Stevens professor named Engineering Manager of the Year by the world's top professional society in the field

On Monday, Aug. 14, one of Stevens Institute of Technology's top professors in technology management will be awarded the prestigious Engineering Manager of the Year award by the world's premier professional society in engineering and technology management.

Dr. Aaron Shenhar, institute professor of management in Stevens' Wesley J. Howe School of Technology Management, will receive the award at the Engineering Management Society's annual meeting in Albuquerque, N.M., next week. The 10,000-member society is part of the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers Inc. (IEEE), which, with more than 300,000 members, is one of the largest professional organizations in the world.

Shenhar, one of the leading scholars in technology management, has taught and conducted research at Stevens for four years. He founded the Project Management Program and the Center for Technology Management Research at Stevens, both of which he directs. He holds five academic degrees in various fields of engineering and management from Stanford University and the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology.

He also has extensive experience in research and development as an executive in high technology environments in the Israeli defense industry. While primarily an academic today, he continues to be in demand as a consultant for a number of top companies on innovation, technology, and project management. Among his clients are companies such as 3M, Honeywell, Trane, Lockheed Martin, and the US Army. An IEEE member must nominate candidates for the Engineering Manager of the Year award, and each nominee must be a senior IEEE member or Fellow, a member of the Engineering Management Society for at least three years, and an engineering manager for at least 10 years. Nominees must have shown outstanding and prolonged contributions to the field.

Shenhar was nominated by a former Engineering Manager of the Year award-winner, Gerard H. Gaynor, a former technology executive, author of several books on technology management, a former president of the Engineering Management Society, and a former vice president of publications for IEEE.

"I was very honored by this nomination, and I am even more honored by the award," said Shenhar. He will address the society on the topic "How to Make Project Management Your Next Competitive Weapon," following the award presentation.

The topic is directly related to his ongoing research in project management. He maintains that project management in the 21st century will be completely different than it has been in the past. The new framework he has developed - Strategic Project Leadership - focuses on creating competitive advantage through projects, and winning in the marketplace, rather than simply "getting the job done," the current approach.

His research has been supported by $300,000 in grants from the National Science Foundation over the last two years. As a Stevens professor, Shenhar teaches executives, frequently in off-campus corporate classrooms, as part of the Executive Masters In Technology Management Program. Now three years old, his project management program has grown dramatically and already has more than 100 graduates. In addition, the Center for Technology Management Research that he directs supports and funds other faculty members' scholarly research.

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.

Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.  

For the latest news about Stevens, please visit StevensNewsService.com.