FIE 2012 General Chairs’ Message
On behalf of the three sponsoring societies and Seattle University, we are pleased to welcome you to FIE 2012. The lifetime of FIE, 42 years and counting, has been a time of many innovations in engineering and computing education. The Frontiers in Education Conference has become the premiere conference for presentation and discussion of excellent educational research and innovative curricula in engineering education. This accomplishment would not have been possible without the vision and strong leadership of the three sponsoring professional societies – ASEE Educational Research and Methods Division, IEEE Computer Society, and the IEEE Education Society. We, along with the sponsoring societies, are proud of the rich traditions of the FIE and the many engineering educators and educational researchers from around the globe who have contributed so much to our present understanding of how students learn. We are excited to bring this year’s conference to the West Coast, where it is more easily accessible to our colleagues around the Pacific Rim. The theme of this year’s conference, “Soaring to New Heights in Engineering Education” focuses on expanding the diverse community of international scholars and enriching the foundation of educational research that FIE has built over its history. It seems only fitting then that we continue this celebration of “soaring to new heights” by hosting this year’s reception at the Museum of Flight.
Also fitting with this year’s theme and location, we have expanded our outreach efforts to include Asia and Australia and are quite eager to learn of your educational efforts. Welcome to all first timers at FIE, whether international or local. We hope you become ambassadors for FIE by supporting our goals of enriching engineering education and informing other colleagues of your experiences.
FIE 2012 has an exciting and innovative technical program which is made possible by the Planning Committee, a large group of dedicated professionals who volunteer their time to this cause. The program co-chairs from the sponsoring societies – Reid Bailey and Archie Holmes of ERM, Steve Frezza of the IEEE Computer Society, and Lance Perez of the IEEE Education Society – coordinate the paper review process and organize the technical sessions. The program co-chairs are joined by the International Program Chairs, Ming Zhang, Mark Lee, Edumndo Tovar Caro and Melany Ciampi and the Special Sessions Chair Kevin Gary. Ingrid Russell, as the New Faculty Fellows Chair, coordinates the new faculty fellows program, a valuable influx of new people and innovations. Robert Hofinger continues in his key role as Exhibits Chair and Ed Jones as Conference Historian. We are pleased to have had such a dedicated group of program chairs who provide countless hours to organize the technical sessions, workshops, and special sessions that make FIE the innovative and compelling conference that it is.
In addition to selecting the technical program, there is a great deal of logistics and support planning that must be accomplished to make FIE the special conference that it is. We are both fortunate and thankful for the logistics support from Kevin Curry, Assistant to the General Chairs, and the Kansas University Continuing Education staff and to Chris Dyer, Publications Chair. In addition to providing all of the logistical support that is necessary for the conference, Kevin continues to provide the continuity and institutional memory that is necessary for the planning committee to do its job. In addition, we would like to thank Jennifer Karlin and Stuart Kellogg and the FIE 2011 Planning Committee who continue to offer the support and guidance for the FIE 2012 program. Finally, we would like to thank the FIE Steering Committee for their leadership in ensuring the uniqueness that is FIE.
FIE is more than just a place to present papers. It is a place to meet and welcome new people and reconnect with old colleagues. It is a place to interact and discuss new ideas and new innovations. In short, it is a place to build not only a community of scholars but a community of friends. While you are here, we hope that you will have an opportunity to enjoy some of the many attractions that Seattle has to offer.
Our conference hotel is located in the heart of downtown Seattle, within walking distance of many fine restaurants, the Seattle Art Museum, multiple live music venues, the Seattle waterfront with its stunning views across Puget Sound, and the unique Pike Place Market. If you are able to spend an extra day in Seattle, you can explore the natural beauty of the city and its surroundings, take a trip to Mt. Ranier National Park, or visit the Boeing factory to see the latest commercial airliners being constructed. Seattle offers something for every taste, including all of the great coffee you can drink!
Your Co-Chairs,
Richard Leblanc and Ann Sobel
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The steering committee of the FIE conference series have taken a number of steps to improve paper submission and reviewing processes, and this new web profile is a part of that process.
As in the past FIE is a world class, highly ranked, international forum for the publication of scholarly results in all areas of Engineering and Computing Education. Please see the Call For Papers (CFP) for more information on how you publish your work with us. We encourage all of you to submit proposals for high quality research, and work in progress papers for the 2012 conference. Please see the conference timeline for more details of the submission and review process.
FIE 2012 is hosted in Seattle, and following conferences will be located in 2013 in Oklahoma City, and 2014 in Madrid, Spain. We hope that you will enjoy these venues, and have rewarding discussions with colleagues and exhibitors both in 2012 and beyond.
On behalf of the FIE Steering Committee
Arnold Pears
Steering Committee Chair
