NWC engineering program director approved as ABET program evaluator

Dr. Young-Ji Byon, the founding director of Northwestern College’s engineering program, has been approved as an ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) program evaluator. He will be an official ABET evaluator during an accreditation visit of a large Midwestern university’s civil engineering program this fall.

Byon completed online training this spring to prepare to effectively assess undergraduate engineering programs at universities and colleges seeking accreditation from the premier global accrediting organization for engineering and STEM programs. The preparation concluded with an intensive simulated visit training at ABET headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland, in May, and Byon was formally approved as an evaluator shortly afterward.

Byon, who joined Northwestern’s faculty in 2023, previously led the successful ABET accreditation process for the civil engineering programs at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, one of the world’s top-100 engineering universities. He has had engineering teaching, administration and research experiences on three continents.

“I’m honored to have this opportunity to be a program evaluator and continue to contribute to high-quality national and international engineering education,” says Byon. “This will give me another perspective on accreditation and will guide me as I prepare Northwestern’s program for the ABET accreditation process following graduation of the first cohort in 2028.” 

Byon earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and master’s and doctoral degrees in civil engineering at the University of Toronto, Canada. With a research focus of intelligent transportation systems—including connected and autonomous vehicles and deep learning-based traffic control—Byon has managed grants totaling $2.8 million and published 55 articles in internationally recognized journals.

Northwestern’s engineering program—offering concentrations in civil, computer, electrical and mechanical engineering—was launched last fall with 15 students and will add 30 new students this fall. Byon will be joined by a new assistant professor, Dr. Jie Hue, a mechanical engineer who has been researching renewable energy systems at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Northwestern’s engineering program recently conducted the first meeting of its Engineering Industry Advisory Board. Members include Sam Bassett and Mark Nyhoff of Beck Engineering, Orange City; Alyson Bents of EDA, Sioux Center; Ken Gamble, retired from Sekisui Aerospace, Orange City; Michael Muilenburg of Muilenburg Manufacturing Consulting, Minneapolis; Monte Vander Velde of CRB in Kansas City, Missouri; and Evan Westra of Interstates, Sioux Center.

Northwestern's Christ-centered engineering program equips students with a strong foundation in engineering while fostering student innovation and creativity. Engineering students engage in numerous hands-on learning experiences both in labs on campus and in partnership with local and regional industries. The program's founding director, Dr. Young-Ji Byon, is a leading engineering educator with extensive credentials in teaching and research, including launching ABET-accredited civil engineering programs at Khalifa University in the United Arab Emirates.