Lorelle A Meadows
, Ph.D.
Assistant Dean of Academic Programs
Research Professor, Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering
College of Engineering
University of Michigan
Presentation Title: Empowering Students with Choice in the First Year.
Biography: Dr. Lorelle Meadows is Assistant Dean for Academic Programs in the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan. Her primary responsibility is to assure the delivery of a curriculum that addresses our college-wide educational objectives in order to prepare students for the careers of the 21st century. In this role Dr. Meadows leads the design, planning, implementation and assessment of the College of Engineering first year program, oversees the Program in Technical Communication and undertakes targeted curriculum development projects in areas such as ethics education and the Program in Sustainable Engineering.
Dr. Meadows received her Ph.D. in the area of Applied Ocean Physics through at the University of Michigan, College of Engineering. She then joined the department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering as a research faculty member. Her primary areas of research include the application of High Frequency radar to the determination of a variety of air-sea parameters in the near-shore zone as well as natural and anthropogenic influences on near-shore processes and productivity. Much of her research has involved an interdisciplinary approach with the overall objective of improving ecosystem understanding, health and management. In addition to research in this area, Dr. Meadows has expanded her research portfolio to include research in engineering education, with specific emphasis on the influence of gender stereotypes in student teamwork as well as general issues of motivation and engagement.
Teri Reed-Rhoads, Ph.D.
Assistant Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs
Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs
Associate Professor, Department of Petroleum Engineering
Dwight Lock College of Engineering
Texas A&M University
Presentation Title: From Research to Practice: The First-Year Engineering Program
Biography: Dr. Teri Reed-Rhoads is assistant vice chancellor of academic affairs for engineering (TEES), assistant dean of academic affairs for the Dwight Look College of Engineering, and associate professor in the Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M University. She received her BS in petroleum engineering from the University of Oklahoma and spent 7 years in the petroleum industry during which time she earned her MBA. She subsequently received her PhD in industrial engineering from Arizona State University. Dr. Reed-Rhoads’ teaching interests include statistics, interdisciplinary and introductory engineering, diversity and leadership. Her research interests include statistics education, concept inventory development, assessment/evaluation of learning and programs, recruitment and retention, diversity, and equity. She has received funding from the National Science Foundation, Department of Education, various foundations, and industry. Professor Reed-Rhoads is a member and Fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), and a member of the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers, the Institute of Industrial Engineers, and the American Society for Quality. She serves as an ABET Engineering Accreditation Council evaluator for ASEE and is the co-chair of the Undergraduate Experience Council. Dr. Reed-Rhoads served as a reviewer of the United State’s National Academy of Engineering’s (NAE) 2008 report Changing the Conversation: Messages for Improving Public Understanding of Engineering and 2010 report Standards for K-12 Engineering Education? and was an invited participant in NAE’s Committee on Curriculum Reform and the NAE workshop Curriculum: Understanding the Design Space and Exploiting Opportunities. She recently joined Texas A&M University from Purdue University, where she received one of Purdue’s highest honors given by the University President in the fall of 2012, the One Brick Higher Award. She has two boys, one is a first-year student at Purdue and the second is a sophomore at Allen Academy in Bryan, Texas.
John A. Merrill, Ph.D.
Associate Director, the Engineering Education Innovation Center
Director, First-Year Engineering Program
College of Engineering
The Ohio State University
Presentation Title: Evolution of a Large-Scale First-Year Engineering Program: Can You Feel the Excitement?!
Biography: John A. Merrill is the Director for the First-Year Engineering Program at The Ohio State University College of Engineering, and has served in this capacity for over 13 years. The Program serves approximately 2300 students annually in courses organized to ensure student success through rigorous academics in a team-based environment. His responsibilities include operations, faculty recruiting, curriculum management, student retention, student employee development and program assessment. Dr. Merrill received his Ph.D. in Instructional Design and Technology from The Ohio State University in 1985, and has a background in public education, corporate training, and contract research. He has made frequent presentations at conferences held by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) and its affiliate conference, Frontiers in Education (FIE). Dr. Merrill currently serves as an advisor for Engineers for Community Service (ECOS), a student-run organization at Ohio State. He teaches a Service-Learning course for Engineering students, which also involves traveling to Honduras with his students during Spring semester to implement projects on behalf of a rural orphanage and a vocational school. He is a two-time recipient of the College of Engineering’s Boyer Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Kevin M. Calabro
Keystone Instructor and Associate Director
A. James Clark School of Engineering
University of Maryland
Presentation Title: The Keystone Program: A Model Strategy for Improving Engineering Student Success
Biography: Mr. Kevin Calabro is the Associate Director of the Keystone Program at the University of Maryland. The Keystone Program encourages the Clark School’s best faculty members to teach the most fundamental engineering courses. At current, the program annually administers seven courses that are taught in more than 60 sections to 3000+ students. As Associate Director, Mr. Calabro is a results-driven, team-oriented leader who maintains an intimate involvement with all aspects of the program. Most notably, Mr. Calabro serves as coordinator of the Clark School’s signature Introduction to Engineering Design course which requires teams of students to design, build and test an alpha prototype of an autonomous hovercraft. Since 2006 when Mr. Calabro joined the newly formed Keystone Program as a lecturer, 2-year retention rates within engineering have risen by 15% and three-year retention rates have risen by 14%.
Mr. Calabro seeks excellence in all of his leadership and teaching activities. He has taught six different courses at the University of Maryland, with an average student rating to date of 3.5 / 4. In recognition of his teaching activities, Mr. Calabro was named a Keystone Instructor in 2007. Mr. Calabro relishes his free time spent with his two-year old daughter and a four-month old son.
Jean VanderGheynst
Associate Dean
Professor, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering
College of Engineering
University of California, Davis
Presentation Title: “Introduction to Engineering” at UC Davis. The impact of a 1-unit class on student retention in engineering
Biography: Jean S. VanderGheynst is Professor of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and serves as the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies in the College of Engineering at UC Davis and Research Scientist at the Joint BioEnergy Institute in Emeryville, CA. She also directs the Renewable Energy Systems Opportunity for Unified Research Collaboration and Education (RESOURCE) Graduate/K-12 research and teaching program at UC Davis. Professor VanderGheynst teaches courses in engineering design and introduction to engineering at the freshmen level and in industrial biotechnology at the graduate level. Her research emphasizes agricultural biotechnology and bioenergy production from agricultural residues and microalgae. Prior to obtaining her Ph.D. degree in Agricultural and Biological Engineering from Cornell University in 1997, Professor VanderGheynst worked as an environmental consultant at Galson, Inc. in Syracuse, N.Y. and in process and manufacturing engineering at Dow Corning Corporation in Midland, M.I. She has a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Syracuse University.
Lily Wu
Director of Academic Innovation, Programs
The Henry Samueli School of Engineering
University of California, Irvine
Presentation Title: Engineering the Future with the First-Year Design Course
Biography: Lily Wu is the Director of Academic Innovation, Programs in the Henry Samueli School of Engineering at University of California, Irvine. Dr. Wu is responsible for implementing, overseeing and assessing the first-year engineering program to enhance and support the undergraduate engineering education at the Henry Samueli School of Engineering.
Dr. Wu received her Ph.D. degree in Material Science and Engineering from the University of California, Irvine in 2007 with primary research focuses on the design, development and integration of microfluidic systems for biomedical applications. Prior to her current position, Dr. Wu worked as a research associate at the Integrated Nanosystems Research Facility where she co-developed student research training programs and mentored over 60 undergraduate and high school students in highly multidisciplinary engineering projects.