Mentorship & Coaching
Are you looking for help in any of the areas below?
- Do you want to know how to use content on the site to impact your students?
- Are you interested in contributing content but don't know where to begin?
- Do you have an idea you would like feedback on?
- Are you in the middle of creating a card and would like some feedback?
- Would you like help getting your card into a publication?
The Engineering Unleashed Community Catalysts are here to help coach and mentor you with these things and more!
Get Connected
The Catalysts will meet with you one-on-one (e.g., via Zoom) to begin discussing your needs. This is an informal mentoring opportunity tailored to your needs and goals.
All Community Catalysts have training on the Engineering Unleashed platform, have published cards, and will connect you with additional people and resources when needed.
Interested? Contact Mike Rust to get started.
Meet Your Mentors
Community Catalysts are a group of faculty across the nation who help make the Engineering Unleashed community a thriving place. Your mentors and coaches are comprised of Catalysts who have served one or more terms.
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."
Tammy Rice-Bailey, Associate Professor of Technical Communication and User Experience, Milwaukee School of Engineering
Tammy earned her Ph.D. in Professional Writing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Prior to her academic career, she managed corporate documentation and training for global software, financial, and retail corporations. Tammy currently serves as member-at-large for the Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication (CPTSC). Her research interests are remote, distributed workforces; collaboration; and creative design. Her work has been published in Technical Communication Quarterly, Technical Communication, Technical Writing and Communication, and elsewhere. In her spare time, she studies and facilitates improvisation classes and workshops.
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.