Lyle Feisel, an influential engineering educator and dedicated IEEE volunteer, died on 5 November at the age of 90.
Feisel was a professor of electrical engineering and the founding dean of the Watson engineering school at the State University of New York, Binghamton. He established its organizational structure, academic programs, and culture. He also hired the majority of its faculty.
For more than six decades, the Life Fellow helped define IEEE’s long-term approach to education and professional development. He served in key leadership roles for IEEE Educational Activities, the IEEE History Committee, the IEEE Life Members Committee, and the IEEE Foundation.
“Lyle Feisel’s passion, compassion, and thoughtfulness were an inspiration to everyone who knew him,” says Karen Galuchie, the IEEE Foundation’s executive director. “I feel privileged to have known him. The IEEE community was fortunate to have such a dedicated and caring leader.”
Early career highlights
Feisel served in the U.S. Navy from 1954 to 1958 as a radio operator—which sparked his interest in electronics and communications. After his active duty ended, he earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering from Iowa State University, in Ames.
In 1964 he joined the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, in Rapid City, as a researcher and professor of electrical engineering. He taught there for 20 years.
Feisel’s research focused on thin-film materials, including tin-oxide films. He pursued early solar-cell research during a time when photovoltaics were still a niche experimental field. He supervised numerous undergraduate and graduate students and wrote an undergraduate curriculum that emphasized design projects and laboratory work.
By the late 1970s, Feisel was promoted to head of the EE department, where he helped update curriculum, recruit faculty, and expand research programs.
Building an institution from the ground up
Feisel left South Dakota Mines in 1983 to join SUNY Binghamton (now Binghamton University). That same year he founded the university’s Watson engineering school (now the Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science). He served as dean until his retirement in 2001.
In a 2023 interview about his career with the university’s newspaper, Feisel recalled that the school was “constantly growing and changing.”
“Every year, new programs were added,” he said. “If you look at the number of degrees in 1983 and the number we had in 2001, there’s no comparison at all.”
Feisel recognized the importance of interdisciplinary programs among EE, mechanical engineering, computer science, and industrial engineering to create new courses. He emphasized hands-on laboratory work and industry partnerships to better prepare students for their careers.
“Dean Feisel came at the right time, to the right place, and brought together all of the elements necessary to create superb academic programs and to attract faculty who excel in their fields,” Michael McGoff wrote in a tribute published on SUNY-Binghamton’s website. McGoff served as assistant dean and associate dean under Feisel for 17 years.
“Without his vision,” McGoff said, “there would not be a Watson College today.”
Extensive leadership across IEEE
Feisel dedicated decades to leadership and service across IEEE, especially in roles that shaped educational policy, historical preservation, and member engagement.
He was a longstanding member of the IEEE Education Society, serving as its 1978–1979 president.
As vice president of IEEE Educational Activities from 2000 to 2003, he played a central role in shaping programs that supported engineering faculty, students, and practitioners worldwide. He helped guide IEEE’s strategic plans for accreditation, continuing education, and the expansion of digital learning resources.
“Lyle Feisel’s passion, compassion, and thoughtfulness were an inspiration to everyone who knew him.” —Karen Galuchie
“IEEE is incredibly blessed to have volunteers, like Lyle, who passionately work on behalf of the mission of our organization,” says Jamie Moesch, managing director of IEEE Educational Activities.
Feisel also was involved with ABET, the organization responsible for accrediting engineering programs. In the late 1980s he served on the Engineering Accreditation Commission, ABET’s primary body responsible for setting accreditation criteria and overseeing evaluation processes. IEEE is a founding member of the organization.
Education wasn’t Feisel’s only passion. He served as 2006 chair of the IEEE Life Members Committee, which supports those at least 65 years old who have been members long enough so that their age and years of membership equal or exceed 100.
He was a member of the IEEE Foundation board of directors and the 2012—2013 chair of the IEEE History Committee. While chair, Feisel proposed creating a multimedia-based history program for young people, which evolved to the IEEE REACH Program. It offers preuniversity history teachers free access to educational resources so students can explore engineering and technology and how they impact society.
“Lyle exemplified the sort of long-term, engaged, active volunteer that makes IEEE be IEEE,” says Michael Geselowitz, senior director of the IEEE History Center.
A legacy of generosity
Feisel was recognized as a “Forever Generous” donor by the IEEE Foundation for his sustained support of scholarships, student programs, and educational initiatives. He and his wife, Dorothy, are members of the IEEE Goldsmith Legacy League, which recognizes IEEE members who have included the IEEE Foundation in their estate plans.
“The critical function of the IEEE Foundation—or any charity—is that it lets you help accomplish a goal that you could never achieve by yourself,” Feisel said in a recent interview with the Foundation. “Acting alone, we could never put a girl through high school in Guatemala, teach a class in New Jersey about the history of engineering, illuminate a light bulb in Haiti, or take a kid for a ride on a replica sailing ship.
“By giving to the IEEE Foundation and other charities,” he said, “we’re able to help do all of those things.”
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