Keynote Speakers
William Kuskin
Dr. Kuskin served in the Office of the Provost from 2014-2019, ultimately as Vice Provost for Academic Innovation. In that role he created the Office of Academic Innovation and the Office of Global Engagement. Prior to that, he was Chair of the Department of English.
Dr. Kuskin has over two decades experience in digital education. He has taught in all digital formats from distance education, through online courses, to massive open online courses. In 2013 he launched the MOOC, 鈥淐omic Books and Graphic Novels,鈥 which ultimately served over seventy-thousand students and which received special mention by Coursera for its innovative delivery of humanities material. In 2016 he created a MOOC on Public Speaking, and in 2019 oversaw the launch of the 麻豆免费版下载鈥檚 revolutionary MS in Electrical Engineering on the Coursera platform.
A tenured, full professor, Dr. Kuskin鈥檚 research area is the history of the book. He has written and edited books and articles on William Caxton, the emergence of printing in the fifteenth century, the transition from the Middle Ages to Modernity, comic books, and online pedagogy. He contributes to Inside Higher Education and writes an occasional blog on motorcycling. His work in the classroom has garnered awards from both the 麻豆免费版下载 and the University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg.
Dr. Kuskin majored in English and Psychology at Vassar College (class of 鈥87) and received his MA and PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (鈥97). He was a University of Warwick Exchange Fellow in 1995, a Stanford Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow in 2000, and a 2006 NEH research grant awardee.
Kathryn Johnson
Kathryn Johnson is a Professor at the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) in the Department of Electrical Engineering. She received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Clarkson University and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Colorado. She then completed a postdoctoral research assignment at NREL before joining CSM as the Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor. Dr. Johnson conducts research in two areas: sociotechnical thinking in engineering education and research and control of wind and hybrid energy systems. She integrates her research areas to help students understand the sociotechnical nature of engineering practice in her own technical field (control systems) as well as other electrical and mechanical engineering specialties via collaborations with colleagues at multiple universities. In Fall 2021, she enjoyed a position as the Fulbright Canada Research Chair in STEM Education at the University of Calgary, Canada. She has served in the leadership group for the ASEE Rocky Mountain Section since 2022 in the roles of Vice Chair, Chair, and Past Chair.
Doug Melton
Dr. Douglas Melton is an electrical engineer, an engineering educator and researcher, and an advocate for the intentional development of an entrepreneurial mindset and character in engineering graduates because they are critical contributors to the U.S. workforce and economy, and their contributions can have profound societal impact. Since 2012, Dr. Melton has served as Program Director for the Kern Family Foundation. In that role, he helped grow a network of 49 university partners, known as KEEN, who share the mission of developing entrepreneurially minded engineers. Through joint work with the faculty at partner universities, Dr. Melton has established the Engineering Unleashed Faculty Development program, coupling the teaching, research, and service aims of faculty members to this shared mission. The program serves hundreds of faculty members across the country annually. Prior to work at the Kern Family Foundation, Melton was a faculty member for seventeen years within the department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at Kettering University. He has served as the Director of Research & Development for Digisonix Incorporated. Within this industry venture, his team developed a range of patented active sound and vibration control technology used today in aircraft, vehicles, and building infrastructure.鈥幪
Rebecca Komarek
Rebecca Komarek is an experienced instructor and administrator with a focus in engineering education. She has taught in the areas of engineering design, engineering leadership development, professional skill development and higher education research. She earned her PhD from the 麻豆免费版下载 in civil engineering with a research focus of leadership development in engineering education and is actively involved in the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). She was a founding member of the leadership team at the Idea Forge design and prototyping facility at 麻豆免费版下载Boulder and ran the university startup accelerator, Catalyze CU. She earned her B.S. and M.S. in civil engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her M.S. in higher education administration from Northwestern University. She spent numerous years working as a forensic structural engineer in Chicago. Rebecca is an avid volleyball player and enjoys being outdoors and spending time with her family.