KENNESAW, Ga. | Feb 7, 2017

Nancy Turner earns honor for long-standing teaching career in engineering education

Nancy Turner, senior lecturer of civil engineering in Kennesaw State’s Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology, was recently named the 2017 Georgia Engineer of the Year in Education by the Georgia Society of Professional Engineers.

As part of Georgia Engineers Week, the awards program honors licensed engineering professionals who have made outstanding contributions to the engineering profession, public welfare and humankind. Turner was recognized for her strong commitment to engineering education and student success at Kennesaw State.

An educator for more than 25 years, Turner joined the civil engineering technology department at the former Southern College of Technology in 1987 and began teaching full time in 2005. She has been instrumental in developing and adapting academic engineering courses over the years, and has created more than 20 laboratory experiments and exercises. Turner has also assisted various engineering departments in preparing for ABET accreditation visits.

Currently, she serves as faculty advisor for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) student chapter, and oversees the competition teams within the chapter. Over the past seven years, she has advised the concrete canoe and additional competition teams, helping Kennesaw State advance to a fifth-place overall ranking among the 26 colleges and universities represented in the ASCE Southeast Student Conference.

Turner is a member of several national honor societies, including Chi Epsilon, Tau Beta Pi, Sigma Lambda Chi and Alpha Lambda Delta. She has been an active member of the American Society for Engineering Education since 1989 and has held her professional engineer (PE) license for more than 30 years.

A sought-after teacher and advisor in the civil and construction engineering program at Kennesaw State, Turner was honored as Faculty Member of the Year in 2010 and a top-three finalist for Faculty Advisor of the Year in 2016.

Each year, nine annual awards are presented to honor students, educators and engineers who have made significant contributions to the profession and society. Last year, Thomas Currin, dean of the Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology, was named Georgia Engineer of the Year, and two KSU engineering students earned the top spots for both the Georgia Engineering Student of the Year and the Georgia Engineering Technology Student of the Year categories.

Turner, a Peachtree Corners, Ga., resident, will be honored Feb. 25 at the Georgia Engineering Awards banquet at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta.

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 45,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.