, the electric grid, and transportation networks.


Dr. Candis Claiborn

On the American Economy:

The vibrancy of our economy is dependent on the quality of jobs and its continuing potential for sustained and steady growth. Engineers innovate and create the next generation of technologies that drive economic growth. They design and then improve our infrastructure – our roads, bridges, highways, even the information highway – to enable the economy to grow. Without engineers, our manufacturing, electronics, information, health care, and other sectors of the economy would falter – innovation would slow, and our nation’s competitiveness would suffer.


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