“These are exciting times for the engineering profession because of the great need for technically-orientated, innovative solutions to protect the environment, revitalize an aging infrastructure, provide health care, food production and security, expand our knowledge of space, and engage a global and diverse workforce in the design and manufacture of new products and integrated systems. Engineers continue to provide leadership in these realms, but they are increasingly tapped to extend that leadership and teamwork across disciplinary boundaries to work on multinational projects that have local, national and global impact. It is essential that we prepare our graduates with knowledge and skills befitting World-Class Engineers. To that end, our programs benefit from the valuable leadership and support from the Leonhard Center and its dedication to making a difference.”

Dr. Renata Engel

is the Associate Dean for Academic Programs in the College of Engineering. She earned a B.S. degree in Engineering Science from Penn State and a Ph.D. degree in Engineering Mechanics from the University of South Florida. Dr. Engel returned to Penn State as a faculty member in 1990 and holds professional titles in Engineering Design and Engineering Science and Mechanics. She is past executive director of the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence.

Dr. Engel is a Fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) and president of ASEE. She has received several awards including the University's prestigious George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Through various collaborative efforts, she has effected changes in the engineering curriculum at Penn State, primarily to incorporate elements of design in fundamental engineering courses. At the University level, she has provided leadership to Penn State's efforts to assess student learning outcomes, integrate inquiry and discovery into undergraduate courses, and develop programs to promote inclusive classroom environments.

Dr. Engel's discipline-specific research couples her interest in design and manufacturing with advanced materials. Motivated to improve manufacturing processes or products, she has modeled liquid injection processes, polymer cure kinetics, metal powder compaction, and powder compact strengthening via high temperatures. She has also worked with product design, fiber reinforced polymeric grids for reinforcement in concrete, and embedded resistance heating in thick fiber reinforced plastic composites.