KU engineering associate dean named Vice Chair/Chair-Elect of ASEE Engineering Research Council
University of Kansas School of Engineering professor Suzanne Shontz has been named Vice Chair/Chair-Elect of the Engineering Research Council (ERC) of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). Her term began in June.
The ERC is composed of representatives from engineering colleges, industry and government who discuss issues and exchange information related to the research activities of ASEE members. The council also advocates for engineering research and research administration, develops programming for ASEE meetings and promotes best practices in research operations across member institutions.
“Serving on the Engineering Research Council helps KU stay abreast of issues affecting engineering and computing research. It's also been very beneficial to exchange ideas and best practices with other institutions across the nation,” Shontz said. “I really enjoy co-organizing the ASEE Research Leadership Institute with others on the ERC board of directors and look forward to continuing my service on the board as vice chair/chair-elect.”
Shontz was elected to the ERC board of directors in 2025 and has been actively involved in council activities since joining the board. As vice chair/chair-elect, she will help guide the council’s strategic initiatives and programming while preparing to assume the role of chair.
At KU, Shontz serves as Associate Dean for Graduate and Online Education in the School of Engineering. She also holds appointments as professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and courtesy faculty in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Bioengineering Program. In addition, she directs the computational bioengineering track in the Bioengineering Graduate Program. Within the Institute for Information Sciences (I2S), she directs the Mathematical Methods in Interdisciplinary Computing Center).
An internationally recognized researcher in parallel scientific computing, Shontz’s work focuses on high-performance scientific computing algorithms, mesh generation, numerical optimization, computational medicine, image processing and parallel computing. Her research has advanced computational methods used to solve complex engineering and scientific problems and has been supported through numerous interdisciplinary collaborations.
Shontz earned a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics and a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the University of Northern Iowa in 1999. She later received master’s degrees in computer science and applied mathematics from Cornell University in 2002 before earning her doctorate in applied mathematics from Cornell in 2005.
Her leadership and service have been recognized nationally. In 2024, she received the James Corones Award in Leadership, Community Building and Communication from the Krell Institute for her mentoring, leadership and contributions to the broader research community.
As vice chair/chair-elect of the ERC, Shontz will help represent the interests of engineering research programs and administrators across the country while fostering collaboration among academic, industry and government partners.