{"id":30823,"date":"2023-07-17T15:44:27","date_gmt":"2023-07-17T15:44:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.engr.uconn.edu\/?p=30823"},"modified":"2024-04-04T02:43:52","modified_gmt":"2024-04-04T06:43:52","slug":"ozkan-to-lead-engineering-education-and-experimental-learning-initiative-at-uconn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2023\/07\/ozkan-to-lead-engineering-education-and-experimental-learning-initiative-at-uconn\/","title":{"rendered":"Ozkan to Lead Engineering Education and Experimental Learning Initiative at UConn"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nBy Olivia Drake, Written Communications Specialist<\/strong><\/p>\n

Desen Ozkan recognizes that engineering is traditionally thought of as using math and science to solve problems in the world.<\/p>\n

But what is missing from this definition\u2014and the engineering curriculum\u2014she says, are the contexts in which engineers interact in a world of political, social, and economic consequences.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen engineering is portrayed as a field that encompasses various contexts and is influenced by social and technological factors, it can have a positive impact on the individuals who choose to pursue a career in engineering,\u201d she said. \u201cIf engineers fail to consider the social and political aspects surrounding their work, they may unintentionally contribute to existing problems and inequalities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ozkan, a new tenure-track assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering (CBE<\/a>), will join the University of Connecticut\u2019s School of Engineering<\/a> this fall. In addition to her own CBE scholarship and instruction, in the future, Ozkan will develop a preliminary curriculum for new initiatives in engineering education and experiential learning. \u00a0<\/p>\n

This graduate-level program will offer students a solid understanding of engineering education theory, cultures, and research methodologies. Students will learn about evidence-driven ways to engage students in engineering concepts while conducting empirical research and analysis to uncover patterns, trends, and effective approaches in engineering education.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBy incorporating theoretical foundations and practical applications, the potential program equips graduates with the skills and knowledge necessary for a diverse range of careers,\u201d explained Daniel Burkey, associate dean of undergraduate education and diversity, Castleman Term Professor in Engineering Innovation, and associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering. \u201cProfessor Ozkan will help the School of Engineering with designing a curriculum framework that promotes deeper learning, integrates interdisciplinary approaches, and reflects current industry needs while generating new knowledge to advance the understanding of how engineering education can be improved.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition, Burkey said experiential learning is a valued tenet of the university and offers students a hands-on practicum to better serve their industry and our society.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ozkan comes to UConn from Tufts University where she\u2019s a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Engineering Education and Outreach<\/a> (CEEO) and the Institute for Research on Learning and Education<\/a> (IRLI). She also created and taught the courses \u201cDeconstructing Engineering Design, Data and Power in Surveillance,\u201d and \u201cPower and Politics of STEM Education\u201d for students of all majors.<\/p>\n

At UConn, Ozkan hopes to teach a course for engineering and liberal arts undergraduates alike. Students would engage with a topic, for example, renewable energy, and spend the semester exploring the theme through cross-disciplinary and historical perspectives. Ozkan would assign readings from The Birth of Energy<\/em> by Cara Daggett or Carbon Democracy <\/em>by Timothy Mitchell along with National Renewable Energy Lab<\/a> (NREL) reports on the energy transition.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom there, students would engage in different practices that come into play in an energy transition\u2014topics could range from energy storage, grid infrastructure, union and non-union labor, etc.,\u201d she said. \u201cLastly, students would work to define a problem they want to address through a project.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ozkan hopes to partner with faculty in other schools and colleges when building on experimental learning and engineering education initiatives. UConn\u2019s Neag School of Education<\/a> will be among her go-tos for faculty collaborations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve already had the pleasure of meeting many folks from across the School of Engineering who have been doing critical work on ethics and engineering, engineering and human rights, and renewable energies,\u201d she said. \u201cThis political and societally relevant content will be critical to integrate into the engineering curriculum.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her own work, Ozkan wants to emphasize the importance of teaching engineering courses through a \u201ccontext-rich\u201d and \u201csociotechnical\u201d lens. \u201cContext-rich\u201d acknowledges that engineering projects and solutions are developed within specific environments\u2014such as cultural, economic, and environmental contexts. And when engineering is seen as “sociotechnical,” it emphasizes the interplay between social and technical elements and encourages engineers to consider the societal, ethical, and human aspects of their work.<\/p>\n

While Ozkan\u2019s primary focus this fall will be developing a curriculum for the new initative, she\u2019ll also continue her efforts investigating the topic of offshore wind engineering and education. \u00a0<\/p>\n

In May 2022, three Connecticut state legislators invited a research team from Tufts,\u00a0led by Professor Eric Hines, to conduct a scholarly study on equity in offshore wind industry job development. Ozkan was a key contributor to the project after working on a similar report for Maine in 2021. The team\u2019s research, titled \u201cDeveloping a Diverse, Equitable, and Just Offshore Wind Workforce in Connecticut\u201d is supported by a 2022 Tufts CREATE (Climate, Renewable Energy, Agriculture, Technology and Ecology) Solutions grant<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt UConn, I intend to explore this through a transdisciplinary approach,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Ozkan earned a Bachelor of Science in chemical and biological engineering at Tufts in 2013 and a doctorate in engineering education from Virginia Tech in 2020. Before\u00a0venturing into the field of engineering education, Ozkan served as a graduate research assistant for the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Virginia Tech, and as a wastewater reclamation research assistant at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s already the co-author of eight refereed journal articles on engineering education, transdisciplinary collaborations, and study abroad leadership teams. Her work has been published in Studies in Engineering Education<\/em>, the Journal of International Engineering Education<\/em>, the Journal of Advanced Academics<\/em>, among others. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In addition to teaching and research, Ozkan is an active member of the American Society for Engineering Education<\/a> (ASEE), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers<\/a> (IEEE), and the Society for Social Studies of Science<\/a> (4S). During the 2022 ASEE Conference & Exposition, her paper, titled \u201cPerspectives of Seven Minoritized Students in a First-Year Course Redesign toward Sociotechnical Engineering Education<\/a>,\u201d won the \u201cBest Diversity Paper Award\u201d for the Liberal Education\/Engineering & Society division.<\/p>\n

For these reasons, and others, Burkey feels confident that Ozkan will fill a much-needed niche in the School of Engineering.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re elated that Professor Ozkan has accepted our invitation to join us here in the SoE,\u201d Burkey said. \u201cHer expertise in engineering education, research contributions, interdisciplinary background, and teaching and grant-writing experience will be valued immensely by our faculty and contribute to our mission of providing the highest-quality engineering education possible to our students.\u201d<\/p>\n

A new focus on engineering education and experimental learning may serve as a campus-wide collaboration hub for catalyzing new work. Burkey envisions interdisciplinary projects developing between the Neag School of Education, the Human Rights Institute, and the Vergnano Institute of Inclusion, specifically benefiting engineering education research; first-year engineering education; graduate education; continuing and professional education; justice, equity, diversity, and inclusivity research; K-12 STEM education; faculty pedagogy; and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea of \u2018engineering education\u2019 is inherently multi- and cross-disciplinary, and it aligns with many key University strategic areas, including strengthening undergraduate and graduate education, research in justice, equity, diversity, and inclusivity topics, and sustainability education,\u201d Burkey said. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen similar initiatives launched at other public, R1 engineering programs including Purdue, Michigan, Florida, Ohio State and Virginia Tech. So by implementing a similar enterprise, we\u2019ll bring the School of Engineering\u2019s offerings to the forefront of the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

And while Burkey values the skills Ozkan will bring to the School of Engineering, Ozkan is eager to develop relationships with her new colleagues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the first few years of my time at UConn, I’m excited to learn from the broad expertise of faculty, staff, and students, so I can continue building on the strong interconnectedness of the community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Assistant Professor Desen Ozkan will join the School of Engineering in August. She will develop a new graduate-level initiative that will explore engineering education theory, cultures, and research methodologies. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":212067,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1866],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[43],"class_list":["post-30823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-engr"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-29 05:29:11","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/201"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30823"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30823\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":212068,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30823\/revisions\/212068"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/212067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30823"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=30823"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=30823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}