Dr. Denice D. Denton Dr. Denice D. Denton is the Dean of Engineering and a Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Washington. She was a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1987 to 1996. She spent the Fall Semester of 1991 as a visiting scientist and the summer of 1993 as a visiting professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland. She received the B.S., M.S. (1982), and Ph.D. (1987) in Electrical Engineering from M.I.T. Her dissertation focused on the characterization of polymeric, a polymeric insulating material used in integrated circuits as an inter-metal insulator and passivant. Particular emphasis was placed on monitoring the effects of moisture on the dielectric properties of this film. Denton's current research interests include plasma deposition of polymers used in photonics applications, the investigation of the long term reliability implications of the use of polymers in integrated circuit applications, and MEMS (microelectromechanical systems). Prof. Denton headed the Plasma Deposition and Polymerization Thrust Area of the NSF Engineering Research Center (ERC) for Plasma-Aided Manufacturing at UW-Madison from 1991-1996. She is a recipient of the National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award (1987-1992) and Digital Equipment Corporation Faculty Grant (1990-1991). Denton has served on the National Research Council (NRC) Committee on Advanced Materials and Fabrication Methods for Microelectromechanical Systems (1995-1997) and the NRC Panel on Plasma Processing and Processing Science (1993-1994). Denton works extensively on engineering education reform. She chairs the NRC Board on Engineering Education and was a member of the NAS/NRC Committee on Undergraduate Science Education (1993-1997) Professor Denton was co-director of the National Institute for Science Education in 1995-1996. She has also won the UW Kiekhofer Distinguished Teaching Award (1990), and the Benjamin Smith Reynolds Teaching Award-UW College of Engr. (1994) and was a member of the Teaching Academy, UW-Madison (1994). In addition, she is the recipient of the American Society of Engineering Education AT&T Foundation Teaching Award (1993), the W.M. Keck Foundation Engineering Teaching Excellence Award (1994), the ASEE George Westinghouse Award (1995), and the IEEE Harriet B. Rigas Teaching Award (1995). Prof. Denton has developed a Microfabrication Demonstration Kit, which is being used in K-12 classrooms in more than 30 states to introduce students to microelectronics. She also works actively to encourage women and underrepresented minorities to consider careers on Science and Engineering.