Mentorship & Coaching

Engineering Unleashed Community Catalysts are available to all members to provide coaching and mentoring so you can:

Best use content on this site to impact your students
Get started contributing content to the community
Receive feedback on your idea
Get timely feedback on a card you're working on
Find help for getting your card into a publication

Request a Coach or Mentor

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Who can sign up for this coaching/mentoring experience?

A: Anyone with a user account at EngineeringUnleashed.com.

Q: Who will be assigned as my coach/mentor?

A: We’ll connect you with one of our experienced and energetic engineering educators. Scroll down this page to see some of our active coaches.

Q: What kind of activities can a coach/mentor help me with?

A: Pretty much anything related to your work! We typically talk about your pain points at our first meeting in order to tailor the experience to your needs. Some examples include:

Developing new content/modules for your courses
Converting content/modules into Cards to share via EngineeringUnleashed
Applying for funding related to teaching/pedagogy
General teaching and career advice

Q: What kind of time commitment does coaching/mentoring involve?

A: Whatever you and your coach are comfortable with. Some folks are best served with a single meeting, others would rather have a regular check-in to maintain steady progress. This is an informal mentoring opportunity tailored to your needs and goals.

Q: How does the mentoring happen?

A: Once you indicate your interest, the Catalysts will meet with you one-on-one (e.g., via Zoom) to begin discussing your needs.

Interested?

Request a coach/mentor now!

Meet Your Mentors

Engineering Unleashed Community Catalysts are a group of faculty across the nation who help make the community a thriving place. Your mentors and coaches are comprised of Catalysts who have served one or more terms. All Catalysts have training on the Engineering Unleashed platform, have published cards, and will connect you with additional people and resources when needed.

Mike Rust, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Western New England University

Mike is looking to address complex challenges facing our world today (and in the future). Things like global health and lab-on-a-chip get him REALLY excited! Through his role as an educator at the university, he gets to help train and work alongside the next generation of problem solvers as they embark on their emerging careers.

AnnMarie Thomas, Professor of Engineering and Entrepreneurship, University of St. Thomas

AnnMarie is the founder and director of the St. Thomas Playful Learning Lab. She authored "Making Makers: Kids, Tools, and the Future of Innovation."

Aaron Sakulich, Associate Professor, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Aaron focuses his research on developing new, more durable materials for use in infrastructure, which will lead to a lowered maintenance burden, improved user safety, and a reduced environmental impact. He is also very much involved in an off-campus projects system, running sites in Panama City and Reykjavik.

Chris Sharp, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, George Fox University

The moment Chris encountered engineering design, he discovered the potential for the creative in engineering--along with the lack of intentional instruction within the broader engineering education system. At George Fox, he pursues character development, engineer identity, and creativity discovery with a design focus. He finds it fascinating to see what can be accomplished when varying disciplines come together in a transdisciplinary way!

Jim Brenner, Nanotechnology Minor Program Chair, Florida Institute of Technology

Jim developed a Nanotechnology Minor program, including a 1-credit freshman lab, a 3-credit Materials Characterization Lab, and lecture courses in Nanotechnology, Biomaterials & Tissue Engg., and Intro to Materials Sci/Engg to add value to the degrees for his students! He also teaches Intro to Chem Engg. 1 and 2, and Petroleum Refining. His research is in nanosensors and in automating tissue engineering. Jim has contributed numerous collections of cards known as CardDecks.

Margot Vigeant, Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bucknell University

Margot currently centers her work on engineering education research and specifically on the ways learning can be enhanced by active approaches like inquiry-based learning. She is interested in the ways we can increase student engagement in engineering through active, collaborative, and problem-based learning approaches such as making, games, and entrepreneurship. She is the maker evangelist for Bucknell, spearheading involvement with the White House Maker initiative.

Wujie Zhang, Associate Professor of Biomolecular Engineering, Milwaukee School of Engineering

Wujie truly believes the focus should be on each individual student -- strengthening the student experience through interaction, encouragement, and engagement. He has been an eager participant in various engineering education workshops and programs.

David Olawale, Assistant Professor, University of Indianapolis

David has diverse experience in research and development, as well as technology commercialization and entrepreneurship. He is taking a leading role in the design and implementation of the DesignSpine sequence and the development of entrepreneurial mindset in engineering students. He combines practical technology commercialization experience from co-founding two technology startup companies and serving as a consultant for others. Dr. Olawale has published over fifty peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers.