Biography

Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Dr. Meier is the Program Director of the undergraduate Computer Engineering program and a Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE). He received B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Iowa State University, each with a major in Computer Engineering. His computer engineering specialty is Computer Architecture. Dr. Meier is a member of IEEE, IEEE-HKN, and the IEEE Computer, Education, and Professional Communications societies. He joined IEEE as a student and has an extensive history of membership and service. He also has a professional service record as a member of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), its Educational Research and Methods Division (ERM), Electrical and Computer Engineering Division (ECE), and its First-Year Engineering Education Division (FYE).

Dr. Meier grew up on a large farm on a Sioux Indian reservation in Nebraska. Agricultural machines fascinated him. He loved examining and fixing tractor engines, augers, combines, automatic livestock feeders, and other equipment. He also liked solving agriculture problems using tools and determination. While he was in high school, the personal computer era dawned and fantastic new machines running software changed his world. These machines had parts hidden inside ceramic chips and magically used electricity to do cool things! The Apple II and TI-99/4a were simple compared to modern computers, but they became his platforms to explore automation and control using the BASIC and Pascal programming languages. He quickly discovered his passion for computing and enjoyed helping his classmates learn about how computer hardware and software work. By the end of high school, it was clear that a professional career in engineering and engineering education was his future. Dr. Meier enrolled as a first-generation college student and had an amazing freshman year because he got to learn Fortran, a language he stills writes programs in today.

As a professor at MSOE, he mentors future engineers in the areas of digital logic, computer architecture, digital electronics, and computer networking. He has a 30-year history of teaching excellence at the undergraduate and graduate levels. His teaching skills have been recognized with an Iowa State University Teaching Excellence Award, the Iowa State University Warren B. Boast Award for Undergraduate Teaching Excellence, and the MSOE Oscar Werwath Distinguished Teacher Award. The IEEE elevated him to Fellow for contributions to global online engineering education. And the International Society for Engineering Education awarded him the title International Engineering Educator Honoris Causa for outstanding contributions in the field of engineering education.

His engineering education research interests are in computational thinking, first-year experience, emotions and their impact on student success, and enculturation to the engineering profession. His technical research interests are in computer architecture, embedded systems, and evolvable hardware.