Sarah Rajala facts for kids

Sarah Ann Rajala is a super smart American engineer and teacher. She used to lead big engineering schools like Mississippi State University and Iowa State University. She was also the president of a major group for engineering education and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, which is a huge honor!

Becoming an Engineer

Sarah Ann Rajala grew up on a farm in Michigan. She went to Michigan Technological University and got her degree in electrical engineering in 1974. She was the only girl in her engineering class! She was also only the third woman to ever graduate with an electrical engineering degree from that university.

She continued her studies at Rice University. She earned her master's degree in 1977 and her Ph.D. in 1979. Her Ph.D. work was about making old or blurry images look better using special computer methods.

Teaching and Leading Engineering

After finishing her studies, Sarah Ann Rajala started teaching at North Carolina State University. She was the first woman to be a professor in her department there! She taught and worked at North Carolina State for 27 years.

In 2007, she moved to Mississippi State University. There, she became the head of the electrical and computer engineering department. A year later, in 2008, she became the dean of engineering at Mississippi State. A dean is like the main leader of a college or school within a university.

In 2013, she moved again to become the dean of engineering at Iowa State University. She retired from this important role in 2019.

Helping Engineering Education

Besides her work at universities, Sarah Ann Rajala also helped lead big groups that support engineering education. She was the president of the American Society for Engineering Education from 2008 to 2009. This group helps make sure engineering students get a great education. She also led other important councils that set standards for engineering programs around the world.

Awards and Honors

Sarah Ann Rajala has received many special awards for her amazing work.

In 2001, she was named a Fellow of the IEEE. This means she was recognized for her important contributions to engineering education. She also became a Fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education in 2007. In 2008, she became a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Being a Fellow is a high honor given to people who have done outstanding work in their field.

In 2015, she won the IEEE Harriett B. Rigas Award. In 2016, a group called the American Association of Engineering Societies named her the national engineer of the year! They gave her this award for her great leadership, her new ideas in teaching engineering, and her efforts to help more different kinds of people become engineers.

She also won the IEEE Award for Meritorious Achievement in Accreditation Activities in 2017. In 2020, she received the Sharon Keillor Award for Women in Engineering Education.

In 2022, Sarah Ann Rajala was chosen to be a member of the National Academy of Engineering. This is one of the highest honors an engineer can receive in the United States!