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!

Dr. Cheryl Bodnar is an Associate Professor in the Experiential Engineering Education Department at Rowan University. She is a recent KEEN Rising Star Award winner and has been the KEEN leader on Rowan’s campus since it became a partner in 2016. Both the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Kern Family Foundation have funded her research. Her research interests relate to the incorporation of active learning techniques such as game-based learning in undergraduate classes as well as integration of innovation and entrepreneurship into the engineering curriculum. In particular, she is interested in the impact that these tools can have on student perception of the classroom environment, motivation, and learning outcomes.

Dr. Heather Dillon is Professor and Chair of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington Tacoma, where her research team is currently working on renewable energy systems, solid-state lighting, energy efficiency in buildings, fundamental heat transfer studies and engineering education. She is the Chair of the Council on Undergraduate Research Engineering Division and recently served as the Fulbright Canada Research Chair in STEM Education at the University of Calgary, Alberta. Before joining academia, Heather Dillon worked for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) as a senior research engineer working on both energy efficiency and renewable energy systems, where she received the US Department of Energy Office of Science Outstanding Mentor Award. During her time at the University of Portland she received the Provost’s Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Research Faculty Member (2017) and the Outstanding Scholarship Award (2020).

Jennifer O’Neil is an Assistant Professor of Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering Technology at the Rochester Institute of Technology. She currently teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in thermal fluid sciences. She actively promotes the integration of entrepreneurial mindset into engineering curriculum through faculty development. Her research interests are in the area of spray physics, focused on effectively treating pediatric pulmonary diseases.

I'm an Assistant Professor in the School of Engineering at Campbell University in Buies Creek, NC, where I teach an interdisciplinary crew of students in courses such as the art of exploring how to materialize order to Thermodynamics, study how heat helps run the world during cold winters and hot summers, and how to best control the means of separation for chemical engineering concentration students, while keeping an eye on several senior design projects. In addition, my love in polymers keeps me focused on getting student lead research in polymers off the ground at Campbell.

Dr. Deborah M. Grzybowski is a Professor of Practice in the Department of Engineering Education and Assistant Dean of Teaching and Learning in the College of Engineering at The Ohio State University. She has been involved with developing and accessing curriculum for over 23 years. Her research focuses on making engineering accessible for all, including persons with disabilities and underrepresented students, through innovative curriculum, assessment, and professional development. Infusing and assessing entrepreneurial-minded learning into the first-year curriculum and developing a new undergraduate major in Esports and Game Studies at OSU has been her focus for the past six years.