KEEN Rising Stars
Instilling entrepreneurial mindset
Nominations are open for the 2025 KEEN Rising Star award!
Deadline: March 15, 2025.
About the KEEN Rising Star Award
A KEEN Rising Star is a faculty member with less than 10 years of experience who has gone above and beyond to equip undergraduate engineers with an entrepreneurial mindset (EM) to create personal, economic, and societal value for others. Awards are given annually. Learn about the application process.
Previous Award Recipients
2024 KEEN Rising Stars
Dr. Devina Jaiswal
(Western New England University)
Dr. Samantha Brunhaver
(Arizona State University)
Dr. Nathalie Lavoine
(North Carolina State University)
2023 KEEN Rising Stars
Dr. Sidaard Gunasekaran
(University of Dayton)
Dr. Rachel Kajfez
(The Ohio State University)
Dr. Stephany Coffman-Wolph
(Ohio Northern University)
2022 KEEN Rising Stars
Dr. Kaitlin Mallouk
(Rowan University)
Dr. Erin Henslee
(Wake Forest University)
Dr. Jennifer O'Neil
(Rochester Institute of Technology)
2021 KEEN Rising Stars
Dr. Heath LeBlanc
(Ohio Northern University)
Dr. Reva Johnson
(Valparaiso University)
Dr. Andrew Sloboda
(Bucknell University)
2020 KEEN Rising Stars
Dr. Cristi Bell-Huff
(Georgia Institute of Technology)
Dr. Cheryl Bodnar
(Rowan University)
Dr. Blake Hylton
(Ohio Northern University)
2019 KEEN Rising Stars
Amy Trowbridge
(Arizona State University)
Dr. Sarah Wodin-Schwartz
(Worcester Polytechnic Institute)
Dr. Justin Henriques
(James Madison University)
How to Apply
Nominations are currently open!
- Answer one question: In 250 words or less, explain why you believe you are a Rising Star.
- To be eligible, the faculty member must (1) be from a KEEN partner school, and (2) have less than 10 years of experience as a faculty member.
Ready? Apply now!
Deadline: March 15, 2025.
How the Award Process Works
Phase 1: Campus KEEN Rising Star
- All applications from a campus are reviewed by that campus's KEEN Leaders.
- KEEN Leaders may select one (1) applicant to be their Campus KEEN Rising Star.
- A Campus KEEN Rising Star receives an award and a certificate recognizing their efforts to equip undergraduate engineers to create personal, economic, and societal value through the entrepreneurial mindset.
Phase 2: National KEEN Rising Star
- KEEN Leaders can nominate their Campus KEEN Rising Star for the National KEEN Rising Star Award.
- The KEEN Awards Committee reviews the Campus KEEN Rising Star applications using an evaluation rubric.
- Three National KEEN Rising Stars will be chosen from all nominations across KEEN partner campuses. One of these three will also be considered the top awardee.
Awards
The top awardee of the National KEEN Rising Star Award receives:
- A letter of recognition from the KEEN Awards Committee.
- A KEEN-branded guitar - because KEEN Rising Stars are rockstars!
- An interview published on Engineering Unleashed.
- A $25,000 grant to the awardee's institution from the Kern Family Foundation to advance KEEN’s mission.
- Sponsored airfare and registration (including hotel accommodations) to the KEEN National Conference for a recognition ceremony.
The two additional awardees of the National KEEN Rising Star Award receive:
- A letter of recognition from the KEEN Awards Committee.
- An interview published on Engineering Unleashed.
- A $10,000 grant to their institutions from the Kern Family Foundation to advance KEEN’s mission.
- Sponsored airfare and registration (including hotel accommodations) to the KEEN National Conference for a recognition ceremony.