Check out our 5-Year Impact Report!

The Montana Engineering Education Research Center (MEERC) was approved by the Montana Board of Regents in September of 2016.  The mission of the MEERC is to Transform Engineering Education through interdisciplinary, empirical research.  The overarching research goals of the MEERC are:

  • Strengthen the engineering workforce by better preparing graduates to meet the grand challenges of the 21st century.
  • Strengthen the engineering workforce by recruiting more and diverse talent into the engineering community.
  • Improve the efficiency of engineering education.

To contribute to the body of knowledge in these research areas, the MEERC has four strategies:

  1. Significantly increase faculty productivity in the area of engineering education research at MSU.  This is measured by the number and amount of funded research projects and scholarly publications.
  2. Initiate large-scale research projects at MSU targeting the goals listed above.  This will be measured by the number of ongoing projects and number of students impacted.
  3. Establish MSU as a leader within the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE).  This will be measured by the number of papers published in ASEE outlets, the number of leadership roles that MSU faculty hold within ASEE, and the number of awards that MSU faculty receive from ASEE.
  4. Contribute to the training of tomorrow’s professoriate.  This will be measured by the quality of initiatives put in place at MSU to prepare engineering Ph.D. students to become professors who thrive in both research and teaching scholarship.

 

MEERC Leadership

The MEERC is a center within the MSU College of Engineering.  Its directors report to the dean of the college.

Prof LaMeres

Director

Brock J. LaMeres, Ph.D.

Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Boeing Professor of Engineering Education

Dr. Brock LaMeres has served as Director of the MEERC since its inception in 2016.  Under LaMeres’ leadership, MEERC affiliates have garnered over $13M in extramural funding to support engineering education research at MSU supporting over 30 faculty across all engineering departments and three colleges.  LaMeres’ own research interests are in the area of first-year student motivation and e-learning systems.  He has brought in over $4M in external research funding to support his education research from sources including the National Science Foundation and NASA.  LaMeres has also written 5 textbooks on computer engineering.  LaMeres was the recipient of the 2025 ASEE National Outstanding Teaching Award and the 2025 IEEE Bathi Award for Excellence in Engineering Textbooks.
Email: lameres@montana.edu
Web: http://www.montana.edu/blameres/

Prof Gannon

Associate Director

Paul Gannon, Ph.D.

Professor, Chemical & Biological Engineering

Dr. Gannon was appointed as Associate Director of the MEERC in January of 2017.  He received his Ph.D. in engineering from Montana State University in 2007.  Dr. Gannon joined the MSU faculty in 2008 where his scholarly interests are in material science and education research. 
Email: pgannon@coe.montana.edu
Web: http://www.chbe.montana.edu/sofc/People/Gannon.html

Prof Wettstein

Associate Director

Stephanie Wettstein, Ph.D.

Professor, Chemical & Biologican Engineering

Dr. Stephanie Wettstein has served as Associate Director of MEERC since January 2024. Since 2018, she has published extensively in engineering education, with research spanning engineering identity formation, entrepreneurial mindset development, active learning, student agency, assessment, and role-playing pedagogies. She has secured more than $1 million in external funding for engineering education research from organizations including the National Science Foundation, the Kern Family Foundation, and the Montana University System. Her contributions to engineering education have been recognized through numerous honors, including the Pacific Northwest ASEE Teaching Award, SWE Emerging Engineering Educator Award, KEEN Engineering Unleashed Fellowship, NAMS Education Innovation Fellowship, and Montana State University's Innovation in Teaching Award.
Email: stephanie.wettstein@montana.edu 
Web: https://chbe.montana.edu/directory/1524733/stephanie-wettstein