Check out our 5-Year Impact Report!

The Montana Engineering Education Research Center (MEERC) was approved by the Montana Board of Regents in September of 2016.  The mission of the MEERC is to Transform Engineering Education through interdisciplinary, empirical research.  The overarching research goals of the MEERC are:

  • Strengthen the engineering workforce by better preparing graduates to meet the grand challenges of the 21st century.
  • Strengthen the engineering workforce by recruiting more and diverse talent into the engineering community.
  • Improve the efficiency of engineering education.

To contribute to the body of knowledge in these research areas, the MEERC has four strategies:

  1. Significantly increase faculty productivity in the area of engineering education research at MSU.  This is measured by the number and amount of funded research projects and scholarly publications.
  2. Initiate large-scale research projects at MSU targeting the goals listed above.  This will be measured by the number of ongoing projects and number of students impacted.
  3. Establish MSU as a leader within the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE).  This will be measured by the number of papers published in ASEE outlets, the number of leadership roles that MSU faculty hold within ASEE, and the number of awards that MSU faculty receive from ASEE.
  4. Contribute to the training of tomorrow’s professoriate.  This will be measured by the quality of initiatives put in place at MSU to prepare engineering Ph.D. students to become professors who thrive in both research and teaching scholarship.

 

MEERC Leadership

The MEERC is a center within the MSU College of Engineering.  Its directors report to the dean of the college.

Prof LaMeres

Director

Brock J. LaMeres, Ph.D.

Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Boeing Professor of Engineering Education

Dr. LaMeres was appointed the Director of the MEERC in October of 2016.  He received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Colorado in 2005.  Dr. LaMeres joined the MSU faculty in 2006 where his scholarly interests are in digital systems and education research.
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://www.montana.edu/blameres/

Prof Gannon

Associate Director

Paul Gannon, Ph.D.

Professor, Chemical & Biological Engineering

Dr. Gannon was appointed as Associate Director of the MEERC in January of 2017.  He received his Ph.D. in engineering from Montana State University in 2007.  Dr. Gannon joined the MSU faculty in 2008 where his scholarly interests are in material science and education research. 
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://www.chbe.montana.edu/sofc/People/Gannon.html

Wettstein

Associate Director

Stephanie Wettstein, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Chemical & Biologican Engineering

Dr. Wettstein was appointed as Associate Director of the MEERC in January of 2024.  She received her Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Colorado in 2010.  Dr. Wettstein joined the MSU faculty in 2012 where her scholarly interests are in engineering education.
Email: [email protected] 
Web: https://chbe.montana.edu/directory/1524733/stephanie-wettstein