Walter Lee
· ProfessorVerifiedVirginia Tech · Engineering Education
Active 1935–2026
About
Walter Lee, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech and serves as the interim executive director for the Center for Engineering Excellence and Discovery (CEED). His research is committed to exploring, understanding, and elevating the lived experiences of engineers, engineering students, and prospective engineering students. Through his work, he aims to advance the support of engineers and engineering students as they navigate existing work and learning environments, educate engineering students and faculty about the relevance of social issues to engineering work and practices, empower engineers who wish to innovate through the application of engineering tools and processes, and transform engineering education by providing students with the tools they need to be prepared for the ever-changing workforce landscape. Dr. Lee holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Clemson University, an M.S. in Industrial & Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech, and a Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Virginia Tech. His career vision is to be a driving force in the national effort to ensure that institutions provide students, regardless of their personal background, with the necessary support to succeed in engineering.
Research topics
- Computer Science
- Engineering
- Artificial Intelligence
- Political Science
- Sociology
- Machine Learning
- Knowledge management
- Psychology
- Engineering ethics
- Law
- Engineering management
- Public relations
- Materials science
- Nanotechnology
- Physics
- Optics
- Pedagogy
- Mathematics education
Selected publications
Community College Journal of Research and Practice · 2026-02-24
articleSenior authorCultivating Equity-Minded Educators at HBCUs Through Black Otherfathering as Social Activism
2025-01-21 · 2 citations
book-chapterSenior authorIn this chapter, the authors discuss a critical collaborative autoethnography (Boylorn & Orbe, 2016) study of their experiences as Black otherfathers in Educator Preparation Programs at HBCUs. The authors examine their experiences through Blackboycrit pedagogy and critical race theory to gain insight into how their lived experiences shaped their roles and diverse approaches toward cultivating preservice teachers to teach for social justice at HBCUs. As Black otherfathers (Brooms, 2017), the authors embraced their students as their own and cultivated them in ways that inspired them to educate as an act of social justice to protect and advance their communities. This chapter focuses on Black otherfathers in EPPs at HBCUs as a tool for activism, social justice, and liberatory practices.
European Journal of Engineering Education · 2025-03-04
articleSenior authorEngineering education is brimming with obstacles and opportunities that evoke emotions in students. The purpose of this paper is to illuminate the emotions that surface when students in the United States discuss how they navigate engineering. We used a psychoevolutionary approach to emotion and conducted 26 semi-structured interviews at one institution with undergraduate engineering students. We analyzed student interviews using a priori codes from an emotion wheel and emergent codes related to the context of their emotions. We found these relationships between emotions and their contexts: 1) an engineering course load and being marginalized in engineering are both emotionally uncomfortable; 2) peers and instructors can cause both comfortable and uncomfortable emotions; and 3) future career plans provide emotional comfort. To most effectively support undergraduate students, practitioners should be aware of these emotional realities so they can provide more emotionally responsive support to students.
2025-08-21
article1st authorCorresponding2025-08-21
article1st authorCorrespondingLEARNING FROM WOMEN OF COLOR WHO ARE THRIVING IN ENGINEERING: AN ASSET-BASED APPROACH
Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering · 2025-12-30
articleSenior authorThe purpose of this work is to explore the experiences of women of color (WOC) who are thriving as they navigate engineering. To address our purpose, we use two theoretical perspectives (i.e., student navigation and engineering thriving) to analyze interview data from five undergraduate engineering students at one institution. Using deductive coding and thematic analysis, we found certain environmental features to be more salient for WOC in their development of thriving competencies. Student support centers, peer support, campus organizations, and internships provided WOC with support and/or opportunities to thrive in undergraduate engineering. Our findings highlight that ensuring accessibility of support and opportunities can promote the thriving of undergraduate WOC in engineering.
Work in Progress: Preparing Graduate Students to Engage in Multicultural Environments
2024-02-13
articleOpen accessAbstract Overview The need to improve mentoring experiences among engineering graduate students and transform a perceived unwelcoming culture of engineering colleges is widely accepted. In response to this need, the College of Engineering at a large, predominantly-white, research-intensive institution has started an initiative designed to address both of these needs. This work-in-progress paper aims to discuss one part of this initiative: the development and implementation of a required mentee training seminar for newly matriculating graduate students in engineering degree programs. This one-credit course was designed to help first-year doctoral and master's students (1) integrate into the university environment, (2) navigate the interpersonal relationships associated with graduate school, (3) prepare for professional success as a student and scholar, and (4) build awareness of diversity and inclusion values. We will discuss some of the early lessons learned from this effort. Seminar Development Team A group of three engineering education faculty members is leading this effort, aided by financial and administrative leadership from the College of Engineering as well as an evidence-based curriculum developed by the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER), housed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. CIMER is comprised of researchers and practitioners who focus on improving research mentoring relationships among post-secondary researchers. By utilizing these resources, the engineering education faculty members constructed a professional development seminar which will be discussed in detail below. Seminar Format and Student Learning Outcomes Seminars were offered to students in three different formats throughout the entire academic year: (1) 5-week course with 2.5 hours sessions once per week; (2) 2-day course with 6-hour sessions each day; and (3) an online version. Class sections in all formats included up to 72 students. Following successful completion of this course, students had strategies for: Developing effective interpersonal communication skills Establishing and maintaining professional relationships Dealing with personal differences in multicultural environments Advancing equity and inclusion in professional environments Developing responsible and ethical professional practices Developing identity, confidence, and independence as a professional The focus of this paper is to report on our experiences and lessons learned from offering the 5-week course format for the first time. In this format, the course was discussion- and case-based where each session included short lectures to introduce the main ideas, 1-2 activities for students to engage with the content and ended with a debriefing discussion. The topics covered in each session were informed by the previously identified learning outcomes. The course coordinators sought to achieve alignment between intended student learning outcomes and the material covered in class in order to provide the most effective learning opportunities in the small course time frames. Each course offering covered the following: Topic 1. Building Your Professional Supports Topic 2. Managing Interpersonal Issues Topic 3. Navigating Personal Differences Topic 4. Responding to Pressures Topic 5. Exhibiting Professional Behaviors Topic 1 involved aligning mentor and mentee expectations, forming a mentoring and support network, and prioritizing research mentor roles. Topic 2 covered barriers to effective communication and understanding constructive and destructive behaviors. Topic 3 explored setting the stage for inclusive discussions, challenges facing diverse teams, privilege and white fragility, and stereotype threat. Topic 4 covered addressing conflict, feeling overwhelmed, and mental health. Topic 5 closed with responding to feedback, ethics, and navigating sticky situations. Assignments This seminar was offered on a pass/fail basis and students were evaluated based on mandatory attendance and the completion of an end-of-course assignment. In addition to the attendance, students were required to complete a Personal Development Plan as their end-of-course assignment, to be submitted no later than 2 weeks after the conclusion of the course. The Personal Development Plan was broken into four sections each with two parts. For example, there was Section 1: Research and Learning which focused on developing identity, confidence, and independence as a researcher (LO6). Part A asked students to explore their current career goals, competencies needed to reach these goals, identify activities to acquire these skills, and an assessment plan to track progress. Part B instructed students to graduate school timeline depicting coursework, milestones, and professional activities required for graduation, in addition to outside commitments students expect to have during graduate school and strategies for finding balance across. Each remaining section mapped to one or more of the remaining learning outcomes. Conclusion This work-in-progress paper will explore the course material and the first semester's implementation of a new mentee training seminar for incoming engineering graduate students. We will provide details of pedagogical practices in the classroom, lessons learned, and any planned changes for future offerings.
S-STEM Partnerships Supporting Low-Income Engineering Students: A Descriptive Case Study
2024-04-02
articleOpen access1st authorCorrespondingAbstract Our research team is building a Research Hub focused on understanding organizational partnerships associated with the NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Program (S-STEM) program, which aims to support the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need. The goal of this Research Hub is addressing the overarching question: How can intra- and inter-institutional partnerships be designed, built, and sustained to systematically support low-income engineering student success? We refer to partnerships as any relationship that involves sharing power, work, support, or information for the achievement of joint goals and/or mutual benefits. By focusing on partnerships, our goal is to reframe the many challenges faced by low-income students to be "organizational" challenges as opposed to "student-related" challenges. More specifically, we aim to advance understanding of the efficacy of S-STEM partnership designs, processes, and structures. Illuminating how the complex web of student supports can work better will identify new efficiencies in the STEM education system so that limited resources can be more wisely spent and benefits can be extended. The purpose of this CoNECD presentation is to report on a single study towards this effort. Towards this purpose, we describe a multi-stakeholder partnership between a large research-intensive university and two Virginia community colleges. Funded through the NSF S-STEM program, the partnership was established to create a stronger engineering transfer pathway for low-income students who started their engineering education at a community college in Virginia by providing financial support and high-touch engagement with students. Our primary data sources were interviews with the principal and co-principal investigators, staff members, and supporting partners. In total, we interviewed nine people to explore how they individually and collectively conceptualized the design and impact of this S-STEM partnership. These interviews were semi-structured with open-ended responses and conducted in 45 to 90-minute virtual sessions. The findings from this case study include implications for improving transfer and enrollment policies and procedures at the sending and receiving institutions, leveraging the role of senior administrators to advocate for institutional enhancements, improving scholarship opportunities, improving engineering curricula and course sequencing, and increasing opportunities for community college students. Ultimately, the insights from this work and subsequent research will generate new knowledge regarding the kinds of partnership processes and collaborations that colleges and universities may want to institutionalize to best support low-income engineering students.
2024-08-04
articleOpen accessof Tchira in Venezuela.In addition, she has several years of experience in research and practice at graduate education level in the engineering field, with special focus on assess based perspectives, minoritized students' socialization, and agency in graduate education.Her strengths include qualitative research study design and implementation.Her dissertation examined Latinx motivation
2024-02-13 · 22 citations
articleOpen accessOver the last 40 years, more than 25 national reports have been published focused on broadening participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).Although scholarly literature oftentimes serves as one source of information on how to move toward parity with national demographics, national reports-produced by organizations, such as the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), and committees, such as the Committee on Women in Science and Engineering (CWSE)-are an underutilized source of insights.This paper presents the results of a modified umbrella review of 29 national reports published during 1974-2016 related to broadening participation of underrepresented groups in STEM.The reports in this analysis included 134 unique recommendations, which were synthesized into five themes, broadly labeled: (1) Practices, (2) Policies, (3) Culture & Climate, (3) Information & Knowledge, and (4) Investments & Commitments.These recommendations have implications for various stakeholders interested in advancing the long-standing effort to broaden participation in STEM.Additionally, our findings provide a historical and policy perspective that is useful for informing future efforts.
Recent grants
NSF · $281k · 2017–2020
NSF · $600k · 2020–2026
NSF · $257k · 2017–2021
NSF · $64k · 2017–2022
Frequent coauthors
- 334 shared
David B. Knight
Pennsylvania State University
- 123 shared
Dustin Grote
Clemson University
- 87 shared
Alexandra Strong
Florida International University
- 87 shared
Bevlee Watford
Virginia Tech
- 86 shared
Cheryl Bodnar
Rowan University
- 85 shared
Jeremi London
Vanderbilt University
- 82 shared
Allison Godwin
Purdue University West Lafayette
- 81 shared
Courtney Smith‐Orr
The University of Texas at El Paso
Labs
Education
- 2015
PhD, Engineering Education
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- 2013
M.S., Industrial & Systems Engineering
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- 2010
B.S., Industrial Engineering
Clemson University
Awards & honors
- NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) Award…
- Outstanding Mentor Award (College of Engineering), Virginia…
- 20 High-achieving Researchers and Educators under 40, PRISM…
- Outstanding New Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech College o…
- Outstanding Young Alumni, Clemson College of Engineering, Co…
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