The “Rescuer From Afar” Syndrome: Cautions For The New Engineering Educator, Or Things Aren’t Always As They Seem

Robert Engelken, Arkansas State University Dr. Robert D. Engelken was born on November 14, 1955 in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. He graduated from Walnut Ridge, Arkansas High School in 1974, obtained the B.S. Physics from Arkansas State University in 1978, and obtained the M.S.E.E. and Ph.D.-E.E. from the University of Missouri-Rolla in 1980 and 1983, respectively. He has been on the engineering faculty at Arkansas State University since 1982 and is currently Director of Electrical Engineering, Professor of Electrical Engineering, and a Professional Engineer in the state of Arkansas. He is also a charter faculty member in ASU's multi-disciplinary Ph.D. in Environmental Science Program. He has been very active in research and development in the field of semiconductor thin films, particularly in the fields of electrodeposition and chemical precipitation deposition of such, with a major emphasis on undergraduate instruction and utilization of undergraduate research assistants in the field. He has had numerous research projects sponsored by agencies such as NASA, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority, and industry. He also has played an active, senior role in the development of the electrical engineering program at ASU and has been active in the field of engineering education, including several presentations and papers at ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education conferences and ASEE annual conferences, on topics such as undergraduate and faculty research, and new engineering educators. He has been active in ASEE, IEEE (including serving as Faculty Counselor of the ASU IEEE Student Branch), and the Electrochemical Society.