Engineering Education Transformations Institute

Announcing the public oral final defense of Animesh Paul, a candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering with an Emphasis in Engineering Education and Transformative Practices on Thursday, June 25th @ 12:30PM ET in Coverdell S175.

His dissertation is titled: Navigating With Resilience: Q***r Engineering Students’
Experiences Of The School-To-Work Transition

Nyna is advised by Dr. Racheida S. Lewis with committee support from Drs. Cheryl Gomillion, John R. Morelock, and Alexandra Coso Strong.

Zoom link for virtual attendance: https://tr.ee/apauldefense




Come see us at Booth 207!

At our end of the year gathering we recognized students and faculty for their service to EETI.

The inaugural recipient of our Outstanding Ph.D. Student award was present to Animesh Paul who is advised by Dr. Racheida Lewis.

Drs. James Huff and John Morelock were recognized with our “Teamwork Makes the Dream Work” award for their leadership as Interim Co-Directors of EETI in the absence of Dr. Martin.

Congratulations to our amazing EETI community members!

Congratulations to Similoluwa Ige for successfully defending her Masters thesis!

Simi is advised by Dr. Sarah-Jane Bork with committee support from Drs. Julie P. Martin and James Huff.

Our final seminar speaker of the semester is Dr. Karin Jensen!

Karin Jensen, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering and the Graduate Chair of the Engineering Education Research Program at the University of Michigan. Her research interests include mental health and wellness, engineering career pathways, and faculty engagement in engineering education research. Her work was recognized with a PECASE award in 2025 and an NSF CAREER award in 2019. Jensen is an associate editor for the Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering and Biomedical Engineering Education. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biological engineering from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the University of Virginia.

CORRECTION: Seminar today will be in room 1217!

Hope to see you there!

Our next seminar speaker of the semester is Dr. Shane Brown!

Dr. Brown is a Professor of Engineering Education in the School of Civil and Construction Engineering at Oregon State University. He has been in academia since 2005 when he completed his PhD in civil engineering from Oregon State University. He first worked at Washington State University and then moved to Oregon State University in 2013. He has taught a wide variety of courses, including fluid mechanics, statics, mechanics of materials and civil engineering capstone design. He has done research in a variety of areas over the course of his career, including teacher change, teaching practices, student engagement, social capital,  engineers and engineering students understanding of engineering concepts,  engineering identity and motivation related to design engagement.  He is the recipient of the NSF CAREER Award, the Journal of Engineering Education Wickenden Award, the ERM and civil division of ASEE best paper awards, and multiple other regional teaching, research and advising awards.  In his free time he likes to golf, hike and build things out of wood.

Congratulations to Drs. Huff, Lewis, and Morelock, for their awards at UGA College of Engineering 2026 celebrating excellence ceremony!

Our next seminar speaker of the semester is Dr. Rachel Figard!

Dr. Figard is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Education at the University of Georgia. Her research focuses on sociocultural norms in engineering, accessibility, and the ways educational environments shape student experiences and participation, with particular interest in creative, nontraditional approaches to research analysis and dissemination. Dr. Figard holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from North Carolina State University, an M.S. in User Experience from Arizona State University (ASU), and a Ph.D. in Engineering Education from ASU. At ASU, she was a recipient of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.