A University of Delaware alumnus is part of a Purdue University team that has been awarded one of the National Academy of Engineering’s highest honors.

Edward J. Coyle, EG ’78, who earned his undergraduate degree at UD in electrical engineering, is one of three Purdue professors who were presented the organization’s $500,000 Bernard M. Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Technology Education. The team developed a program that harnesses the talents of students to solve real-world problems.

Coyle and fellow faculty members Leah H. Jamieson and William C. Oakes were recognized “for innovations in the education of tomorrow’s engineering leaders” by developing and disseminating Purdue’s Engineering Projects in Community Service, or EPICS, program. The professors declined most of their share of the prize money, using the bulk of the money to fund the program itself.

The award was presented during a special National Academy of Engineering event, held Feb. 21 in Washington, D.C.

The EPICS program creates partnerships between undergraduates and nonprofit organizations to solve engineering problems in the community. Projects range from constructing wetlands to mitigating farmland runoff, from designing environmental controls for an art museum to making toys for preschoolers with special needs.

EPICS was founded in 1995 at Purdue’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering by Coyle and Jamieson. Since its inception, EPICS has appealed to a broad range of undergraduates and to other universities.

Under the national EPICS program established in 1999 by Coyle and Jamieson, 14 additional EPICS sites have been created in the United States and Puerto Rico. More than 3,500 students have participated, and there are currently more than 140 active community partnerships.

A professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue, Coyle earned his master’s and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from Princeton University. He was named a UD Outstanding Engineering Alumnus in 1998.

Coyle’s research interests include the performance analysis of computer and sensor networks, signal and image processing and engineering education.

—Neil Thomas, AS ’76