TAMIU Engineering Faculty, Students Recognized Nationally

Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) assistant professor of Engineering Dr. Tariq Tashtoush has received national recognitions at a furious pace this year alongside students he advises.

Dr. Tashtoush was recently selected as the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) advisor-at-large. He was also selected as the SHPE National 2018 Convention Vice-Chair for the Advisors Conference.

In addition, TAMIU’s SHPE student chapter was awarded the “Most Improved Chapter Award” at the Regional Leadership and Development Conference 2018.

Tashtoush said he feels honored to be selected as the SHPE advisor-at large.

“In this position, I’ll provide direct insight from an advisor’s perspective on all Advisor Program planning and development that occurs within the national organization,” Dr. Tasthoush said, “The advisor at-large counsels the committee chair directly during all strategic planning and brainstorming sessions.”

Other advisor-at-large tasks include promoting advisor program advancement strategies and tracking curriculum quality, as well as representing advisors’ point of view during decision-making situations, he noted.

As a vice chair for the SHPE National Convention Advisors Conference, Tashtoush will work with the SHPE advisors committee to organize the third annual Conference, including multiple professional development, role model and best practices to improve students’ and professional chapters’ involvement.

“Also, I ‘ll develop workshops to empower advisors and integrate the Conference into other Convention activities,” he said.

The TAMIU SHPE Student Chapter received its “Most Improved Chapter Award,” during the student organization’s regional conference, held in March in McAllen, Tashtoush observed.

 “Our chapter has been extensively involved in many TAMIU and Laredo events such as the FTC Robotics for Laredo school districts; FTC Wild Card Competition for all of South Texas; TAMIU’s signature event, Discover TAMIU and more,” he said, “Most importantly, TAMIU SHPE members have been recruited and hired by large companies because of their strong skill set, including technical knowledge and leadership.”

TAMIU SHPE members have also been sponsored by Boeing and Nissan to participate in the SHPE National Conference 2017 Hackathon and Nissan Design Challenge, he said.    

Tashtoush, a TAMIU faculty since 2014, received both Ph.D. and M.S. in Systems and Industrial Engineering from State University of New York at Binghamton. His B.S. in Mechatronics - Mechanical Engineering was earned at Jordan University of Science and Technology.

SHPE was founded in Los Angeles, CA., in 1974 by a group of engineers employed by the City of Los Angeles. Their objective was to form a national organization of professional engineers to serve as role models in the Hispanic community.  

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