October 15
@
4:00 PM
–
5:00 PM
The ME 903: Graduate Student Lecture Series features campus and visiting speakers who present on a variety of research topics in the field of mechanical engineering. Professor Dustyn Roberts an associate professor at The University of Pennsylvania.
Title: Turning Passions into Publications and Pedagogy: Bike Safety and Sustainable Engineering
Abstract: How can teaching-focused faculty turn areas of interest into research and meaningful educational experiences? This talk explores that question through two examples: transportation safety and sustainable engineering. The first examines research on child passengers on adult bicycles, where the available evidence is far thinner than prevailing practices and assumptions might suggest, and how that work has informed a bicycle engineering course and a transportation systems course. The second examines efforts to integrate sustainability into engineering education through the Engineering for One Planet framework, including an NSF-funded, multi-department study. Together, these examples illustrate ways of connecting engineering research, educational scholarship, and course development.
Bio: Dustyn is a Practice Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Her training, professional experience, and interests span mechanical, biomedical, and transportation engineering. She’s passionate about engineering education, sustainability, and bridging the gap between research and real-world impact through entrepreneurial thinking and translational work. Her work has been supported by organizations including NSF, VentureWell, ASEE, and The Lemelson Foundation. She received her B.S. in Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, her M.S. in Biomechanics & Movement Science from the University of Delaware, and her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from New York University. She rides her cargo bike to work most days, usually with one or more kids on the back.