Dr. Justin Vander Werff appointed as Christian Engineering Society president

The Christian Engineering Society (CES) has appointed Professor of Engineering Dr. Justin Vander Werff as President of CES. Vander Werff, who has taught engineering at Dordt University for more than 15 years, is passionate about CES’s mission and has helped shape and develop CES since it began in 2016.

Vander Werff is thrilled to take on this role. “Overall, my main hopes as president are that I can continue to shepherd this group well, as it has been very influential for me in my understanding of how I serve Christ in my engineering work and in helping me build relationships with like-minded Christ-followers; and that I can help facilitate getting this word out to more like-minded believers, particularly those who work in industry, and help them see how they can truly serve the Lord in their engineering work.”

Vander Werff holds an M.S. in civil engineering (structural) as well as a Ph.D. in civil engineering (structural) from Iowa State University. Prior to coming Dordt, Justin served for several years as a structural design engineer for a consulting engineering firm in northwest Indiana, designing structural steel and reinforced concrete structures for a variety of facilities in heavy industry including steel mills, oil refineries, power plants, chemical plants, and substations.

CES participants typically have a strong understanding of what it means to do engineering and what it means to serve Christ, but they often lack the context and fellowship to integrate the two – in other words, to do their engineering Christianly, explains Vander Werff. CES aims to bridge that gap.

“Gathering together as like-minded Christian engineers can help develop a shared understanding of Christian engineering and also provide wonderful opportunities for fellowship and camaraderie,” he says.

Last summer, seven Dordt engineering faculty members and one Dordt student, Matt Haken, attended a CES conference and experienced the unique lens that CES gives engineers. Haken says that the conference helped him appreciate the education he has received thus far at Dordt.

“Dordt students learn how to solve problems… with the knowledge that the work we do really matters, grounded in our faith in the Lord,” says Haken, who now serves as a teaching assistant in Dordt’s engineering department.

Haken sees the CES’ focus on transformative work flowing seamlessly out of Dordt’s focus on the cultural mandate (Genesis 1:28).

One aspect Vander Werff appreciates about CES is that the organization provides participants who “have an expertise or even interest in discussing what it means to do engineering Christianly with a venue for those discussions.” That’s not something you would find in a typical Bible study group in our local church. CES gives participants a network where students and professionals can meaningfully interact about their shared profession.

CES develops the integration of faith and profession that Dordt emphasizes. Haken stated, “Dordt engineering students are taught to do engineering as a response to the Cultural mandate, to work and keep the earth, that we might love and serve our neighbors through it.”

About Dordt University

As an institution of higher education committed to the Reformed Christian perspective, Dordt University equips students, faculty, alumni, and the broader community to work toward Christ-centered renewal in all aspects of contemporary life. Located in Sioux Center, Iowa, Dordt is a comprehensive university named to the best college lists by the Wall Street Journal, Times Higher Education, Forbes.com, Washington Monthly, and Princeton Review.