RIT mourns the loss of faculty member Amy Engelbrecht-Wiggans
Amy Engelbrecht-Wiggans, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, passed away suddenly on April 5. She is being remembered for her professional excellence, kindness, and concern for others within the Kate Gleason College of Engineering and across campus. The RIT flag will be lowered to half-staff in her memory on Friday, April 11.
“I remember interviewing Amy and was so impressed by her enthusiasm and natural ability to describe the relevance of her work,” said Doreen Edwards, dean of RIT’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering. “I knew immediately that she would be an outstanding teacher in addition to being an accomplished researcher. We were so lucky to have her in the KGCOE faculty.”
Engelbrecht-Wiggans joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering at RIT in 2021. She took a student-centered approach to teaching and mentored undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. students in her Fiber Composite Reliability Laboratory and the Materials Science Teaching Lab. She was a co-adviser to Pi Tau Sigma, the International Honor Society for Mechanical Engineers.
In 2024, she received the prestigious National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award—the first mechanical engineering professor at RIT to do so.
“Dr. Engelbrecht-Wiggans was an accomplished researcher in the field of unidirectional composite failure. She was known for inspiring excellence while maintaining a fun and supportive laboratory environment,” said Byron Erath, department head of mechanical engineering.
Colleagues within the department stated that she was a leader and mentor in academia and a friend and a valued colleague. Her sense of building community among faculty members and students was strong and intentional, whether it came about through amazing soup creations or leading activities like 90s craft night and board game night. Engelbrecht-Wiggans will also be fondly remembered for knitting socks when attending meetings. When asked about it, she would say that idle hands are a waste of time, and she could “hear” better while knitting.
Prior to coming to RIT, Engelbrecht-Wiggans completed her doctoral degree at Cornell University and was a post-doc for the National Institute of Standards and Technology. She also served as an officer for the Society for Experimental Mechanics, a national organization made up of individuals from academia, government, and industry interested in the research and application of engineering measurements and test methods.
Two celebrations of life are planned, one in Ithaca and another in Rochester. The Ithaca celebration will be held on Saturday, April 12, at the First Unitarian Society of Ithaca, 306 N. Aurora St. There will be informal visitation with family and friends in the parlor at 1 p.m. and a service in the sanctuary at 2 p.m. Plans for the celebration in Rochester are pending.