Professor emeritus in electrical and computer engineering to be presented with prestigious IEEE award
Published: Sep 9, 2024 8:40 AM
By Kat Bader
Victor Nelson, professor emeritus in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), will be presented with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Educational Activities Board (EAB) Meritorious Achievement Award in Accreditation Activities at its annual conference on Nov. 22 in Dallas.
This award recognizes efforts to foster the maintenance and improvement of education through accreditation of engineering, engineering technology, computer science and applied science programs.
Nelson began his tenure at Auburn in 1978 as an assistant professor in ECE and made his home on the Plains for 41 years before retiring in 2019. Even in retirement, the classroom remains a familiar place for Nelson as he continues to live in Auburn and serves as a visiting lecturer.
“I literally haven’t been out of school since kindergarten,” Nelson said. “I am currently, as my wife says, flunking retirement”.
“I love teaching. It’s been my favorite part about the whole thing, and that’s why I’ve continued to offer to help. Since retiring, I’ve taught courses for electrical and computer engineering, but also taught in the computer science online program for a couple of years.”
During his tenure, Nelson was involved in professional societies such as IEEE Computer Society, IEEE Education Society, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) as well as serving over 20 years as an Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology Inc. (ABET) volunteer. He presently coordinates the assignment of IEEE program evaluators to accreditation visits. The IEEE award allows him opportunities to visit other schools as their accreditation visitor, learn how they run their program and bring those ideas back to implement into Auburn’s program.
Nelson has experience as an accreditation visitor in other countries such as Puerto Rico, Mexico and Peru. He said that if given the opportunity to study abroad, engineering students should gain valuable experience from other parts of the world.
“Their engineering students do everything our students do, but they do it in both languages,” he said. “The difference in habits and ways of approaching things around the world is valuable knowledge.”
“I love teaching. It’s been my favorite part about the whole thing, and that’s why I’ve offered to help. Since retiring in 2019, I’ve taught courses for electrical and computer engineering, but also taught in the computer science online program for a couple of years,” Nelson said.
Nelson defined Auburn in three words: Excellence in engineering.
“We have many people in this college dedicated to providing excellent educational programs and research,” he said. “Having a large enough organization like this, we have some faculty members who can primarily focus on doing outstanding work in research, and some who can dedicate their time to doing outstanding things in education; many faculty members do both.”
Nelson is also one of the authors of two major publications: “Computer Engineering 2004” and “Computer Engineering Curricula 2016” Both publications are referenced worldwide by those designing computer engineering programs. He is also co-author of the widely-used textbook “Digital Logic Circuit Analysis and Design”, now in its second edition.
Media Contact: , jem0040@auburn.edu, 334.844.3447
Professor Emeritus Victor Nelson has been a fixture on faculty at Auburn University since 1978, serving now as a visiting lecturer.
