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When Janis Terpenny attended her first meeting as a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers' (ASME) Board of Governors, she found herself surrounded by some of the most accomplished engineers in the world. “I remember walking into my very first meeting feeling both excited and intimidated,” she said. “I saw a room full of exceptional people who were adept at questioning and problem solving and dedicated to applying and advancing engineering for a better world.”
Three years later, ASME, one of the world's largest and most influential engineering professional societies elected this George Mason University professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Department of Systems Engineering and Operations Research as its 145th president. Terpenny is the eighth woman to serve as president.
For George Mason, her election is another sign of the university's growing influence in higher education. It’s noteworthy for mechanical engineering, which is one of the college’s youngest academic departments, having launched just over a decade ago.
“Janis has been a wonderful addition to the George Mason community, serving as a tremendous mentor, drawing off her experiences as a faculty member, center director, department chair, and dean,” said Mechanical Engineering Department Chair Leigh McCue. “It is no surprise that ASME is recognizing that exceptional leadership with naming her their next president.”
ASME is an organization of more than 70,000 members spanning industry, academia, and government. Founded in 1880, ASME has played a central role in advancing engineering standards, research, education, and professional development.
“Engineering is evolving faster than ever, and ASME must ensure it remains not only a hub for technical excellence but also a community that empowers every member, from students to seasoned professionals, to thrive, lead, and innovate.”
A longtime ASME volunteer and leader, Terpenny spent more than 30 years serving the organization in roles ranging from conference session organizer and journal associate editor to committee chair and member of the Fellows Review Committee. She also founded and led the Design Engineering Division's Broadening Participation Committee for a decade and helped establish the ASME Women's Leadership Collective.
Her election marks another milestone in a distinguished career that includes leadership positions in higher education, industry, government, and professional societies. In addition to her faculty appointment at George Mason, Terpenny currently serves as a program director at the National Science Foundation, where she focuses on smart and intelligent manufacturing systems.
Among her priorities are strengthening the value of ASME membership, creating new opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaboration, ASME’s digitalization, and expanding international partnerships that support sustainability and humanitarian engineering efforts.
Terpenny said her leadership philosophy has been shaped by decades of experience working across universities, industry, and government. Whether serving as a dean, directing large research centers, or leading national manufacturing initiatives, she has focused on bringing people together around shared goals. “Engineering breakthroughs happen when diverse minds come together,” she said.
Although ASME's president serves for just one year, the role carries significant responsibility. The president leads the Board of Governors, helps guide the organization's strategic direction, and serves as one of the most visible representatives of the mechanical engineering profession.
“This is an opportunity to contribute,” she said. “Sometimes, the longer you are in a profession, you get these surprising thank-you’s from people you didn't even know you had inspired or helped.”
As president, Terpenny hopes to help ASME adapt to a rapidly changing engineering landscape shaped by advances in artificial intelligence, robotics, manufacturing, sustainability, and energy systems.“I imagine an ASME where every member feels connected, supported, and inspired to push the boundaries of engineering,” she said. “That's the ASME I see. That's the ASME we can foster, together.”