Panel Session Proposal Template
Panel Session Title: Standards Education and Industry: An interactive session addressing the importance
of including technical standards education in engineering curricula and the needs of industry.
Presenter/Facilitator Info: This panel session is sponsored by the IEEE Standards Education Committee
(SEC), a joint standing committee of the IEEE Educational Activities Board and the IEEE Standards
Association, and ASTM International.
The SEC’s mission is to:
 promote the importance of standards in meeting technical, economic, environmental, and societal
challenges;
 disseminate learning materials on the application of standards in the design and development
aspects of educational programs;
 actively promote the integration of standards into academic programs.
Propose: Five to Six panelists with one moderator. Panelists will represent industry, academia and
Standards Development Organizations (SDOs).
Panelists and moderator
 Moderator: Howard Wolfman, Lumispec Consulting, Adjunct Professor University of Illinois
A.
B.
C.
D.
Amin Karim, DeVry University. Email: Akarim@devry.edu (Academia and IEEE SEC rep)
Bruce Harding, Purdue University. Email: harding@purdue.edu (ASEE rep and academia)
Jim Olshefsky, ASTM International. Email: jolshefs@astm.org (SDO rep)
Leslie Struble, University of Illinois (Civil engineering professor, ASTM member, Jim O will contact.
Academia rep)
E. Bob Noth, former President ANSI BoD, John Deere. (Jim O will contact. Bob is located in
Northbrook, IL. Industry and SDO rep)
F. TBD (someone from industry and the IEEE?) to address needs/expectations of newly graduated
engineers)
Presenter/Facilitator Background and Qualifications: (provide a short paragraph for each)
Moderator: Howard Wolfman is an adjunct full professor in the Master of Engineering Program at the
University of Illinois at Chicago. He received his BSEE from the University of Illinois, MBA from
Northwestern University, and is a Registered Professional Engineer in Illinois. He is the principal of
Lumispec Consulting, specializing in Management and Lighting Energy Efficiency. Mr. Wolfman
has held numerous leadership positions in domestic and international standards and trade
organizations including ANSI, IEC, IEEE, NEMA, UL and CSA. He has been a member of the IEEE
Standards Board for 12 of the last 15 years, is past chairman of the Chicago Chapter of the EMC Society,
past member of the Board of Governors of the EMC, IAS, and EMS Societies, past chairman of the IEEE Chicago
Section, past IEEE Region 4 Director and past IEEE Treasurer.
Panelist A: Amin Karim is the Director of Academic Outreach at DeVry University. Prior to this
position, he served as the national dean of the college of technology.. Before joining DeVry in 1991, he
served as an electrical engineer in the power and manufacturing industry and as a faculty and a
department head of engineering technology program. He is a past Chair of the Electronics and Computer
Engineering Technology Department Heads Association of the American Society for Engineering
Education and served as a TAC of ABET evaluator for engineering technology programs. Currently, he is
serving as the vice-chair of the Standards Education Committee for IEEE.
Panelist B: Bruce Harding is professor of mechanical engineering technology and coordinator of
professional practice at Purdue University. Professor Harding's scholarship and engagement activities
revolve around the development and application of American National and ISO standards dealing with
Technical Product Documentation (TPD) as it broadly relates to product realization, green manufacturing
and other technical aspects of product lifecycle management (PLM).
Panelist C: Jim Olshefsky is Director, External Relations at ASTM International where he manages,
supports, and promotes ASTM’s international outreach and academic initiatives within ASTM’s Global
Cooperation Division. Jim Olshefsky has worked at ASTM International for 13 years supporting the
development and promotion of voluntary consensus standards for materials, products, systems and
services. Prior to moving to Global Cooperation, he directed ASTM’s Committee Services Department in
the Technical Committee Operations Division. Mr. Olshefsky also spent several years as a Staff Manager
of various ASTM technical committees. Other contributions include speaking to students, educators, and
international audiences on the importance of standardization and global use of ASTM International
standards.
Panelist D: Leslie J. Struble holds a B.A. in chemistry (Pitzer College, 1970), an M.S. in civil
engineering (Purdue University, 1979), and a Ph.D. in civil engineering (Purdue University, 1987). She
has been a member of the faculty in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign since 1989. Prior to joining the faculty of the University of
Illinois, she worked at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Martin Marietta
Laboratories, and California Portland Cement Company.
Panelist E: Robert W. Noth began his term as immediate past chairman of the American National
Standards Institute Board of Directors in January 2009. He previously held the position of chairman of the
Board from 2006-2008. Noth was vice-chairman from 2003-2005 and served as chair of the International
Policy Committee from 2002-2005; he has been an active member of the ANSI Company Member Forum
since 1991. After 44 years of service, Mr. Noth recently retired as manager of engineering standards from
Deere & Company. In this position, he was responsible for overseeing the development, deployment,
utilization and administration of standards affecting the Deere product line worldwide. Mr. Noth’s duties
required national and international interaction with standards developing organizations, trade associations,
regulatory agencies, and other organizations whose activities affect Deere products.
Panelist F: TBD
Panel Session Goals:
1. To discuss the importance of learning standards in a global economy and employer expectations
for engineering graduates in the USA.
2. To highlight the fundamentals of engineering standards including how they are developed,
applied, maintained, and enhanced.
3. To detail the current ABET requirements with respect to standards in engineering curricula and
spread awareness of the joint IEEE-ANSI Position Paper on the Role of Standards in the
Curriculum.
4. To identify ways that current professors are including standards in the classroom, specifically
how standards are being incorporated into Capstone Design projects.
5. To demonstrate a case study on selection and application of standards in a capstone project
6. To identify resources available from Standards Development Organizations (SDOs), such as
IEEE, ASTM International, and ANSI, for students and professors to obtain standards documents,
student grants, and other educational resources.
Target Audience
[X ] General
[X] New capstone instructors
[X ] Experienced capstone instructors
[X ] Students
[ ] Other (please list)
Facilitation Plan:
(outline and explanation of time utilization as well as teaching/learning methods)
Anticipate that the panel session will be 90 minutes long. The SEC would like to request that, if possible,
this panel session be run twice, back to back, during the conference to allow as much participation as
possible.
 Panelists would each give a short 10-minute presentation or talk addressing their particular areas
of expertise and interest. Moderator will entertain questions and comments from attendees and
request panelists to address them.
Logistical Requirements:
AV technology needed: Projector, microphone for each panelist
Laptops/software needed: None
Anticipated handouts: None
Room set-up desired: Lecture, with additional front table for panelists
Maximum audience size: N/A
Other: IEEE and ASTM International will also participate as Exhibitors:
1. Each will have an Exhibitor table @ $1,000
2. IEEE will advertise in conference program: $100-$500 and include materials for attendee
bag inserts: $100-$500