Long-time chair and member of the IEEE-USA Licensure & Registration Committee Richard Schwarz, P.E. (pictured), has been awarded the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) Distinguished Examination Service Award for his dedicated service to NCEES and the engineering profession. Schwarz was honored at the NCEES’s 95th annual meeting, held 24-27 August 2016 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NCEES Past President John Steadman, Ph.D., P.E., accepted the award on Schwarz’s behalf.
Schwarz began volunteering with the NCEES Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) Electrical and Computer Exam Development Committee in 1983. During his 31 years as an exam development volunteer, he served as committee chair for seven years and as chair of the subcommittee for the Power module for three years. He also co-chaired the subcommittees for the breadth module and the Electrical and Electronics module.
In addition to writing exam items, Schwarz scored essay exams, participated in studies to update exam specifications, and took part in standard-setting studies to establish cut scores for the PE and FE Electrical and Computer exams. He also remained committed to recruiting and training new exam development volunteers. Schwarz worked to ensure exam consistency and quality during several major changes to the PE Electrical and Computer exam. These included the transition from an essay exam to a multiple-choice exam with a common breadth section and discipline-specific module options to three individual exams for power, electrical and electronics, and computer engineering.
Schwarz was also committed to maintaining a strong relationship between IEEE-USA and NCEES. As a member of the IEEE-USA Licensure & Registration Committee from 1983 to 2014, he served as chair for seven terms. He represented IEEE-USA in the NCEES Participating Organizations Liaison Council for 10 years. During this time, he also served as IEEE-USA representative at the NCEES annual meeting and at meetings of the Committee on Examinations for Professional Engineers.
IEEE-USA congratulates Mr. Schwarz on his award and thanks him for his service helping to create quality professional engineering exams.
