Delores Etter to be member of National Nuclear Security Administration senior-level task force

Dr. Delores M. Etter

Dallas, Texas (SMU) – June 23, 2008 –Delores M. Etter, TI Director of the Caruth Institute for Engineering Education at SMU, has been appointed to serve on a National Nuclear Security Administration senior-level task force examining the ever increasing security role of our nation’s laboratory science and technology assets.

“The focus of this task force will be on ensuring that there is a robust and capable national laboratory system to meet our 21st Century security challenges,” says Dr. Etter. “This clearly will require that we address the real difficulties we face in getting young people interested in science and engineering, and the broader challenges for engineering education in the 21st Century.”

In March, Dr. Etter was appointed the first ever Texas Instruments Distinguished Chair in Engineering Education and Director of the newly named Caruth Institute for Engineering Education at the SMU School of Engineering. She has previously served at the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition and as a faculty member at the Naval Academy, the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of New Mexico. Among her many honors, Dr. Etter is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the highest recognition bestowed on an engineer.

The audience for the report of this task force includes Members of Congress and key officials at other agencies including the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, Department of Education, and the National Science Foundation.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for Dr. Etter to continue to shape our national security while also promoting and redefining engineering education,” says Geoffrey Orsak, Dean of the SMU School of Engineering. “We are very fortunate to have someone as well-respected as Delores on the faculty of the SMU School of Engineering.”

The first meeting of the task force will be held in Washington, D.C., on Friday, June 27, 2008.

About the SMU School of Engineering

SMU’s School of Engineering, founded in 1925, is one of the oldest engineering schools in the Southwest. The school offers eight undergraduate and 29 graduate programs, including both masters and doctorate levels.

A private university located in the heart of Dallas, SMU is building on the vision of its founders, who imagined a distinguished center for learning emerging from the spirit of the city. Today, 11,000 students benefit from the national opportunities and international reach afforded by the quality of SMU’s seven degree-granting schools.