Riley selected as NMSPE Engineer of the Year
March 3, 2026
Donna Riley, Jim and Ellen King Dean of Engineering and Computing was recognized recently as an Engineer of the Year by the New Mexico Society of Professional Engineers during their annual EWeek Conference luncheon held at The University of New Mexico on Feb. 20.
The theme of the conference was “Transform Your Future” and was co-organized with the Society of Women Engineers.
Byron Morgan, chief meteorologist at KOAT-TV, was the master of ceremonies for the event and presented the award. Kent Freier, vice president of Molzen Corbin, was also presented with the Engineer of the Year award.
Riley became dean of the School of Engineering in 2023, the first female to lead the School since its founding in 1906. She came to UNM from Purdue University, where she was the Kamyar Haghighi Head and Professor in the School of Engineering Education since 2017. She also holds the rank of professor in the Gerald May Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering at UNM.
Riley previously was professor and interim head in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech, and from 2013 to 2015, served as program director for engineering education at the National Science Foundation. She spent 13 years as a founding faculty member of the Picker Engineering Program at Smith College, the first engineering program at a U.S. women’s college. She is a fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education and an ASEE Hall of Fame member.
In 2024, she was selected by the New Mexico Technology Council as a Women in Tech honoree.
