Material Science & Manufacturing Engineering Graduate Seminar: Dr. Katreena Thomas, Clemson University, "From Words to Richness: Scholarship through Storytelling"

Abstract

In this seminar, Dr. Katreena Thomas will share various stories and storytelling strategies that have shaped her scholarly activities, particularly highlighting her work surrounding early-career Black engineers in leadership. Engineering leadership is an emerging research area in engineering education that aligns well with recent attention to producing leaders and diverse engineers. While engineering leadership studies have highlighted elements such as the skills, traits, and behaviors required in pursuing and executing leadership, there is a narrow focus on the current work that also considers marginalized engineers' leadership experiences. Currently, studies that explore engineering leadership as investigations have occurred without consideration of the ways identity also factors into leadership experiences. Her work considers the experiences and perspectives of early-career Black engineers engaged in leadership. This qualitative study uses narrative inquiry and semi-structured interviews to capture the unique stories of six early-career Black engineers in leadership. This work intentionally centers on the authentic voices of Black engineers and considers how personal identity impacts the pursuit and execution of leadership and leadership development.

Biography

Dr. Katreena Thomas currently serves as a postdoctoral researcher at Clemson University through the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) eFellows postdoctoral fellowship. Through her scholarly activities, she aims to broaden marginalized groups' participation in engineering by encouraging positive identity-centered experiences in engineering, supporting creative expression in engineering practice and design, and promoting equity-focused STEM education policy. She received her Ph.D. from Arizona State University in Engineering Education Systems Design. During her doctoral education, she joined the Coley Shifting Perceptions, Attitudes, and Cultures in Engineering (SPACE) Lab research group. She also served as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Intern for the Journal of Engineering Education (JEE). She received her B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and her M.S. in Human Systems Engineering from Arizona State University. Before starting her graduate studies, she worked in the tech industry in the operations field. She is committed to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusivity and hopes that her work will impact the culture and environment of the engineering education ecosystem.

PLEASE NOTE:  Zoom Event Only 

https://wpi.zoom.us/my/energymetals?pwd=UTYxL3I4R3hYeGdwcGI4eVBxbHh1QT09