Eileen Van Aken
Eileen Van Aken, associate professor and associate head of the Virginia Tech Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, has been named a Fellow by the American Society for Engineering Management.
Van Aken becomes the 51st person to be so named in the history of the society, which started the honor list in 1988. Van Aken is the third Virginia Tech College of Engineering faculty member to be so honored, following now retired professor Harold Kurstedt in 2005 and former faculty researcher Greg Sedrick in 1995. Two former doctoral graduates from the department of industrial and systems engineering also previously have been awarded Fellow status.
Being a Fellow is the highest level of membership in the society, awarded to candidates with eight years of continuous membership in the group. Honorees also must demonstrate continuing distinguished service and contribution to the society. A maximum of five people are inducted each year.
Van Aken’s research focuses on development of performance management, organizational assessment, and organizational improvement practices and tools. She also is a Fellow of the World Academy of Productivity Sciences, a senior member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers, and a member of the American Society for Quality and the American Society for Engineering Education.
She is a three-time graduate of Virginia Tech, earning her bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in industrial engineering in 1998, 1991 and 1995, respectively. She joined the College of Engineering faculty in 1996, after working with the university’s Center for Organizational Performance Improvement, and AT&T Microelectronics in Richmond.
The American Society for Engineering Management was founded in 1979 to represent the profession of engineering managers. Its mission is to be the custodian of the engineering management body of knowledge, grow and share the engineering management body of knowledge, guide and enhance engineering management educational programs, engage engineering management professionals, and recognize and foster engineering management best practices, according to its website.