UA Names Alabama Power Foundation Endowed Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama College of Engineering recently named Dr. Susan L. Burkett as the Alabama Power Foundation Endowed Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering.

As the Alabama Power Foundation Endowed Professor, Burkett will establish an active research group in the microelectronics area to further utilize UA’s clean room facilities and material characterization capabilities.

Most recently, Burkett served as associate head and professor of electrical engineering at the University of Arkansas. She also held positions as program director in the division of undergraduate education for the National Science Foundation, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Boise State University, and assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at The University of Alabama.

Active in many professional organizations, Burkett is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, AVS: Science and Technology Society, the Materials Research Society, and the American Society of Engineering Education.

Burkett is the recipient of several awards and fellowships, including the University of Arkansas’ Post-Graduate Fellowship for Exceptional Service, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers’ Outstanding Service Award, the Women’s International Science Collaboration Fellowship, and an Idaho Women Making History Award.

Burkett received her bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri.

The Board of Trustees of The University of Alabama established the Alabama Power Foundation Endowed Professorship in the College of Engineering in 2005 after receiving a $1 million contribution from the Alabama Power Foundation.

In 1837, The University of Alabama became one of the first five universities in the nation to offer engineering classes. Today, UA’s fully accredited College of Engineering has more than 2,300 students and more than 100 faculty. In the last seven years, students in the College have been named USA Today All-USA College Academic Team members, Goldwater scholars, Hollings scholars and Portz scholars.