Distinguished Engineer
Hometown: Bangladesh
M.S. Engineering ,
M.S. Agricultural Engineering ,
Niaz Latif earned two M.S. degrees from South Dakota State University, then went on to obtain a Ph.D. from the University of Missouri-Columbia. His academic career began as an instructor of engineering at Louisiana State University-Eunice and then served as an assistant and associate professor at Northern Kentucky University. In 1999, he was appointed to professor and head of the Department of Industrial Technology at Purdue University-West Lafayette and later served as an assistant dean for Statewide Technology Administration in the College of Technology. In 2007, he joined Purdue University Northwest as the dean of the College of Technology.
As dean, Latif was responsible for overseeing seven undergraduate degree programs and two graduate programs housed in three academic departments in the college. He formed the Dean’s Executive Council to engage business and industry executives which resulted in endowments for student scholarships, academic programs and the establishment of a research center. He developed numerous new engineering technology programs and was the executive director of the Commercialization and Manufacturing Excellence Center (CMEC).
Latif was a commissioner of the Applied Science Accreditation Commission (ASAC) of ABET and served as chair of the Executive Board of Association of Technology. Management and Applied Engineering (ATMAE). Among his many honors, he received the Fredrick J. Berger Award for Programmatic and Individual Excellence in Engineering Technology Education (ASEE 2016). He authored and co-authored numerous refereed journal articles and made national and international conference presentations. He was also a fellow of the Academic Leadership Program under the Committee on Institutional Cooperation of Big 10 Universities.