I am an Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at George Mason University. I received a BS in Electrical Engineering and a BA in Economics from Rice University and an MS and PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. My disciplinary research lies in statistical signal processing, specifically detection and estimation for applications in sonar, target tracking, and physical layer communications. I also study machine intelligence as it applies to automating active sonar and developing collaborative intelligent radio networks. My STEM education research focuses on faculty teaching development, specifically using discipline-based communities of practice to promote sustained adoption of research-supported teaching practices. I lead an NSF-funded Institutional and Community Transformation effort to build a culture of inquiry-based learning in STEM using course-based communities of practice and a grassroots change model.



I have been active in IEEE through a variety of roles, including as a Member-at-Large of the IEEE Education Society Board of Governors from 2020-2022. I served as Chair of the Northern Virginia Chapter of the IEEE Signal Processing Society from 2010-2011 and as the Vice Chair in 2009. In addition, I served as the Finance Chair of the 2016 IEEE Global Conference on Signal and Information Processing (GlobalSIP). In 2016, I was a featured speaker in the IEEE Signal Processing Society Careers in Signal Processing video series. Finally, I was the faculty advisor to the IEEE Student Chapter at George Mason University from 2006-2020. Outside IEEE, I served as a faculty representative to the George Mason University Board of Visitors and as a member of the Academic Programs Committee from 2014-2018. I am a 2010 recipient of the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, the 2014 recipient of the Mac Van Valkenburg Early Career Teaching Award, and the inaugural (2017) recipient of the George Mason University John Toups Medal for Excellence in Teaching.          



Much of my engineering education research centers on studying models for broadening the adoption of evidence-based teaching practices in engineering, as well as in other STEM disciplines. I have engaged with the engineering education community through a variety of activities. I participated in the NAE Frontiers of Engineering Education Symposium in 2012 and was a co-leader of the ASEE Virtual Community of Practice (VCP) for electrical engineering instructors in 2013-14. I completed the PKAL STEM Leadership Institute in 2015. In 2017, I participated in the NSF-funded “Building Research Capacity for STEM Faculty Development” workshop. I have served as a Program Director in NSF’s Division of Undergraduate Education. I am also Chair of the ASEE Faculty Development Division, where I focus on structures to support instructors as they move toward research-supported teaching methods.

 

Position Statement:

The efforts of my academic career are focused on both the research and implementation aspects of engineering education. I aim to understand how electrical engineering students at all levels can be prepared for dynamic and fulfilling careers. I’d like to continue to serve as a Member-at-Large of the IEEE Education Society Board of Governors because the Society is in a position to impact how electrical engineering education evolves to meet ever-changing workforce needs and student populations. I am passionate about elevating the importance of engineering education research and of documenting and sharing best practices. As a member of the Board of Governors, I would work to expand and disseminate Society resources such as the Teaching Excellence Hub and to help the Society develop new mechanisms to engage educators and employers in improving electrical engineering education for learners at all stages. I aim to help create mechanisms for sharing knowledge across institutions, particularly as that knowledge relates to broadening the diversity of electrical engineering graduates and serving students who arrive in engineering programs via non-traditional pathways. In addition, I aim to help build connections between education researchers, educators, and practitioners such that advances in electrical engineering education can be both transformative and practically applicable.