Joseph Le Doux is associate chair for undergraduate studies and an associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. He joined the department in 1999 as an assistant professor because he was inspired by the vision of the department’s founding chair, Don Giddens, to educate engineers who were integrative thinkers who could operate seamlessly between the engineering and life sciences. As part of his contribution to the department’s efforts to realize this vision, Dr. Le Doux invented the problem-solving studio approach for teaching engineering, which he implemented in 2008 in a sophomore-level introductory course. He has since worked with faculty and learning science colleagues to refine and adapt the approach for use in multiple courses in biomedical and other engineering disciplines.

He now leads two major department-wide projects to further transform engineering education. One project, funded by the National Science Foundation’s Revolutionizing Engineering Department’s initiative, is implementing new approaches to learning, in the department’s required engineering courses, that will develop students’ skills in forming and thriving on diverse and inclusive teams, an essential skillset for the 21st century engineer. The second project, funded by the Kern Family Foundation, infuses portfolio thinking throughout the engineering curriculum to develop engineers with an entrepreneurial mindset who are curious, who gain insights by integrating multiple sources of information, and who relentlessly seek to create value for others.

Dr. Le Doux has been honored by Georgia Tech with the Educational Partnership Award (2005), Excellence in Teaching Award (2011 and 2012), Women in Engineering Teaching Excellence Award (2014), and Curriculum Innovation Award (2017). In addition, he and his colleagues received the 2013 University System of Georgia’s Regents’ Teaching Excellence Award in the Department/Program Division.

Dr. Le Doux earned his BS and master’s degree in chemical engineering from Cornell University and PhD in chemical and biochemical engineering from Rutgers University. Between earning his master’s and PhD degrees he served for five years as an officer in the US Navy’s submarine force aboard the USS Archerfish (SSN 678).