Jim Sweeney | AIChE

Jim Sweeney

Jim Sweeney is a Full Professor in and Head of the School of Chemical, Biological & Environmental Engineering (CBEE) at Oregon State University (OSU).  He is also the Kuse Endowed Chair in Chemical Engineering.  He is the PI on a $2M 5-year NSF RED (“Revolutionizing Engineering and Computer Science Departments”) grant entitled “Shifting Departmental Culture to Re-Situate Learning and Instruction”.  The goal of this work is to promote revolutionary change in the CBEE School through construction of a culture of inclusion and a shift in our learning environments from sequestered activities to realistic, consequential work. This approach requires a fundamental change in the nature of department culture as characterized by the department values, norms and structures.

Prior to coming to OSU in late 2014, he was Chair of the Department of Bioengineering & Software Engineering at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU).   He also served as Interim Dean of the U.A. Whitaker College of Engineering at FGCU in 2012.   Before joining FGCU in August of 2006, he was a tenured Associate Professor, Department Associate Chair, and Director of the Flinn Interdisciplinary Graduate Training Program in the Harrington Department of Bioengineering at Arizona State University, where he holds Emeritus Faculty status. 

Dr. Sweeney received the Sc. B. in Engineering (Biomedical Engineering) from Brown University in 1979 and the M. S. and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University in 1983 and 1988, respectively.   Dr. Sweeney is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and a member of both the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE).  He is currently a Commissioner and Team Chair for the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET, Inc.  He was the 2009-10 Program Chair and 2010-11 Division Chair for the Biomedical Engineering Division of the ASEE.  Dr. Sweeney’s research, educational and conference efforts as PI or Co-Investigator have been funded by the NSF, NIH, NIST, the Department of Defense, Office of Naval Research, the Whitaker Foundation, the Flinn Foundation, National Instruments, the Global Public Service Academies, the Oregon Talent Council, and the American Heart Association. His research interests are in engineering education, bio- and environmental sensors, bioelectricity, and neuromuscular stimulation.  Dr. Sweeney is an author on over 70 journal articles, book chapters, conference proceedings papers and patents.