September 3, 2026
By:
Renee Meiller
The College of Engineering has selected academic leader and educator Amanda Smith to head its Center for Innovation in Engineering Education. Smith, who’s currently an associate teaching professor and associate chair for undergraduate affairs in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, succeeds CIEE inaugural director Chris Dakes, who retired earlier in 2026.
The college launched the Center for Innovation in Engineering Education in 2022 to lead innovation and scholarship in undergraduate engineering education and to help faculty and staff in the college adopt and assess new approaches that enhance students’ educational experience.
As CIEE director, Smith brings deep expertise in engineering education, curriculum innovation, faculty development and student success. She’s led transformative academic initiatives at both the department and college levels—among them, creation of the college’s Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Engineering certificate. And her experience in interdisciplinary program development, assessment and evidence-based teaching and learning will help advance the center’s mission of improving engineering education and student outcomes. One of Smith’s early priorities for CIEE will be helping the college and its faculty and staff navigate the growing role of AI in engineering education, while continuing the center’s broader work in curriculum innovation, faculty development and evidence-based teaching and learning.
Smith earned her bachelor’s, master’s and PhD degrees in industrial engineering from UW-Madison. While working on her PhD, Smith spent three years as CEETE’s new educators orientation graduate coordinator, leading training for more than 400 teaching assistants in engineering and in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. She also has served as an interim assistant dean for academic affairs for the College of Engineering.
Grainger Dean of the College of Engineering Devesh Ranjan says Smith’s background and experience position her to advance the college’s education mission and to raise the profile of CIEE itself. “Amanda brings a rare combination of educational expertise, strategic vision and deep commitment to our students,” he says. “She already has driven innovative academic programs and initiatives that strengthen our students’ experience and prepare our Badger engineering graduates for the opportunities and challenges of the future. The Center for Innovation in Engineering Education will play a critical role in the college’s vision of becoming an AI-native College of Engineering by helping faculty and instructors thoughtfully integrate AI into teaching and learning, while providing the tools, resources and opportunities they need to prepare students for an increasingly AI-enabled profession. I am excited to see how her leadership will further elevate the Center for Innovation in Engineering Education and advance excellence in engineering education across our college, and beyond.”