Foundation: API was founded in 1988 during the Annual Meeting of the Engineering Education Committee (EEC) of the Pan American Union of Engineers Associations (UPADI) held in Havana, Cuba.

Founders: Miguel Yadarola and Reyes Guerra proposed to create, through the Committee, an independent institution, for UPADI to publicly honor outstanding Engineering Professors of the American Continent. The other members of the committee (i.e., Gonzalo Jimenez, Carlos Santana, Robert Kersten, Lueny Morell, and Hugo Wainstock) supported the idea.

Membership Expectations: The requirements demanded of those who are nominated as Members by the National Academies of their countries, included values of excellence in: (1) the training of Engineers; (2) educational innovations; and (3) important publications.

Initial Name of the Academy: The name that was initially proposed was the Inter-American Academy of Engineering Education (AIEI)

The First Statutes of the Academy: Statutes of other National Academies of various countries (e.g., Argentina, USA, Mexico, and some countries in Europe) were used as precedents, as well as existing statutes of Academies of Engineering, Education, Medicine, and Law.

Creation of the Academy: In 1989, at the EEC meeting held in Caracas, Venezuela, the Committee approved unanimously the adoption of the text of the statutes prepared by Yadarola, with the inclusion of other collaborations, and the Academy was officially created.

Approval of the Academy: In 1990, at the UPADI Convention held in Washington, DC, the proposal was presented to, and approved by, the UPADI Board of Directors.

Name Change: Driven by a broader vision, in which the Academy would create a new form of integration of engineers across the Americas through the identification and selection of outstanding engineers from each country of the Americas who had the necessary qualifications for induction as distinguished Academicians, the initial name was changed to its current name: the Pan American Academy of Engineering (API, which is the acronym in Spanish of the Academia Panamericana de Ingeniería).

The Statutes of the Academy: Over time, the statutes of API have been modified in various Plenary Assemblies of API Members, as the need for modifications arose.

20th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Academy: The Official 20th Anniversary of the Academy was celebrated at the 2020 Meeting of API, held virtually due to the COVID19 Global Pandemic