Desen Özkan | Engineering | Best Researcher Award
Dr Desen Özkan, University of Connecticut, United States
Dr. Desen Özkan is an Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Connecticut, with an affiliate position in the Neag School of Education. He is also the Graduate Program Director for the Engineering Education Ph.D. program. Dr. Özkan’s research focuses on sociotechnical identity development, equity in engineering education, and offshore wind energy. He holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Virginia Tech and has held postdoctoral roles at Tufts University. Dr. Özkan’s work bridges engineering, education, and social justice, emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration and inclusive curricula. 🌍⚙️📚💡🌱
Publication Profile
Education
Dr. Desen Özkan holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (2020), where she focused on transdisciplinary approaches in interdisciplinary faculty teaching. She has an extensive academic background with courses from prestigious institutions. Dr. Özkan completed projects on offshore wind energy economics at the University of Massachusetts and structural engineering at Tufts University. She also studied environmental chemistry, microbiology, and mathematical modeling at the University of Tennessee. Her B.S. in Chemical and Biological Engineering was earned at Tufts University in 2013. Dr. Özkan’s work merges engineering, education, and sustainability. 🌍⚙️🎓📚
Experience
Dr. Desen Özkan has diverse research experience in both engineering and social sciences. As a Postdoctoral Researcher at Tufts University, she analyzed job development in Maine’s offshore wind industry, producing the report Floating to the Top (2021), and contributed to a study on equity in offshore wind job development, invited by Connecticut State Legislators (2022). At Virginia Tech, she worked on the NSF-funded Revolutionizing Engineering and Computer Engineering Departments project (2018-2019) and contributed to the Science, Technology, and Society department’s undergraduate degree proposal (2019). Additionally, Dr. Özkan conducted water quality research at the University of Tennessee, focusing on wastewater reclamation. 🌊💡🔬
Awards and Recognition
Dr. Desen Özkan has received multiple nominations for Tufts University’s Significant Impact Awards, recognizing her outstanding contributions to STEM education. Her dedication to mentoring and promoting diversity within the field has been a hallmark of her career. Additionally, Dr. Özkan was selected to participate in the prestigious New Energy Summer Summit at Dartmouth, further highlighting her commitment to advancing innovation and sustainability. These accolades underscore her impactful work in fostering inclusive environments and pushing boundaries in science and technology. Her achievements inspire future generations of diverse STEM leaders. 🏆👩🔬🌍💡
Conference Activity
Dr. Desen Özkan has presented at numerous conferences, focusing on sociotechnical engineering education and diversity in the field. Notable presentations include “Positionality, Empathy, and Subjectivity in Research” at the 2024 Compassion and Global Citizenship Conference, and “What is a Job? Deconstructing Offshore Wind Jobs” at the 2024 Petrocultures Conference. Additionally, Dr. Özkan co-presented papers on worker safety in offshore wind at the ASEE Annual Conference and explored environmental racism in engineering courses. Her work also includes teaching design through sociotechnical perspectives, with a focus on student experiences in first-year engineering courses. 🎤🌍📚
Research Focus
Dr. Desen Özkan’s research primarily focuses on the intersection of engineering education, diversity, and sociotechnical systems. Her work explores how contextualization and cultural considerations can enhance learning experiences in engineering education. She investigates methods like persona-based curricular design and emphasizes the importance of addressing reality gaps in senior design projects. Additionally, Dr. Özkan examines the positionality of researchers in engineering education and the teacher-learner dynamic. Her research aims to make engineering education more inclusive, effective, and adaptable, particularly for minoritized groups. 🛠️📚💡🎓
Publication Top Notes
Contextualization as virtue in engineering education
Using personas as curricular design tools: Engaging the boundaries of engineering culture
Contextualization in engineering education: A scoping literature review
Reality gaps in industrial engineering senior design or capstone projects