ASU's Civil Engineering Department Welcomes New Faculty Member

The Angelo State University Department of Civil Engineering has announced the addition of Dr. Joel Alejandro (Alex) Mejia as its second faculty member, said a press release Friday. He will join department chair Dr. William Kitch for the upcoming 2016 spring semester.

Although a West Texas native, Mejia comes to ASU from West Virginia University, where he was an assistant professor of engineering education in the Freshman Engineering Program. He was also a teaching assistant at Utah State University, John Hopkins University, and the University of Utah.

Mejia has also worked as a materials engineer at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma Ciy and as a mining project engineer for FL Smidth Minerals in Mexico, Peru, Chile, South Africa, Zambia, Denmark, Canada, and the U.S.

According to the press release, Mejia has more than a dozen published articles in engineering and education journals and has presented numerous research papers and posters at professional conferences. His primary research interest has centered on working with K-12 schools to improve the success of Hispanic and other under-represented students in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.

"We're very excited to have Dr. Mejia joining our faculty," Kitch stated. "Not only is he a native West Texan with significant professional practice experience, but his research on building pathways into engineering for Hispanic students will be key to our success at Angelo State."

Mejia is a member of the American Society for Engineering Education, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, American Educational Research Association, the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, and the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science.

He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at El Paso, master's degree from the University of Utah, and doctorate in engineering education from Utah State University.