Engineering Unleashed Faculty Development

Maria-Isabel Carnasciali is the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research at the new School of Engineering & Computational Sciences at Merrimack College. Previously, she was Assistant Provost for Assessment & Faculty Development at the University of New Haven, CT. She is a Tenured Professor of Mechanical Engineering and enjoys teaching courses in thermo/fluids and Engineering Design. Her prior NSF-funded research focused on the nontraditional engineering student – understanding their motivations, identity development, and impact of prior engineering-related experiences. Her current work dwells into learning in informal settings such as summer camps, military experiences, and extra-curricular activities. Other research interests involve validation of CFD models for aerospace and industrial applications, as well as optimizing efficiency of thermal-fluid systems. She brings with her over 10 years best practices for the development of an entrepreneurial mindset (EM) and her many efforts to support faculty in the integration of EM into engineering curricula. In her free time, she is likely out sailing or boating!

Joe Tranquillo is the Associate Provost for Transformative Teaching and Learning and a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Bucknell University. He was the first direct hire in a new biomedical engineering program, which has since grown to 7 faculty, ~100 students, and has been ranked five times in a row as the number one undergraduate biomedical engineering program by US News and World Report. Joe previously served as the Director of the Teaching and Learning Center and co-director of the Institute for Leadership in Technology and Management and co-founded the Bucknell Innovation Group and KEEN Winter Interdisciplinary Design Experience. Off campus, Joe is an ASEE Fellow, AIMBE Fellow, BMES Fellow, National Academy of Engineering Frontiers of Engineering Education Fellow, Senior Member of IEEE, NSF Pathways to Innovation Faculty Fellow, past chair of the ASEE Biomedical Engineering Division, co-editor of the Morgan and Claypool Biomedical Engineering Book Series, Media Director for BigBeacon and serves on several national and international boards. He has been recognized with awards including the National Biomedical Engineering Teaching Award, ASEE Theo Pilkington Outstanding Educator, and has been nominated twice for the CASE US Professor of the Year. Joe has delivered over 100 intensive teaching workshops, including in Peru, Finland, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, United Kingdom and Columbia. Joe is the author of five books and over 200 articles and conference proceedings. His work, conducted exclusively with undergraduates, has been feature on the Discovery Channel, TEDx, Gates Foundation, Google, LinkedIn, and CNN Health. He has received ~$3M in funded from NASA, NIH, NSF, Kern Family Foundation, VentureWell, Degenstein Foundation, and the US Department of Defense. Joe is an affiliate faculty member of Cornell University, an international faculty member at Universidad Catolica de Chile, and was a visiting scholar at Stanford University and the University of Utah.

Andy is a Fellow of the Engineering Society of Detroit and is actively involved in ASEE and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He serves as Faculty Advisor for the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Student Chapter at LTU, director of IDEAS (Interdisciplinary Design and Entrepreneurial Applications Sequence), chair of the First Year Engineering Experience committee, supervisor of the LTU Thermo-Fluids Laboratory, coordinator of the Certificate/Minor in Aeronautical Engineering, and faculty advisor of the LTU SAE Aero Design Team. Andy conducts workshops on active, collaborative, and problem-based learning, entrepreneurial mindset education, creative problem solving, and innovation. He is an author of a fluid mechanics textbook.

I’m excited about creating curricular and co-curricular learning experiences for students that encourage them to think creativity and engage the world around them to make a difference. My research interests are focused on sustainable and resilient infrastructure systems and humanitarian technology.