By John Bakum
How do you measure the impact of an engineering teacher ? Especially for a teacher who taught for 50 years. For Professor Theo (Ted) de Winter, the teaching of engineering was his passion and raison d’être. de Winter, who passed away on October 17, 2025, at the age of 93, began teaching as an adjunct professor at Boston University in 1963, even before the College of Engineering was formed.
Ted is survived by his wife of 34 years, BU engineering professor Stormy Attaway, and his dog Hamish. He is also survived by his sister, two brothers, three daughters, ten grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
As a research professor of engineering, there are many quantifiable ways to measure impact: patents, inventions, h- index, citations, etc. But what are the metrics for a teacher of engineering? Count all the classes taught, add up all the students enrolled and come up with a number? It’s a data point, but does one number catalog the tremendous impact and long-lasting effects an outstanding teacher and mentor has on a student, let alone thousands of students?
We can start by reviewing some objective measures, like how Ted was cited as the Engineering Professor of the Year four times, and in 2002 won the Boston University Metcalf Award for excellence in teaching. And his Engineering Economy course was for decades one of the most popular elective courses in the College, for students in all engineering majors.
Ted was a professional engineer with deep industry experience. He worked at Pratt and Whitney and the Avco Everett Research Laboratory. In 1970 he co-founded Magnetic Corporation of America, spending 15 years making and selling superconducting magnets all over the world.
Tye Brady, ENG’90
He brought his experience in the private sector to the classroom. His mantra was: if you are going to start an engineering project, you have to do it on time, to spec, and within budget. Ted wanted his students to consider all the practical angles of a project: what is the problem that needs solving? What were the tools you needed? When did it have to be done?
As a former student of his, Marissa Fayer (ENG ’00) said, “In my engineering training, especially in manufacturing engineering classes with Professor de Winter, I was taught to get to the root of the problem, find the gap, and solve the problem.”
Fayer became a CEO and entrepreneur of several successful medical device companies and founded the global non-profit HERHealthHQ.
“Because of Professor de Winter’s support and guidance, I am the engineer and CEO I am today,” she said.
Ted taught courses at all undergraduate levels, from freshman and sophomore hands-on design courses to the senior capstone course. Ted was also a popular speaker at Spring Engineering Open Houses for high school students thinking of attending BU. And at the end of a student’s journey, Ted was there as well. For many years he had one of the hardest jobs during Commencement Weekend: reading the names of each graduate as they crossed the stage during the commencement ceremony. He took pride in pronouncing every student’s name correctly, even if it took a little extra time beforehand. “Why not take the time?” he said when asked why he did that. “These students only get one commencement, so how could I not take the time to do it right?”
Ken Lutchen, Dean of Engineering; Emeritus
Ted was born in 1932 in Winterthur, Switzerland. He grew up in the Netherlands, the last five years under German occupation. After World War II, his family moved to Argentina, and he graduated from high school there. In 1950, he moved to the United States by himself to attend Bowdoin College. He earned a BA from Bowdoin, and then BS, MS, and MEng degrees in mechanical engineering from MIT. Ted said that Bowdoin made him an American, and MIT made him an engineer.
Paul Karger (Manufacturing ’99) came to BU with the idea of studying engineering and thought about biomedical engineering because that seemed to be the popular choice. But then he encountered Professor de Winter at a freshman engineering orientation.
“He was addressing an auditorium full of freshmen,” Karger recalled. “And he blew up a toaster! I thought, this is a cool guy. I decided right then that I had to get this guy to be my advisor.”
I was fortunate to have been a colleague of Ted’s when I first joined the Mechanical Engineering Department in 2014. His legacy and impact were immediately apparent. Prof. de Winter was the first person any alumnus/a I encountered would ask about. From the breadth of his interests and impact, he exemplified the college’s notion of a “Societal Engineer.” I was incredibly honored to receive the distinguished faculty fellowship in his name – in particular because of its emphasis on all aspects of our profession: teaching, research, and mentorship. I’ve always felt that these elements feed off each other — improving my teaching made me a better researcher, and expanding my research made me a better teacher. In my first year as a Theo de Winter Faculty Fellow, I used the support to acquire new materials for classroom demos, purchase an instrument to facilitate a new research direction, and send a graduate student to present at their first conference.
And Ted became Karger’s advisor, mentor, and lifelong friend. Throughout college, and then also after graduation. “Any big, or even small, life decision I had to make, I always spoke with Ted about it. What job I should take after graduation, opening my own business, Ted was always there for me,” said Karger.
Ted’s teaching was legendary, but he was also active in service to the university. He won the College of Engineering’s Service Award in 1997. He served as the Chair of the BU Faculty Council and as a member of the University Council. He also served on the Athletic Advisory Board and was the university’s faculty representative to the NCAA.
“Ted’s dedication to teaching and mentoring serves as the foundation of the College’s goal to continue to be the premier destination for aspiring engineers,” said Elise Morgan, Dean, College of Engineering and the Maysarah K. Sukkar Professor of Engineering Design and Innovation.
In 2008, Ted started a campaign within the Engineering Annual Fund to raise alumni participation. He committed $10,000 to the Fund to match gifts from first-time alumni donors up to $100 each. The campaign was known as the Ted de Winter Challenge.
Ted was an avid fly fisherman, and he spent many summers fishing in Maine and Scotland, and winter breaks fishing in Argentina. He loved his farm and tractor in southern New Hampshire, and he enjoyed tending to his orchard and flocks of chickens. A swimmer himself in college, Ted enjoyed sports and especially Boston University hockey. He had season tickets for the men’s hockey games for many years and, earlier in his career, used to travel with and photograph the team.
When Ted retired in 2019, he was honored both with the emeritus distinction and with the establishment of the Endowed Theo de Winter Distinguished Faculty Fellowship. This fellowship is given to a faculty member who has impacted students through teaching and mentoring, following in Ted’s footsteps.
So how does one measure the impact of a teacher like Professor de Winter? Fifty years and thousands of students and colleagues add up to so much more than a number. Ted’s legacy lives on through the many lives he has impacted–scores of individuals who still hear Ted reminding them to be on time, on spec, and on budget.
Donate to the Theo A. de Winter Distinguished Faculty Fellowship Fund