Dr. Daniel B. Oerther, an environmental health engineering professor at Missouri University of Science and Technology, has been awarded the Duncan Fraser Global Award for Excellence in Engineering Education from the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES).
“Professor Fraser was passionate about empowering students through his teaching, and I strive to approach my work with students in the same way,” Oerther said. “Engineering educators carry a great responsibility to train and inspire students from diverse backgrounds so they can address global challenges.
“I am honored to receive this award, but it’s crucial to recognize this would not be possible without the thousands of incredible students I’ve had the privilege of teaching and mentoring throughout my career.”
According to IFEES nomination guidelines, this honor is for educators “who have made innovative and meritorious contributions with a significant impact on the advancement of engineering education.”
Oerther received the honor during the World Engineering Education Forum in early December in Sydney, Australia. His teenaged son, Barney, joined him at the ceremony (Figure 1).
The award is named in memory of Dr. Duncan Fraser, an emeritus professor of chemical engineering at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, who was on track to be president of the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies before his passing in 2014.
Oerther was nominated by the American Society for Engineering Education, where he is a two-time recipient of the Best Paper Award from the Environmental Engineering Division and a winner of the Robert G. Quinn Award for excellence in experimentation and laboratory instruction.
In a letter supporting the nomination, University of Missouri System President Mun Choi wrote: “Dan is a dynamo. He looks over the horizon for future opportunities in research, and he brings these opportunities to his students to find solutions in the classroom, the laboratory, and beyond the institution embedded in the community.”
A Missouri S&T faculty member since 2010, Oerther has earned several S&T awards for teaching, including the 2023 Faculty Teaching Award, the 2022 Outstanding Teaching Award, the 2022 Experiential Learning Award, and the 2017 Service Learning Award.
Some of his other teaching-focused awards include the 2023 Joe Beck Educational Contribution Award from the National Environmental Health Association, the 2020 Gordon Maskew Fair Distinguished Engineering Educator Medal from the Water Environment Federation, the 2019 Engineering Education Excellence Award from the National Society of Professional Engineers, and the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Engineering Education Award from the American Academy of Environmental Engineers.
Oerther earned a Ph.D. and master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, as well as bachelor’s degrees in both environmental engineering and biology from Northwestern University.
He is a Fellow of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors, the Society of Environmental Engineers, the Society of Operations Engineers, the Chartered Institute for Environmental Health, and the Royal Society for Public Health, among other organizations.
Financial support for the Fraser Award, including roundtrip travel to Australia, lodging and a $1,000 cash prize were provided through sponsorships by MathWorks and ABET Inc. ABET was formerly known as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology and is a non-governmental accreditation organization for college programs.
For more information about Missouri S&T’s environmental engineering program, visit care.mst.edu.
