Pingjuan Werner named distinguished professor of engineering

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa — Pingjuan Werner, professor of engineering at Penn State DuBois, has been conferred the status of distinguished professor, one of the highest professorial distinctions at the University.

Werner, who graduated from Penn State with her doctorate in electrical engineering in 1991, came to Penn State DuBois prior to that in 1990 as an instructor. Since then, she quickly rose through the ranks, becoming an assistant professor in 1992, associate professor in 1998 and professor in 2005.

“Throughout my tenure at Penn State, I have been continuing in my quest to achieve excellence consistently and faithfully in teaching, research and service.” Werner said. “I have strived to remain at the forefront in my field of research by continuing to engage in cutting-edge research.”

Werner has taught a variety of courses during her time at Penn State, including electrical engineering, electrical engineering technology, mathematics and physics. Throughout her career, Werner said, she always makes every effort to provide the highest quality education by introducing practical engineering examples and using the latest advancements in the field in the classroom. She also makes a point to work closely with each student in all of her classes.

During her time in teaching, Werner developed and taught an introductory antenna course for two-year technology students, introducing state of the art antenna modeling software to the class. She also published a paper on this topic in the Journal of Engineering Technology, American Society for Engineering Education. Werner also developed and taught programmable logical controllers (PLCs) to students at Penn State DuBois, giving students a valuable skillset that area industries need.

Werner’s research interests have included theoretical and computational electromagnetics with applications to antenna theory and design, wireless and personal communication systems, fractal electrodynamics and genetic algorithms. Her work has primarily focused on developing novel antenna design technologies. She has collaborated with members of the Computational Electromagnetics and Antennas Research Lab (CEARL) at University Park, where she initiated the Genetic Algorithm research work.

“As an applied scientist, I have made numerous original contributions to my field of research by bridging and transforming fundamental science,” Werner said. “All the way from the basic theory through to real world applications.”

Werner, who is also the associate director of CEARL, works closely with graduate students and postdoctoral scholars on cutting-edge research, which has been steadily featured in numerous publications. Currently, Werner has been featured in over 246 journal and proceedings papers, over 193 presentations, five book chapters and two patents. Werner was also awarded the Best Paper Award from the Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society in 1993.

Werner has stepped into administrative roles several times for Penn State DuBois. She has served as the interim chancellor and chief academic officer on three separate occasions, in 2013, 2015 and 2021, serving a total of four years in this role. Each time Werner facilitated a smooth transition from one administration to another. She also previously served as the interim associate vice present and senior associate dean for academic programs for the Commonwealth Campuses.

“Dr. Pingjuan Werner is an extremely accomplished educator, scholar and citizen,” Jungwoo Ryoo, chancellor and chief academic officer said. “She has exemplified dedication and excellence throughout her career. I strongly believe she will continue to be a productive and respected member of the university and her profession. Taken as a whole, Dr. Werner has a notable record that warrants the title of distinguished professor of engineering.”

The title of distinguished professor recognizes the academic contributions of current full-time faculty members who hold the rank of professor. This special academic title is bestowed upon a limited number of professors who are leaders in their fields of research or creative activity and who have demonstrated significant leadership with respect to teaching, research or creative activity, and service.