About the Iowa Engineering Society

For over 125 years, Iowa Engineering Society (IES) has been evolving to meet the needs of Iowa’s engineers.

IES was formed in 1889 and though we have evolved and adapted to meet the ever-changing challenges facing the engineering profession, our mission has never really wavered.

In our more than 125-year proud history, IES is pleased to count among our members some of the leading engineer’s in Iowa’s history.  Our professional engineering members have come from all walks of life and from all areas of practice. We have had company presidents and even United States President Herbert Hoover within our ranks. All but a hand full of the Deans of Iowa’s engineering colleges have chosen to belong to this organization. For graduates of Iowa State University, you may know Anson Marston is a past president of IES. We've had congressman and state legislators as members. Other members include prominent educators, industry leaders, construction moguls and founders of some of the leading consulting engineering firms in the country who saw the benefit to belonging to their professional organization.

Our mission is to promote ethical, competent, and licensed engineering and to enhance the professional, social, and economic well-being of our members. 

Governmental affairs

IES is the only organization organized in Iowa to advocate for professional engineers.  We are constantly fending off groups that would like to carve out some part of your livelihood and exempt it from the practice of engineering.  We employ a lobbyist at the Iowa state Capitol who will make sure your career and your profession is protected from those who would want to diminish the role of the professional engineer.  As an IES member you will be kept informed of these activities and will be advised as to how you can get involved in protecting your profession, your job and the public’s safety.

Professional Development

The education of the professional engineer is never over.  IES strives to make sure you have the opportunity to continue to be on the cutting edge.  IES and our local chapters all offer a myriad of educational opportunities to meet your evolving professional development needs.  Iowa was the first state in the nation to require continuing education for professional engineers and our goal is to make sure that you have a variety of educational opportunities from which to choose.  We can provide you with a summary of other state’s educational and licensing requirements, provide you with easy to use forms to track your PDHs, and provide opportunities for you to hone your leadership skills as a leader in your chapter or even at the state level.  IES will never lose sight of its role in maintaining a strong ethical footing on which Iowa’s professional engineers can protect and enhance their professionalism.

Image and Marketing

MathCounts, The American Engineering Campaign, Engineers Week, Zoom Into Engineering and several other state and national programs are aimed at enhancing the image of the professional engineer and providing the public and young people with a better understanding of the role and value of the engineering profession.  We work closely with our engineering colleges to be sure Iowa’s engineering colleges are meeting the student’s and employer’s needs and many of our chapters work closely with schools in their areas to expose students to engineering careers.