Electrical and computer engineering professor Carlotta A. Berry has been named a Distinguished Fellow by the American Society of Engineering Education in recognition of her outstanding contributions to undergraduate engineering education. She will be among nine higher education and industry leaders honored July 26-29 at the virtual 2021 ASEE Annual Conference.

Berry becomes the second Rose-Hulman professor to earn ASEE Fellow status for their career achievements in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.

“We’re proud to see Dr. Berry getting much-deserved recognition for being a longtime leader in STEM education,” said Rose-Hulman President Robert A. Coons. “Carlotta’s passion for teaching and enthusiasm for helping others is contagious as an educator, mentor, academic adviser, and faculty colleague.”

A member of the Rose-Hulman’s faculty since 2006, Berry will soon begin a three-year term as Rose-Hulman’s Lawrence J. Giacoletto Endowed Chair in Electrical and Computer Engineering. She co-directs the institute’s multidisciplinary robotics program and has brought her expertise in mobile robotics and enhanced human-robot interfaces into the classroom, with a commitment to excellence and innovation in multidisciplinary robotics education, research, and outreach.

Berry co-founded Rose-Hulman’s Building Undergraduate Diversity (RoseBUD) program, which encourages students from marginalized and minoritized groups to pursue STEM careers. She also helped student scholars organize the annual SPARK! campus event that brings together high school students to work on hands-on projects; has been an organizer and judge for FIRST Robotics competitions; been featured in several webinars and online presentations about women in robotics and engineering, and has written opinion pieces highlighting national issues of Black professors in STEM.

During a sabbatical leave for the 2020-21 academic year, Berry helped form a network of about 400 Black engineering and computer science faculty share their experiences with discrimination, marginalization, and alienation within higher education, through the hashtag #BlackEngineeringFacultySpeak and a related video series she co-produced.

Her STEM educational outreach efforts have brought Berry recognition as the TechPoint Foundation for Youth’s 2021 Bridge Builder Mira Award recipient, listing among Women in Robotics’ 30 Women in Robotics You Need to Know About – 2020, and recipient of the FIRST Robotics program’s Game Changer Award. She also was selected as one of INSIGHT Into Diversity’s Inspiring Women in STEM, received a Leading Light Award from Indianapolis’ Women & Hi-Tech organization, and has been featured in Reinvented magazine.

Learn more about Berry’s professional background and activities in her faculty profile.

ASEE is the professional society for U.S. engineering educators and administrators. The group’s more than 12,000 members include academic deans, department heads, professors, students, and government and industry representatives from all disciplines of engineering and engineering technology.