The Joseph Bordogna Forum
The Joseph Bordogna Forum will foster conversation and debate regarding important issues at the nexus of technology and society. It will feature lectures and panel discussions on a wide range of contemporary issues that are central to engineering. As dean, Dr. Bordogna established Penn Engineering’s Office of Minority Programs.
2025 Lecture
David Turk, Former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy
“Creating Lasting Impact at the Interface of Energy, Technology, and Society”
Date: Monday, February 10, 2025
Time: 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. with a reception to follow
Location: Wu & Chen Auditorium, Levine Hall
Past Speakers in the Series
February 27, 2023: Dr. Gary May, Chancellor, UC-Davis, “The Diversity Imperative”
February 15, 2022: Dr. Gilda Barabino, President, Olin College of Engineering, “Engineering for Everyone: Centering Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion”
February 24, 2021: John Brooks Slaughter, Deans’ Professor of Education and Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering and the Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California, “A Call to Action for Racial Justice and Equity in Engineering”
In Honor of Dr. Joseph Bordogna
Joseph Bordogna was the Alfred Fitler Moore Professor of Engineering in the Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania.
A graduate of John Bartram Public High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dr. Bordogna earned B.S.E.E. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, the S.M. degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and honorary doctorate degrees in engineering, science, humanities, and humane letters.
After receiving a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Penn, Dr. Bordogna joined the Penn Engineering faculty as an assistant professor in 1964. He went on to become director of The Moore School of Electrical Engineering, an associate dean and finally dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science from 1981-1990. As dean, he established Penn Engineering’s Office of Minority Programs. During his tenure, he won five major teaching awards: The Lindback and S. Reid Warren Jr. Awards, and the off-campus education awards of Western Electric, Westinghouse and United Engineers and Constructors, Inc. He was also the first master of Stouffer College House.
From 1991 to 2005, Dr. Bordogna served at the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), first as head of the Directorate for Engineering, then appointed as Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of NSF. His career also included experience as a line officer in the U.S. Navy, an engineer in industry at RCA Corporation, a member of the team that created (in 1983) the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Ben Franklin Technology Partners (BFTP) investment in stimulating entrepreneurial potential, a Presidential Appointee in the federal government, worldwide President of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and a founder of PRIME (Philadelphia Regional Introduction for Minorities to Engineering) in 1973, a program which for two decades supported integrative engineering and science learning programs for 5th-12th grade students and teachers. Throughout his career, he worked to include underrepresented populations in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education.
Dr. Bordogna passed away on November 26, 2019.