Our Team — OLD

Dr. Shanna Daly is an Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering. She has a B.E. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Dayton and Ph.D. degrees in Engineering Education and Chemistry from Purdue University. Her research focuses on design innovations through divergent and convergent thinking as well as through deep needs and community assessments using design ethnography. Specifically, her work includes investigations of concept generation and development practices of novices through practitioners, intersections of diverse disciplines and experiences of individuals and teams that yield innovative thinking, the role of creativity in engineering and how to foster it, exploring problem spaces to identify real needs and innovation opportunities, and developing flexibility to design both radically and incrementally.

Kaylla is a Ph.D. student in Design Science at the University of Michigan where her work is motivated by design as a means for social justice. Her research explores the ways that students and practitioners seek to achieve equity in their design practices and outcomes, as well as the barriers or challenges they face that result in inequities. Through her research, she aims to develop tools and pedagogy to support design students, educators, and practitioners in conceptualizing and addressing equity. She earned B.A.s in industrial design and political science, and an M.S. in design science from the University of Michigan. She is also an experience design consultant for a diverse set of industries and is currently the the prototyping lab manager at the Center for Socially Engaged Design.

Shannon is a Ph.D. student in Mechanical Engineering. She has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). Her current research focuses on the development of divergent thinking tools and practices in how we engage with and perceive engineering problems. Her research interests include creativity, idea and concept generation, context in front-end design practices, and sense of belonging, perspectives, and experiences of individuals in engineering.

Kelley is a Ph.D. candidate in Mechanical Engineering. She has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from The Ohio State University. Prior to starting graduate school, she worked in the consumer appliance industry for two years. Her current work focuses on the development and assessment of engineers’ systems thinking skills. Her research interests include front-end design practices, socially engaged design, and sustainable design. She is also a Graduate Facilitator for the Center for Socially Engaged Design and a Graduate Academic Liaison with the Ginsberg Center for Community Service and Learning.

Robert P. Loweth is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan. His research explores how engineers engage and include diverse perspectives in their engineering work. His findings have informed the development of tools and pedagogy that support engineering students in investigating and reflecting on the broader societal contexts and impacts of engineering activities. He earned a B.S. in Engineering Sciences from Yale University, with a double major in East Asian Studies. He also holds a Graduate Certificate in Chinese and American Studies, jointly awarded by Johns Hopkins University and Nanjing University in China. In addition to his doctoral work, Robert is also a Graduate Facilitator for the Center for Socially Engaged Design and an Engineering Teaching Consultant with the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching in Engineering.

Nick is a Ph.D. pre-candidate in Design Science and holds a dual M.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Anthropology from Oregon State University. His research interests include design in cross-cultural and international settings, the integration of interdisciplinary tools into design and engineering education. He also works with several organizations to design and manufacture improved institutional cookstoves in low- and middle-income countries.

Erika is a postdoctoral research fellow working on two projects related to 1) characterizing (de)emphasized and (de)valued practices in engineering education and professional contexts and how these align with engineers’ personal values and 2) understanding the adoption and impacts of a toolkit aimed at providing students with the skills to identify and address socially engaged aspects of engineering work. She earned a B.A. in sociology and psychology from Case Western Reserve University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Michigan. Her research interests include cultural beliefs about what engineers do and who they are, students’ career thinking and trajectories, and ways to effectively facilitate more diverse, inclusive, and equitable engineering environments.

Laura is a Ph.D. student in Design Science. She studies inclusive design, a people-focused perspective on design which accounts for the greatest amount of variation among people. She first explored the impact of inclusive and empathetic design processes through her work in disability design spaces. She also has experience in product design, manufacturing, and supply chain development across industries. She’s most interested in impacting how practitioners carry out design decisions so that the design outcomes help create a more inclusive world.

Ilka’s research interests are in prototyping, front-end design, stakeholder engagement, product design and development, and medical device design. She is a Ph.D. candidate in Design Science and a Rackham Merit Fellow at the University of Michigan. Ilka is also a facilitator at the Center for Socially Engaged Design at UM.  She received her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (2016) and a Master of Science in Design Science from the University of Michigan (2019).