ECE Department Heads Association names Michael Wu president
Michael Wu accepts the president’s gavel from former Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Heads Association President Mark McKinney at the National Conference in March 2026. (Photo credit: ECEDHA)
Michael Wu, Thomas R. Brown Leadership Chair and department head of electrical and computer engineering, was named president of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Heads Association.
A foundation built over years of service
Wu’s involvement with ECEDHA has grown steadily, serving as treasurer in 2024-25, vice president in 2025-26 and program chair for the 2026 ECEDHA Annual Conference and ECExpo.
“ECEDHA has been an invaluable professional community for me as a department head,” Wu said. “It provides a unique forum where leaders of ECE departments can exchange ideas, share best practices, and collectively navigate the increasingly complex environment of higher education.”
Advancing ECE education, workforce development
Wu’s presidency will strengthen ECEDHA’s role as a unifying platform for ECE education, research and workforce development on a national scale.
With ECE at the center of many transformative technologies – from artificial intelligence and advanced computing to semiconductors and quantum systems –the field faces a growing workforce gap and an urgent need to align curriculum with rapid technological change.
Wu said ECEDHA has an opportunity to expand and diversify the pipeline of future engineers, accelerate the integration of emerging technologies, strengthen partnerships and share scalable models for education and research innovation across institutions.
For Wu, the presidency carries both personal and professional significance.
“It is truly an honor to serve as president of ECEDHA,” he said. “I see this as an opportunity to give back to a community that has been incredibly valuable to me as a department head.”
Wu looks to strengthen collaboration across institutions while helping shape strategic directions for ECE education and research at the national level.
“The role comes with a strong sense of responsibility to support colleagues who are navigating similar challenges and to help strengthen the broader ECE community.”