David Niño is a Senior Lecturer in MIT’s Daniel J. Riccio Graduate Program in Engineering Leadership. He has served in this role since 2015, when he launched this program to provide academic leadership education for MIT graduate students in engineering and other disciplines. Under his leadership, the program has grown from one graduate class and to a variety of highly-rated academic classes and workshops that educate over 200 graduate students annually. David received a School of Engineering “Infinite Mile Award” for his work in establishing this program, which received a $10 million gift of support in 2022.

In addition to teaching academic classes, he has also served a leading role nationally in the emerging field of engineering leadership, most recently as Chair of the Engineering Leadership Development Division of the American Society of Engineering Education. This is the nation’s largest organization of engineering leadership educators.

Prior to joining MIT, David was a faculty member in the schools of engineering and business at Rice University in Houston, Texas. He was Director of Rice’s university-wide leadership program and later played a leading role in designing and establishing the university’s first four-year academic certificate in engineering leadership.

David consults with technology executives on topics related to developing leadership among engineers, researchers, and other technical experts. He has published on the topics of organizational culture, ethics, engineering leadership, and the development of management and leadership skills. David holds a Ph.D. in Management from the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his B.A., B.B.A., and M.A. degrees. He lives in Weston Massachusetts with this wife and three children.