Coastal Carolina University professor Terrence Fries has been appointed a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)

Selection as a senior member of the IEEE, a global professional association for the advancement of technology, is a notable distinction in the field. To be considered, candidates must exhibit a high level of professional maturity. Candidates must have been professional practice for at least 10 years and have shown significant performance over at least five of those years.

Fries became an assistant professor of computer science at Coastal in 1999 and was promoted to associate professor in 2003. His areas of research include artificial intelligence, intelligent systems, fuzzy logic, evolutionary computation, robot navigation, and diagnostics in manufacturing systems.

He earned a bachelor's degree in engineering and electronics and a master's degree in computer science and engineering from Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., and he has a doctorate in computer science and engineering from the University of Louisville. Fries is a member of the following committees at Coastal: curriculum committee of the College of Natural and Applied Sciences and ad hoc committee for textbook cost evaluation.

According to the organization's Web site, “The IEEE promotes the engineering process of creating, developing, integrating, sharing, and applying knowledge about electro and information technologies and sciences for the benefit of humanity and the profession.” Currently, the organization has more than 365,000 members in over 150 countries.