MSOE president named to board of national program
| Published: 04/14/2005 |
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MSOE President Hermann Viets, Ph.D., has been named to the board of directors of Project Lead the Way (PLTW), a national, nonprofit program that introduces young people to the professions of engineering and technology to address the nation's shortage of engineers.
Nationally, participation in PLTW has improved the math, science and reading skills of participants as compared to students in traditional four-year, pre-college programs. More than 1,200 schools in 43 states participate in Project Lead the Way.
MSOE is the National Affiliate University for PLTW in the state of Wisconsin. In the two years that MSOE and the Waukesha-based Kern Family Foundation have been involved in the program, it has grown from three to 60 participating high schools and middle schools, the fourth-highest number in the country. And the number of participating schools in the state continues to grow.
Dr. Viets, MSOE's fourth president, holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in astronautics and an undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering. He holds seven American patents. Previous to his inauguration at MSOE, Viets was the dean of engineering at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston. He lives in Shorewood, Wis.
Project Lead the Way Contact: Professor John Farrow, PLTW coordinator at MSOE, (414) 277-7287; www.pltw.org