Vincent Wilczynski

Dr. Vincent Wilczynski has served as the deputy dean of the Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science since 2010. In this role, he is responsible for planning and implementing all academic initiatives and overseeing the engineering school’s teaching resources and faculties. Previously, he was the dean of engineering at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. He retired with the rank of captain and has also served as a vice president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). His teaching skills have been cited by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Dr. Wilczynski has been a truly extraordinary volunteer for FIRST since 1994. He started and mentored a FIRST Robotics Competition team in Groton, Connecticut, in 1994. Dr. Wilczynski used his sabbatical leave from the Coast Guard Academy in early 1999 to serve as the FIRST Robotics Competition program director. In late 1999, he helped FIRST with an exploration of a concept that turned into today’s FIRST LEGO League program. Then in 2004, he piloted a summer outreach program in Connecticut that trialed the initial version of the FIRST Tech Challenge kit. Dr. Wilczynski served on the FIRST Robotics Competition Game Design Committee for 10 years and has been a critical part of creating the Showcase Presentation at the FIRST Championship since 2001. He has also co-authored three books on innovative engineering in FIRST. Dr. Wilczynski currently serves as the co-chair of the FIRST Executive Advisory Board and as a member of the Steering Committee.