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04.09
 Q&A
with NCEES President Elect David Whitman
By Abby Vogel
Today’s Engineer sits
down for a Q&A with IEEE member and IEEE-USA
Licensure & Registration Committee member David
Whitman, Ph.D, P.E., who was recently elected to
be next year’s president of the
National Council
of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES),
the organization that develops, scores and
administers the U.S. engineering licensure
examinations.
Q: Did you always want to be an engineer?
I knew that I wanted to pursue
electrical engineering in ninth grade. We were
given an assignment to generate a “career
notebook,” and with my interest in the 1960s
space race, the idea of working in the
electronics industry held great appeal to me.
Q: Why did you decide to get your
Professional Engineer (P.E.) license?
After receiving my Ph.D.,
several colleagues and I created a private
consulting company in the synthetic fuels area.
I went after the P.E. license to be
able to do that kind of work.
Q: Why are you so passionate about
engineering licensure?
I guess I’m passionate about
licensure because, in my mind, it’s the ultimate
“feather in the cap.” It demonstrates to your
colleagues, as well as the public, that you are
a competent and ethical engineer. Many faculty
members make the argument that they don’t need
the P.E. designation because they just teach.
What they don’t appear to recognize is that they
are role models for their students. If more
faculty members were licensed and promoted the
personal and financial benefits of licensure, I
believe more students would elect to follow this
path as well.
Q: As a professor at the University of
Wyoming, what courses do you teach?
Since 2005, I have been teaching digital
electronics and senior design courses in the
Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering at the University of Wyoming. Prior
to that, I spent 16 years as associate dean
teaching engineering science courses, including statics, dynamics, mechanics of materials and
electrical circuits. My first teaching position,
from 1981 to 1996, was in petroleum engineering.
Q: How have you been involved in IEEE?
It’s interesting how one’s life
comes full circle. My bachelor’s degree is in
electrical engineering; during college, I was
the vice president of the University of
Wyoming’s IEEE student chapter. However, after
moving into a Ph.D. program in mineral
engineering (primarily chemical engineering), I
gravitated away from IEEE. When I returned to my
roots in 2005, I renewed my IEEE membership.
About 18 months ago, I was asked to serve on the
IEEE-USA Licensure & Registration Committee (LRC),
and have definitely enjoyed that experience.
Since LRC is directly involved in licensure
activities for IEEE, the relationship between
IEEE and NCEES is almost in perfect alignment.
Q: What made you want to run for
President-Elect of NCEES?
This certainly wasn’t in my
long-term goals. I’ve been involved with NCEES
for quite a while — having worked on the 1996
Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam cut score
study, and then getting involved with the FE
Examination Committee in 2001. As I got more and
more involved, the Wyoming Board encouraged me
to run for the Western Zone Vice President
position, which I secured in 2006. After
watching the operation of the Board for two
years, I decided that I could continue to
contribute to the leadership of NCEES via the
President-Elect position.
Q: How can IEEE members help NCEES or get
involved in NCEES?
Some of the ways IEEE members
can get involved include:
-
Volunteering for the exam
committees — we are always looking for new
members, but you must be a P.E. in order to
work on either the FE or Principles and
Practice in Engineering (PE) exams
-
Providing input to NCEES
through the Professional Organizations
Liaison Council
-
Promoting licensure to IEEE
members who are not P.E.s
Q: What NCEES issues do you think will be
most impactful in the next few years?
The two major ones are the continued debate over
the
additional education requirement for licensure
and computer-based testing. With regard to the
education initiative, the Engineering Education
Task Force has been working hard this year to
answer a number of questions. Their report can
be found on the NCEES Web site [www.ncees.org].
Decisions made this summer by the Council of
Member Boards may or may not set this initiative
on a new course. Computer-based testing
continues to be analyzed as an alternative to
the traditional eight-hour paper and pencil
exams. While implementation of this technique
will not happen in the near future, NCEES continues to study the issue intently.
Q: What is your greatest hope for your
year as 2010 NCEES President?
I just hope to keep the NCEES
“machine” moving. I believe that, for the most
part, it’s moving in the right direction. As
mentioned above, decisions made on the education
initiative may change the emphasis of my year of
leadership. I would also like to promote faculty
licensure during the year. The Board has also
voted support for the National Surveyors Museum
and I’m hopeful that a wonderful display is
created this year for that museum.
Q: What do you like to do for fun?
I love to go white-water rafting
and watch any and all sports.
Abby Vogel, Ph.D., is a
communications officer in the Research News and
Publications office at the Georgia Institute of
Technology. In this position, she writes about
Georgia Tech research discoveries and
developments, and assists reporters in their
coverage of Georgia Tech research. Vogel also
serves as chair of the IEEE-USA Communications
Committee and as an editor for IEEE-USA
Today’s Engineer.
Comments on this article may
be submitted to todaysengineer@ieee.org.
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