The Fellows

Meet the 2024 Engineering Unleashed Fellows

Dr. Amir Momenipour

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

"Amir was an enthusiastic contributor at the "Unleashing Academic Change" workshop, always open to new ideas and feedback. He thought very deeply about all that we covered in the workshop, and it absolutely shows in his final project ideas. I can't wait to see the finished product which would make an initially challenging endeavor a more streamlined process for others." -Dr. Eva Andrijcic, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Amir's project is focused on developing a comprehensive action plan that would help educators implement Extended Reality (XR) for teaching and learning, to support multimodal learning experiences, social connections, and experiential learning. Incorporating such a new technology into existing structures of STEM higher education is far more than a technological problem, and Amir's project aims to provide others with a comprehensive framework that can help them develop a multi-stakeholder collaborative approach in the technology adoption process for their institution.

Project: Card #4176: A Roadmap for Incorporating XR Technologies in STEM Education
Workshop: August - Unleashing Academic Change

Dr. Amy Adkins

North Carolina State University

"Amy is a wonderful ambassador for the entrepreneurial mindset, always looking to add value to her stakeholders." -Dr. Mike Rust, Western New England University

Amy's project helps students make connections between concepts in prior classes to their current coursework. While the particular focus is on the mechanics curriculum, the lessons learned could have a broad impact across the entire engineering curriculum (and beyond).

Project: Card #3457: Lending a Hand: Rigid Body Equilibrium of a Prosthesis
Workshop: January - ICE 1.0

Andrea Ragonese

Pennsylvania State University

"Andrea has incredible energy and passion for designing and implementing inclusive teaching practices and methodologies in the engineering classroom. I can't wait to see all the great things she will do with this fellowship!" -Dr. Michael Gross, Wake Forest University

Andrea plans to develop more inclusive teaching practices and methodologies for engineering faculty development toward understanding that students learn differently, and how to effectively be more inclusive in the classroom. She is planning to create workshops to be taught at Penn State, ASEE, KNC, and beyond to broaden dissemination. As she says, "I am doing this because I always felt that I was never seen in the classroom. Through the EIT workshop, I felt that the facilitators saw me as a student. I want all engineering students to feel seen and understood."

Project: Card #4104: Incorporating Student Voice and Choice in the Engineering Classroom by Utilizing Universal Design for Learning and Inclusive Teaching Styles
Workshop: June - Enhancing Inclusive Teaching Practices

Dr. Cameron Kim

Duke University

"Cameron is very enthusiastic and engaged in EM. He will no doubt do something impactful with this fellowship!" -Dr. Sabia Abidi, Rice University

Cameron took the Problem Solving Studio (PSS) experience to another level by having faculty apply PSS to their courses. He understands pedagogy and the BIOE curriculum well and is fearless in executing new innovations in teaching. He has plans to transform his entire curriculum with PSS!

Project: Card #4156: The Faculty Problem Solving Studio: A Meta-PSS to assess faculty engagement with active learning strategies
Workshop: June - Problem Solving Studio

Dr. Cassandra Jamison

Rowan University

"Cassandra has a great drive for including EML in her courses. She critically considers her students' needs and ways to effectively support their research activities via the 3Cs. She is fully committed to this work, and the outcomes will have an impact on her students, the network, and engineering education broadly." -Dr. Rachel Kajfez, The Ohio State University

Cassandra's plans focus on supporting students' reflections to allow for better alignment between career-oriented activities in her courses and her students' desired further careers. Using the 3Cs, she will support her students to fully engage in this work making meaningful connections between their work today and the future. Using an engineering education research framing, she plans to collect data about the students' experiences that will be essential for the continued impact of this work well beyond the project itself.

Project: Card #3774: Structuring CUREs to Help Students Make Connections
Workshop: August - EML and Student Research

Dr. Cassie Wallwey

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

"Cassie is phenomenal, really understands EML and how to assess it. She has so many fantastic ideas that I would love to see come to fruition." -Dr. Jennifer O'Neil, Rochester Institute of Technology

Cassie's project approach was to use the 3Cs to teach students how to fully scope and consider the complexity of a problem they seek to develop solutions for in a virtual Foundations of Engineering Course. First-year engineering students are often so eager to put on the “problem solver” hat that they jump to a single design solution before fully understanding all aspects of the problem. Through the fellowship, Cassie will undertake a follow-up project to adjust the lessons, in-class activities, and scaffolded project to be implemented in in-person classes , as well adapt resources to be more broadly applicable as a “precursor” to nearly any engineering design project or experience from first-year course to capstone.

Project: Card #4018: Using the 3-C's to Scope Design Problems in First-Year Engineering
Workshop: August - EML and Student Research

Dr. Dalya Ismael

Old Dominion University

"Dalya is very enthusiastic about KEEN and EML. I'm excited to see how she contributes to the Network." -Dr. Jennifer O'Neil, Rochester Institute of Technology

Dalya's project will address the gap in Engineering Technology education by incorporating entrepreneurial capabilities into a curriculum traditionally focused on technical skills. Using the 3Cs as a framework, she will work to equip engineering technology students with the skills necessary to identify market opportunities, drive innovation, and excel in the fast-paced, technologically advanced engineering sectors.

Project: Card #4114: Innovation in Sustainability: Engineering Solutions for Building and Infrastructure
Workshop: May - ICE 1.0

Dr. Dana Marmolejo

Saint Louis University

"Dana’s card provides all the information needed to implement an activity in a dynamics class that has students develop an equation that connects the concepts of kinematics, energy, and momentum to analyze a pendulum's impact on a hockey puck. Once they develop the theory, they apply it to the construction of a toy that must meet the specification of the stakeholders, toddlers, and parents." -Patti Cyr, Rochester Institute of Technology

Dana’s belief that education should not only impart knowledge but also foster a spirit of innovation and critical thinking enabled her to embrace the learning by doing concept of the Problem Solving Studio to create an activity for Dynamics classes that is not only fun but develops the entrepreneurial mindset in her students.

Project: Card #4115: Cultivating Problem Solving Studio and Entrepreneurial Mindset in Dynamics for Mechanical Engineering
Workshop: June - Problem Solving Studio

Dr. Daniel Maguire

Valparaiso University

"Dan was an active and constructive member of the DYAL community and really explored how developing his own EM can help create more meaningful classroom and research experiences for students. Can't wait to see how the new course turns out." -Dr. Elise Barrella, DfX Consulting LLC

Dan’s fellowship project is to build an interdisciplinary course in Engineering Ethics using the KEEN Framework. One of his innovations is integrating values assessment, career planning, and persona analysis with Engineering Ethics cases - helping students connect value creation for self and value for others/society. Dan’s learning modules and assessments will be valuable resources for faculty who want to infuse more ethics and values-based learning into their courses.

Project: Card #4186: WIP: A 7-Week Course in Engineering Ethics: A Place Where Values, EM, the 3Cs and Engineering Skillset Thrive
Workshop: August - Design Your Academic Life

Dr. Farhang Forghanparast

Clemson University

"Farhang was a star member of our cohort - always enthusiastic, thorough, and committed. He will be a great addition to the Fellows." -Dr. Sabia Abidi, Rice University

Farhang's successful PSS execution in his course resulted in an improvement in measured student confidence in the course material. His commitment to PSS is so strong that he would like to continue implementing PSS in his other courses as well.

Project: Card #4148: As it rains, As it flows...
Workshop: June - Problem Solving Studio

Dr. Fethiye Ozis

Carnegie Mellon University

"Fethiye brings fresh ideas to civil engineering! She has many great activities to turn into cards to advance civil engineering on EngineeringUnleashed.com."-Dr. Jennifer O'Neil, Rochester Institute of Technology

Fethiye's project aims to educate the next generation of engineers on sustainable building design and energy practices. Through a 5-week module, students will be able to make connections between energy-climate-buildings nexus and become curious about opportunities to mitigate these challenges by retrofitting existing campus buildings, and create societal value by transitioning to net-zero emissions energy sources.

Project: Card #4122: First year Civil and Environmental Engineering Project: The Circular Economy
Workshop: May - ICE 1.0

George Salayka

New York Institute of Technology

"All workshop coaches unanimously supported George's nomination for a fellowship. There are few computer science programming cards dealing with entrepreneurial mindset." -Dr. Sri Condoor, Saint Louis University

Over the next year George will create a themed collection of Cyber Security cards. These cards will focus on the value proposition of tools and techniques learned in classes. Most workshops, instruction, and techniques are framed around more traditional engineering roles (Electrical, Mechanical, Aerospace, etc). This card collection and subsequent workshop will solve for the notable differences between teaching traditional engineering courses and engineering topics in the Computer Science and IT/Cyber world.

Project: Card #3745: A Challenging Interview
Workshop: August - Decoding the DNA of 3Cs & Creating High Impact Courses

Dr. Gideon A. Lyngdoh

George Fox University

"If Gideon's project makes you curious, check out his published cards and follow his work! Gideon is just beginning his career and his motivation and classroom innovations are inspiring." -Dr. C.J. Riley, Oregon Institute of Technology

Gideon's project is built on his use of physical models in structural engineering classrooms. He plans to take his work to the next level by developing force-measurement systems that other educators can use to bring physical experimentation into their classrooms, allowing curiosity about structural behavior to drive his lessons. He is also working to create value by contextualizing course content with problems involving assistive technologies to support the physically impaired.

Project: Card #4151: Serving the community using Structural Analysis concept: Entrepreneurial Mindset
Workshop: August - Entrepreneurial Mindset into Civil Engineering

Dr. John Estell

Ohio Northern University

"I highly recommended John as a Fellow. He is actively engaged with KEEN on his campus and has a number of ideas on how to advance his work within and outside of the classroom." -Dr. Lauren Lowman, Wake Forest University

John participated in our workshop because he was tasked with redesigning a 3rd-year pre-Capstone class and wanted to ensure that he was designing inclusive teaching experiences for his students. Of the many activities he designed for his students this year, one that really stood out is his "SWOT-ing a Failed Kickstarter Project" (see card). It truly embodies EML and inclusive teaching practices.

Project: Card #4051: SWOT-ting a Failed Kickstarter Project: or How to Learn More About Your Team
Workshop: June - Enhancing Inclusive Teaching Practices

Dr. Justin Major

Rowan University

"Justin's passion for the fusion of DEI and EM is truly inspiring. I can't wait to hear about the results of his project!" -Dr. Mike Rust, Western New England University

Justin's project seeks to understand how educators and students from different backgrounds understand the concepts of Connections and Creating Value as it relates to their own experiences. Ultimately, this project can be used to help prepare educators with the task of developing equity-minded and equity-empowered EM-conscious professionals.

Project: Card #3998: Phone Case Design Project: Engaging first-year students with a real-life design opportunity
Workshop: January - ICE 1.0

Dr. Kathryn Hasz

Carthage College

"Kathryn has been an enthusiastic proponent of EM and her work builds on tools and discussions from our workshop."-Dr. Mark Nagurka, Marquette University (Emeritus)

Kathryn has developed a suite of engineering example problems for first year engineering students. These "real world problems" reflect EM content including the ability to evaluate situations based on mathematical models to optimize or CREATE VALUE in the situation. To solve these problems students must apply high school math (algebra, geometry, trigonometry, etc.) strengthening these skills and write Matlab code giving them practice in computational code writing and reasoning. Her card is rich with ready-to-adopt activities, a grading rubric, and student artifacts, making it easy for other faculty to adopt and adapt. There should be strong interest in her project as students are often challenged in engineering courses due to weak math skills from high school.

Project: Card #3743: Strengthening high school math skills through engineering examples
Workshop: August - Decoding the DNA of 3Cs & Creating High Impact Courses

Dr. Kristen Peña

Arizona State University

"Kristen was an enthusiastic participant, and she brought a new and different perspective to the Unleashing Academic Change workshop, representing the needs and concerns of instructional designers who work closely with faculty to develop quality teaching materials, but often experience obstacles that are somewhat different from those of the faculty. I can't wait to see the impact that her project will have!" -Dr. Eva Andrijcic, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

In some schools, instructional (learning experience) designers work closely with engineering faculty to help them develop quality teaching materials. They help with developing inclusive, accessible, and evidence-based learning experiences for students. Kristen's project aims to develop a quality teaching framework which can be used by instructional designers, one that integrates EM principles, and ensures a consistent application of EM principles across various engineering courses.

Project: Card #4091: Embedding EM for Learning Experience Designers and Instructional Coaches: An Unleashing Academic Change Project
Workshop: August - Unleashing Academic Change

Dr. Lauren Logan

Ohio Northern University

"Lauren's work was highlighted in her campus news. She has department support to implement the project regularly in her class(es) and has goals to publish the work once she assesses the project. I'm excited to see the great things she does with her fellowship!" -Dr. Erin Henslee, Wake Forest

Lauren has been engaged with the EUFD program and EML since at least 2019 and produced several, high equality cards. Since our workshop, she has already developed, implemented, and begun to assess her "create a museum exhibit" project and has exciting plans for extending the work with her fellowship. She is committed to her students and their learning and has a solid plan for how to use this fellowship for impact for her students and others.

Project: Card #3648: Create Your Own Museum Exhibit
Workshop: June - Enhancing Inclusive Teaching Practices

Dr. Lauren Singelmann

Minnesota State University, Mankato

"Lauren was dedicated to maximizing the impact of the workshop on her teaching by thoughtfully applying it in multiple iterations over the year. She also expanded the impact beyond her students, sharing the Makerspark framework and its relevance to the entrepreneurial mindset within engineering education with colleagues at her institution and strengthening the understanding of other participants in the workshop through her peer feedback."-Laura Fogle, North Carolina State University

Instructors often struggle with how to support students in overcoming their misconceptions about abstract concepts. In Lauren's project she applies a maker framework to basic circuitry concepts, giving students the opportunity to make their thinking about abstract concepts visible through low fidelity prototyping. EM principles are integrated throughout along with practical tips for implementing maker activities into any classroom. While Lauren's examples are based in electrical engineering, the approach can be applied to any engineering discipline.

Project: Card #3688: A Maker Activity for Addressing Misconceptions in Circuits
Workshop: July - MakerSpark

Mandana Ashouripashaki

Ohio State University

"Mandana has plans to share materials from her Innovation Commercialization course that would be helpful for many engineering faculty to adopt - in part or as a whole. She has a great understanding of EML!" -Dr. Jessica P.M. Fick, University of Wisconsin-Platteville

Mandana's project addresses the critical need to equip both engineering students and instructors with the entrepreneurial mindset skills essential for real-world problem-solving and innovation. While there's increasing recognition of the importance of entrepreneurial thinking in engineering education, many students lack opportunities to develop these skills within their curriculum. Mandana's project will address this by developing the two phases of "Unleash Your Engineering Superpower: Problem-Solving for Impact."

Project: Card #4119: Unleash Your Engineering Superpower: Problem-Solving for Impact (Part 1) - Identifying the Mission
Workshop: July - MakerSpark

Dr. Marie Stettler Kleine

Colorado School of Mines

"Marie has such a passion for collaborating and building community - I'm excited to see how she catalyzes new connections at her institution and within KEEN." -Dr. Elise Barrella, DfX Consulting LLC

Marie’s project will explore faculty development and community-building activities to help multidisciplinary faculty leverage engineering studies research in EM program development and assessment. Her work emphasizes Connections - how faculty can make connections between social sciences, humanities, and EM in their engineering work in order to develop learning opportunities for students to connect knowledge and skills from across their education to better frame and solve socio-technical problems.

Project: Card #4189: What Redefining Problem Solving can mean for Engineering Education
Workshop: August - Design Your Academic Life

Dr. Mark Brinton

Elizabethtown College

"Mark will be a great addition to the Fellowship cohort. He has a lot of great ideas that students really respond well to."-Dr. Jennifer O'Neil, Rochester Institute of Technology

Mark used many techniques from the workshop to bring different mindset attributes into a first year, first semester engineering course. He also took a different perspective, engineering roles, to broaden how students view engineering (going beyond discipline). I thought this was a unique way to make first year students more curious about engineering.

Project: Card #4132: Building Individual Connections and Value with the Engineering Profession
Workshop: July - ICE 1.0

Dr. Mostafa Batouli

The Citadel

"Mostafa has demonstrated enthusiasm for his EM-focused project, and will serve his department well by being a KEEN Fellow. He is actively pursuing publishing as a means to share his work with the broader community."-Dr. Julia Williams, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

This project aims to address the gap between theoretical project management knowledge and practical application in the construction industry, particularly in fostering an entrepreneurial mindset. It will integrate real-world projects and entrepreneurial thinking into the project management curriculum, encouraging students to explore innovative solutions, connect theoretical knowledge with practical applications, and create value in both their professional and personal lives. Student learning and engagement will be enhanced by workshops, seminars, and a structured mentorship program.

Project: Card #3841: Interactive Class Demo and Bidding Game for Teaching Construction Estimating
Workshop: August - Unleashing Academic Change

Dr. Nagasree Garapati

University of New Haven

"Nagasree already has multiple downloads on her card from her workshop project. She has a good understanding of EM and is receptive to suggestions."-Dr. Jessica P.M. Fick, University of Wisconsin-Platteville

Capstone students often struggle connecting concepts learned in their sophomore and junior years and identifying stakeholders beyond project sponsors. Nagasree wants to vertically integrate EM and sustainability into courses. Hence, students will learn sustainability early on in Freshman year and to continue applying the concepts in other courses projects before they start their year-long capstone design project.

Project: Card #3622: Optimum Process Design
Workshop: May - ICE 1.0

Dr. Nancy Moore

North Carolina State University

"Nancy created a EML-focused project that the students really enjoyed. She has the potential to create additional materials for ME students."-Dr. Jennifer O'Neil, Rochester Institute of Technology

The overall goal of this KEEN Fellowship is to use the entrepreneurial mindset to successfully integrate thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer in a fundamental undergraduate course. This course change offers a unique opportunity to introduce students to three subjects in a foundational way that will support their future courses. The 3Cs will be used to create assignments with real-world applications.

Project: Card #4133: Pump Up the Profits: Pump System Optimization for a Thermodynamics Course
Workshop: July - ICE 1.0

Dr. Nilufer Onder

Michigan Technological University

"Nilufer was one of the most engaged workshop participants, often meeting with coaches every two weeks. Her efforts truly impacted students and it is a model that could be used by others. "-Dr. Maria-Isabel Carnasciali, Merrimack College

Nilufer really grasped the multiple aspects of mentoring and the overlap (synergy) with EM. This year her deployment was a pilot; her EU Fellowship will enable her to run the effort again next year, thus polishing up, collecting more data, and sharing broadly thru publication. She is truly vested in this effort and looks to scale it further.

Project: Card #4116: A Training Program for Undergraduate Peer Mentors
Workshop: August - THRIVE Faculty Mentorship

Dr. Patricia Clayton

Wake Forest University

"Extremely enthusiastic and really dove into EML integration into their course. They created one of the most unique modules I have seen. It was so fun!"-Dr. Jennifer O'Neil, Rochester Institute of Technology

Tricia's project will aim to create learning activities to *connect* AI tools to existing design automation tools that have been previous developed and widely used in the profession of structural engineering, to *create opportunities* for AI to help structural engineers be more creative and productive, and to get *curious* about the ethical impacts of using AI in structural engineering. Tricia plans to implement this project primarily in a technical elective course (Structural Engineering I).

Project: Card #3827: Integrating EML into CitiCorps ethics case study
Workshop: January - ICE 1.0

Sachin Gore

Pennsylvania State University

"Sachin's work is very impressive and has great potential for broader impact. I think the fellowship will help Sachin in expanding EM at PSU."-Dr. Devina Jaiswal, Western New England University

Not all first-year students have had an opportunity to gain STEM experiences in high school. In particular, under-represented groups such as first generation students and women engineers often lack opportunities to learn CAD, write code or make things using 3D printing. These missing skills and experiences can become a barrier to early student engagement and success resulting in attrition from engineering majors. This project aims to help students build foundational Making and EM-related skills early in a student's college experience through activities involving hand and power tools, CAD, coding, 3D printing, and similar skills. The desired outcome of these activities is to improve retention as well as attract more students to engineering majors.

Project: Card #4181: Gear Cube Puzzle Making Activity
Workshop: July - Making with EM Across the Curriculum

Dr. Stephanos (Steve) Matsumoto

Franklin W Olin College of Engineering

"Steve comes highly recommended as a Fellow! He was an extremely engaged participant throughout the workshop Meet-up and during the following 1-year of coaching. He truly impressed me with his excitement to try out different pedagogical approaches learned from the workshop."-Dr. Lauren Lowman, Wake Forest University

This project explores how a closer mentoring relationship can help students develop and understand their sense of Creating Value as they engage with the change-making process in different contexts at Olin College. Steve will work with and mentor teams of students in three different contexts: (1) student-initiated efforts such as a student-led course where students aim to Create Value in their own community within their own initiatives, (2) institution-led efforts, where students aim to Create Value for their community within an initiative that is not their own, and (3) externally-facing efforts, in the form of capstone projects involving technical work for external partners, where students also aim to create value outside of their own community.

Project: Card #4099: Lessons Learned from Trying to Implement Practices from the Enhancing Inclusive Practices through EML Workshop (EIT)
Workshop: June - Enhancing Inclusive Teaching Practices

Dr. Tanya Onushko

Marquette University

"Tanya brought joy and energy to EUFD's 'Making Across the Curriculum' workshop. She has already implemented some fantastic ideas where she integrates EM into her university's making community to engage various stakeholders!" -Dr. Andrea Kwaczala, Western New England University

Tanya's fellowship will focus on 1st year engineering students who will foster interdisciplinary collaborations when working with occupational therapy students to better understand the value of diverse perspectives; it will encourage user-centered design emphasizing the importance of empathy in the design process. Students will prototype iterations of designs while engaging with clinical partners in the makerspace. They will develop technical skills by applying engineering knowledge to build the prototypes. Her project uses the 3Cs to create value by fostering a collaborative making environment with high impact interdisciplinary projects within her campus community.

Project: Card #3907: Exploring Making and Adaptive Technology through Engineering Design
Workshop: July - Making with EM Across the Curriculum

Dr. Tsvetanka Filipova

South Dakota School of Mines

"Tsvetanka was extremely involved in revamping her polymer course to embed EML. She took this work very seriously and did a great job -- and reported really enjoying the new course materials as well as her students enjoying the project."-Dr. Deborah Grzybowski, The Ohio State University

A new team project titled “Design of sustainable polymer materials for aerospace applications” will apply the KEEN Framework. Student teams will design sustainable polymer materials to fulfill a need and/or opportunity related to a fictitious aerospace company that satisfies technical, safety, environmental, regulatory, economic, and social needs.

Project: Card #4036: Innovative Solutions for Sustainable Polymer Technologies in a Circular Economy
Workshop: June - ICE 1.0