Susan E. Conry, Distinguished Service Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Clarkson University, has received the 2011 IEEE William E. Sayle II Award for Achievement in Education from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

This award is given to a member of the IEEE Education Society to recognize significant contributions over a period of years in one of the fields of interest of the IEEE Education Society.

Conry was honored for her "outstanding technical contributions and service in computer science and engineering education and accreditation."

"Professor Conry's award is well deserved and reflects her stature, leadership, and service in the field of engineering education," said Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering William D. Jemison. "In her current role as chair of the ABET Engineering Accreditation Commission Susan is responsible for every ABET engineering accreditation conducted in the US and abroad. We are very proud of her achievements."

The award, presented in October at IEEE's 2011 Frontiers in Education Conference in Rapid City, S.D., is the culmination of Conry's extensive professional activities related to computer science and engineering education.

"I am deeply honored by the recognition of my technical contributions, as well as my contributions to computer science and engineering education that the Sayle Award reflects," said Conry. "It is especially meaningful to me because Bill Sayle was a colleague and a mentor for whom I will always have the highest respect."

Conry has been actively involved in major curriculum development efforts in the computing disciplines organized by the IEEE Computer Society and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). Since 1985, Conry has also been active in accreditation of computer science programs and engineering programs.

In 2002, she became the first member of the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering & Technology (ABET) representing the software engineering discipline.

Today, Conry is a member of the executive committee of the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET and ABET's Accreditation Council. This year she is chair of the Engineering Accreditation Commission, and as such is responsible for administering all engineering program accreditations in the country.

In 2005, Conry received the IEEE Educational Activities Board Award for Meritorious Achievement in Accreditation Activities in recognition of contributions to computer science and engineering accreditation and the development of model curricula.

She has been designated a fellow of the IEEE for her contributions to engineering education; an ABET Fellow for her contributions to computer science and engineering accreditation, leadership in the development of the Computer Science Accreditation Board (CSAB) and for leadership in the integration of ABET and CSAB; and a CSAB Fellow in recognition of outstanding contributions to computer science education and accreditation.

In 2008, she was named Distinguished Service Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering by vote of the University board of trustees for her contributions to higher education.

Conry joined Clarkson's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in 1977, serving as chair from 1996-2001. She is one of the founders of Clarkson's software engineering program.

Her research and educational interests cover various areas of computer engineering and software engineering. Her work in multiagent systems has been cited over 300 times by others working in that area. More recently, she has been active in bringing computer-based solutions to problems in rehabilitation engineering.