Leadership

Michael K. J. Milligan

Chief Executive Officer

Michael K. J. Milligan is the Chief Executive Officer of ABET, the global accreditor of over 4,000 college and university programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering and engineering technology.

Prior to joining ABET in 2009, Milligan was a systems director at the Aerospace Corporation, leading a team at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center developing the next generation environmental satellites for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Milligan served over 24 years as a career U.S. Air Force officer working in operations, education, international research and development. During his USAF career, he served as an associate professor and deputy department head in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado.

Milligan earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin, his M.S.E. from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, and his B.S. from Michigan State University — all in electrical engineering. He also earned an M.B.A. from Western New England College, is a registered Professional Engineer (PE) in Colorado and Maryland, and a Certified Association Executive (CAE).

Milligan is also a member of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, IEEE Eta Kappa Nu Electrical and Computer Engineering Honor Society, and a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Laura Dietsche

ABET President

Laura Dietsche received both her B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and is a licensed professional engineer. Her career in industrial research and development spans over 35 years with Dow Chemical Company, where she is known for the application of transport fundamentals and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to advance chemical and polymer processing technology and material development. Dietsche continues to work in the area of numerical modeling with a recent focus on hybrid machine learning models.

In addition to her industrial career accomplishments, she is passionate about enhancing her profession through volunteer activities. She is involved in improving the quality of engineering education through her 20+ years of volunteering and leadership within ABET and the AIChE Education and Accreditation Committee. Dietsche is also a recent past chair of the Chemical Engineering Technology Operating Council (CTOC) of AIChE and is a past chair and a current director of the Mid-Michigan section of AIChE. Currently, she serves on the AIChE Fellows Council and Public Affairs and Information Committee (PAIC).

Charlie Menke

ABET President-Elect

Charlie has 35 years of experience with Caterpillar Inc., a Fortune 100 corporation and the world’s largest construction equipment manufacturer. Charlie is currently the Product Development Services Director at Caterpillar. In the role, he’s responsible for enterprise process and tools related to Product Lifecycle, Risk, Cost, and Project Management. In addition, he is applying Generative Al to mature processes to improve efficiency, velocity and quality. Previously, Charlie led facility operations and test engineering at the Caterpillar’s Peoria Proving Ground facility and quality management for the Earthmoving business unit, which includes ten manufacturing operations worldwide.

After joining Caterpillar in 1990, Charlie spent 15 years in design of construction and forest equipment in Aurora, IL. He relocated to Peoria, IL in 2005 and held several leadership positions in Caterpillar’s applied research department. In 2008, he became manager of Caterpillar’s drivetrain laboratory, with responsibilities for operations and test engineering. Since 2010, he has been leading machine validation at Caterpillar with responsibility for proving ground operations and test engineering at multiple facilities in the US and China. He led validation efforts for Caterpillar’s Tier 4 emission compliant new product introductions, and, most recently, he led the Earthmoving business unit to historic best quality levels.

Charlie is past-Chair of ABET’s Industry Advisory Council where he also served as a member from 2009 to 2019. He is currently serving his second term as At-Large Director, with appointments to the Finance Committee and IAC Board liaison. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Marquette University and a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He is a member of SAE International and the American Society for Quality. Charlie lives in the Peoria, IL area with his family. His hobbies include boating and golf.

Sarah Rajala

ABET Past President

Sarah Rajala served as the 12th dean of the College of Engineering at Iowa State University from 2013 – 2019. She led the largest college on campus and was responsible for more than 9,500 students, 500 faculty and staff, 12 academic majors, multiple research centers and programs, and 11 buildings that comprise the engineering complex. Rajala earned her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Michigan Technological University and master’s and Ph.D. degrees from Rice University.

Rajala had a distinguished career as a professor and center director prior to moving into administrative positions. In recognition of the impact of her numerous contributions, she was elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in 2022 for “innovations in engineering education: outcomes assessment, greater participation and retention of women in engineering, and an enhanced global community.” Previously, she was elected Fellow of AAAS, ABET, ASEE and IEEE. Among her many awards, Rajala received the ASEE Sharon Keillor Award for Women in Engineering in 2020; the IEEE Award for Meritorious Achievement in Accreditation Activities in 2017; the National Engineer of the Year Award by the American Association of Engineering Societies in 2016; the IEEE Hewlett Packard Harriett B. Rigas Award in 2015, and was named the Phi Kappa Phi National Scholar Award, 2010-2012.

Rajala has been an active participant and leader in engineering accreditation for over 20 years. She is a program evaluator for IEEE and served on the ABET Engineering Accreditation Commission for 11 years, participating in program reviews both domestically and internationally. She served as team chair for one of the largest visits ABET has conducted at a single institution, evaluating 23 engineering programs with 27 team members. In total, these visits have impacted nearly 200 different academic programs. During her service on the EAC and the EAC ExCom, her roles included Chair of the Materials Committee, Chair of the Nominating Committee, Chair of the Consistency Committee, Editor 1, Editor 2, Vice-Chair of Operations, Chair-Elect, Chair, Past Chair and a member of the Accreditation Council.