Engineering Unleashed Faculty Development

Glenn Walters is Professor of the Practice in the Department of Applied Physical Sciences at UNC Chapel Hill. He is also one of the founders of UNC’s BeAM makerspace network where he continues to serve as Senior Technical Advisor. Glenn develops and facilitates courses in engineering fundamentals and design that focus on building intuition through experiential learning and making. He also assists other faculty from a variety of departments in ideating and implementing makerspace experiences. Dr. Walters has a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Vermont and received his Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences and Engineering from UNC Chapel Hill. Prior to arriving at UNC, he worked in industry as an environmental engineer. During much of his time at UNC he has provided design, prototyping, and fabrication services to researchers across the university in his role as manager of the Design Innovation Hub. His current, most interesting project is serving as engineering advisor for the Argus Pathfinder (https://evryscope.astro.unc.edu/), a revolutionary astronomical telescope array used to detect short-lived transient events.

Richard Goldberg is a Teaching Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Applied Physical Sciences at UNC Chapel Hill. He is developing a new interdisciplinary engineering minor and major at UNC. He is interested in integrating engineering with the liberal arts and an entrepreneurial mindset. He teaches a variety of classes for first year students, seniors, and everyone in between, and enjoys designing and fabricating things in the makerspace whenever he has time. His primary research interest is in rehabilitation engineering and assistive technology for people with disabilities.

Anna Engelke is the Education Program Manager for the BeAM Makerspace Network at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. Her work focuses on developing and managing BeAM’s educational projects, including faculty development programs to support the integration of design, making, and the BeAM makerspaces into academic course curricula. She is also current enrolled in the Learning Design and Technology PhD program at NC State University. Previously, she served as the Program Manager for Tinkering and Technology at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, NC. She earned her master’s degree in Education Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2017.

Rachel Penton is a Teaching Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at UNC Chapel Hill. She has integrated Makerspace projects into many of her neuroscience courses and her students have won awards for their semester-long projects. She has co-facilitated Makerspace course integration workshops on campus and also co-facilitated KEEN National Conference workshops on integration of mini-making projects into classes and formative assessment of Makerspace project prototypes. Dr. Penton earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) and a Ph.D. in Neurobiology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She completed her postdoctoral fellowship in the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering at Caltech. She has been designing and creating things her entire life, from helping her dad build computers as a young child, to teaching hand embroidery workshops at her mother’s sewing store as a teenager, to building lab equipment as an undergraduate and graduate student. Dr. Penton’s research focuses on the positive student and faculty outcomes that occur when incorporating the CREATE Method (a way of deeply analyzing scientific papers focused on methods and data), Making/Makerspace (and other forms of Creative Expression), and Entrepreneurial Mindset into undergraduate courses.

Micah Lande, PhD is an Assistant Professor and E.R. Stensaas Chair for Engineering Education in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at South Dakota Mines. Dr. Lande directs the Holistic Engineering Lab & Observatory. He teaches human-centered engineering design, design thinking, and design innovation courses. Dr. Lande researches how technical and non-technical people learn and apply design thinking and making processes to their work.

Dr. Megan Morin (she/her) is the Associate Director for Engineering Faculty Development and Success at North Carolina State University's College of Engineering. With a passion for integrating hands-on experiences and EM-focused activities, Megan's diverse career includes roles such as Senior Project Specialist at ASHLIN Management Group and KEEN Program Coordinator at UNC-Chapel Hill. Starting as a middle school teacher, she brings a unique perspective to create impactful engineering educational experiences. Megan focuses on enhancing the student experience and supporting faculty in teaching, research, mentorship, and career growth. Holding a Ph.D. and a Master's in Engineering and Technology Education from NC State, along with an undergraduate degree in Middle School education from the University of Dayton, she views pedagogy and EML as a powerful way to prepare students for engineering careers.