One of the Few

CSUF Engineering Dean's Achievements Net Rare Alma Mater Award

April 2, 2009 :: No. 160

Raman Unnikrishnan

Raman Unnikrishnan, Cal State Fullerton’s dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, is receiving South Dakota State University’s Distinguished Engineer Award — the highest award its College of Engineering can give to alumni. Only two such awards are made each year, and South Dakota has produced thousands of engineering alumni.

The Fullerton resident will be recognized April 3 during South Dakota State’s Distinguished Engineers Banquet, followed by the installation of a permanent plaque in the Distinguished Engineers Hall of Fame.

“We are very proud to present this award to Dr. Raman Unnikrishnan, one of our 1972 electrical engineering alums,” said Lewis F. Brown, dean of South Dakota State’s engineering college. “His professional achievements in engineering education and accreditation are truly exceptional. With this honor, he joins only 100 other engineers who have been honored by SDSU in its 128-year history.”

“This is a great honor and a humbling experience, considering the others before me who received the award,” Unnikrishnan said.

With this award, Unnikrishnan joins the small but distinguished group of engineers previously celebrated by South Dakota State, including Stephen F. Briggs, founder of Briggs & Stratton Engine Co.; Gene M. Amdahl, founder of the Amdahl Corp.; and Kathryn A. Walker, senior vice president of network services for Sprint Corp.

“Until the university contacted me last year, I had no idea I was being considered for recognition,” the dean said. “The surprise made the award even more special.”

Unnikrishnan’s Distinguished Engineer Award is the latest in a long string of accomplishments and accolades. Before coming to Cal State Fullerton in 2001 to head the College of Engineering and Computer Science, Unnikrishnan spent 10 years heading the Department of Electrical Engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York.

By the time he left Rochester, the department had moved up to No. 3 in the U.S. News & World Report rankings. Also, along the way, he earned the Rochester Institute Eisenhart Award for Outstanding Teaching, University of Missouri Honor Award for Distinguished Service in Engineering, Xerox Corp.’s Professional Excellence Award, the Harris Corp.-RF Communications Division Certificate of Appreciation for his commitment to both the teaching and the profession of engineering, the IEEE Millennium Medal, IEEE Region 1 Award for leadership on advancing the education needs of the engineering community, Cal State Fullerton Software Engineering Committee recognition for outstanding leadership and vision in the creation and development of new programs, and the university’s Chicano/Latino Faculty and Staff Association Certificate of Recognition.

Unnikrishnan also is an international program evaluator of universities’ electrical engineering and computer engineering programs for ABET (until recently known as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) and an ABET Engineering Accreditation commissioner. ABET, established 75 years ago, is the nation’s recognized accreditor for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering and technology. ABET currently accredits 2,800 programs at more than 600 colleges and universities nationwide and, because of its expertise, provides program assessments in other countries. Only ABET’s most consistently high-level evaluators provide assessments in other nations.

Unnikrishnan recently returned from a tour of India, where he represented the United States as part of the Washington Accord, an international agreement to set standards for professional engineering degrees. It is an effort to ensure that engineers in one country will have the same level of knowledge and expertise as those with the same degree from another country.

His appointment as an Accord Mentor was based on his extensive ABET experience, as well as his many other accomplishments. Those include his appointment in 2008 as a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, an international group with thousands of engineer members. Less than 1 percent of IEEE members are named a Fellow, a designation based on the engineer’s contributions to his profession and to education.

Unnikrishnan earned his M.S. at South Dakota State University and doctorate at the University of Missouri.

Photo:

Available online at www.fullerton.edu/newsphotos

Media Contacts:
Raman Unnikrishnan, College of Engineering and Computer Science, 657-278-3362 or runnikrishnan@fullerton.edu
Russ L. Hudson, Public Affairs, 657-278-4007 or rhudson@fullerton.edu

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