Synergy Of Applied Research And Education In Engineering Technolgy

Engineering technology programs at Texas A&M University are housed within a College of Engineering that enjoys ever-increasing success in research productivity. Faculty across the country who serve in engineering technology programs are often attracted to those programs primarily because of their desire to devote most of their time working with students in the classroom and laboratory, while minimizing the time devoted to research. An important question that must be continuously addressed is: how do engineering technology faculty, who live in an environment of research expectation, combine their classroom and laboratory teaching interests with research interests? This paper will discuss a process for bringing together what many faculty feel is a dichotomy between teaching and research. How engineering technology faculty might develop a rewarding career in both teaching and research will be outlined.